As if on cue there were a couple of flashes right in front of our faces. It was disconcerting, but part of the deal when taking Noo out. Before we made it into the restaurant there were a few more flashes and some shouts for Noo’s attention. She gave them what they wanted – paused for a moment and smiled on my arm before we walked through the door, and I felt her relax against me.
But then I sawherand all thoughts of photographers, Noo’s relief, Toby’s annoyance flew out of my brain. She was just that gorgeous. She and Max were standing at the bar, he was pulling at his collar and looking just as uncomfortable in formal attire as he had earlier. Verity, however, looked completely at home in impossibly high heels and a deep navy knee-length dress, perfectly tailored to her subtle curves. Her hair was swept up at one side, her only jewellery the diamond-encrusted clip that held it there. The contained elegance of her outfit was in sharp contrast to Naomi’s gold minidress, and despite Verity’s lace dress hiding way more than it showed, my heart still felt lodged in my throat.
“Hi there, Toby,” Verity said, her perfectly painted red lips parting into a smile as she looked at him. “Mr York.” Her smile dropped when she transferred her blue gaze to me, and I felt an acute sense of loss. I remembered what it was like to have that smile directed at me – it had been like a drug for teenage Harry. I would have done anything for it. I swallowed as Max and Toby exchanged greetings and then cleared my throat.
“Ms Markham, Mr Hardcastle,” I forced out, my voice slightly hoarse. There was a short silence and Noo gave my arm a light squeeze. Somehow, I’d totally forgotten she was there. “This is Naomi Light. Naomi, Max Hardcastle and Verity Markham.”
If the sight of a pop star on my arm rattled Verity she was an incredibly good actress. Her smile stayed in place as she greeted Noo, adeptly speaking for both herself and Max, who was still looking sulky and pulling at his collar. Verity complimented Noo on her latest album, easily pulling her into a conversation about the music industry and Noo’s upcoming tour. Her ease with people, any people, was something that had already been obvious even at fourteen – it was nuclear-powered now. The only crack I saw in her persona was when we all moved to the tables, and I dropped my hand to the small of Noo’s back to guide her there. Verity’s gaze fell briefly to my hand, and I could see a flash of something cross her expression before she reset it back to polite interest.
Once we were all sitting down, Verity, Toby and Noo kept the conversation going, whilst Max and I sat largely in broody silence. I guessed the big guy was about as socially incompetent as me. I’d become better at this stuff over the last few years, but all my carefully learned techniques seemed to fly out the window when I was around Verity, which was intensely frustrating, as, if I was honest, this whole exercise was really about me proving to Verity how very far I’d come from the awkward boy she’d known and toyed with at school.
“So, Toby,” Verity said into a lull in the conversation after our orders had been taken and the drinks had arrived. “Have you had a chance to look over our designs? What are your thoughts?”
Toby opened his mouth to speak but I got in there first.
“Toby’s not leading on the build or the negotiations with the LSE,” I snapped, frustration and bitterness making my tone sharp. “It’s not up to him.” I sounded like a spoilt child now.
“Okay then, Mr York,” Verity held her pleasant tone and kept that smile on her face as she turned to me, but there was an edge of frustration to her voice and her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Haveyouhad time to reconsider? Or indeed, actually bother to look at our designs properly?”
“Ooh,” Noo put in. “What is it you’re designing for Harry?”
They’d already chatted about Max and Verity’s firm, so Noo knew that they were architects. Verity turned to her and proceeded to explain the project and their vision in the kind of detail I hadn’t allowed in the conference room earlier. The way she lit up as she described the campus building, using her hands to express herself and conjure a vision of the proposed design was captivating. The food that had arrived during her explanation remained largely untouched.
“Gosh, that sounds smashing,” Noo gushed, receiving the full force of Verity’s smile.
“We think so, don’t we Max?”
“It’s a good’un,” Max put in – this three-word contribution seeming to be all that was required of him. Given that Max was one of the most talented eco-architects in the country, having him christen the project “a good’un” was a very high endorsement. Toby kicked me under the table.
“Hazza hasn’t ruled anyone out yet, have you mate?” he said.
“How could you not go with their design, Harry?” Noo’s eyebrows were raised in real surprise, such was the impact of Verity’s little speech. I felt put on the spot. Everything was messed up. This wasn’t what I was aiming for at all. When I’d contacted the LSE and offered the funding package, it was because I wanted to be the one to toy with Verity for a change. I hadn’t considered that her company might actually have the best design, or that I would look like a total prick if we didn’t use them.
“They’re not the only architecture firm in the country, Noo,” I said. “And they’re certainly not the biggest. It might be too much for a firm their size. No offence,” I put in, nodding to Max and giving him an insincere smile.
“The panel we presented to three months ago were not of that opinion. If they hadn’t been serious about us taking on the project, why did they let us bid for it?” Verity said through gritted teeth, her barely restrained anger coming through loud and clear. It gave me another perverse rush to have provoked some sort of reaction from her, so much so that I couldn’t seem to stop the smug smile spreading across my face as I looked at her and gave a casual shrug.
“I came on after the panel had been formed and made its initial assessments. Things are different now. Anyway, it was your decision to carry on with the bid and draw up the designs. You can’t tell me this will be the first time you haven’t been successful? I’d imagine that it’s the nature of the business.”
“I assure you that we do win the majority of the bids we go in for, and we certainly don’t waste time bidding on projects for which we aren’t even going to be considered. Do you have any idea the amount of man hours that went into that design?”
“Doesn’t feel that great when people waste your time, does it?” The words were out before I could stop them.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “No, it certainly doesn’t. Are you implying thatI’vewastedyours?”
I broke eye contact with her and shrugged again – not casually this time but more like the grumpy heartbroken teenager I was twenty years ago. The rest of the table was looking between us with confused expressions at the underlying tension. I felt their pain. I wasn’t quite sure what I was trying to achieve anymore.
“When exactly have I wasted your time, Mr York?” Verity’s voice was sharp now. She put emphasis on Mr York, as if to make clear how ridiculous she felt it was to address me formally after all we had once shared. Suddenly the restaurant was feeling too hot, I pulled at my collar and cleared my throat.
“Right, well, we’d better get going,” I said, pushing my chair back and standing abruptly. “Noo?” I held out my hand to her. She looked up in dismay from her still half-full plate to me, then back again. I ground my teeth as she shovelled the remaining steak into her mouth. Verity had stood up as well and now had her hands on her hips.
“I want to know what exactly you’re implying?” she said. Noo used the opportunity to try to finish the rest of her chips. Everyone was still watching Verity and me like it was some sort of sport. Max was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, and Toby was sporting a small grin. I took a hold of Noo’s elbow and guided her to standing. She managed to spear a few more chips into her mouth as she straightened up. Why couldn’t she be one of those celebrities who only pick at their food for God’s sake? My own dinner had remained largely untouched.
“I’m not implying anything. Now, I’m sorry but we really must leave.” I was drawing Noo back from the table. She abandoned her attempts with her fork and instead grabbed a handful of chips, waving them at everyone the table and saying her goodbyes around a mouthful of food as I drew her back with me. Verity’s gaze was fixed on my hand on Noo’s arm. The fury in her expression gave me another perverse rush of satisfaction. As Noo shoved the rest of the chips into her mouth I put my arm around her waist, nodding a terse goodbye to everyone and watching Verity’s face flush with colour. I leaned into Noo and whispered in her ear. To anyone watching it probably looked like I was whispering sweet sexy nothings in preparation for taking her back to mine. In reality I was apologising and promising to buy her a kebab on the way home with extra garlic sauce – a fairly unsexy proposition, but one that I knew would get Noo moving a bit quicker.
“This isn’t over,” I heard Verity shout as I guided Noo to the exit. Once we had our coats, I hustled her out of the door and into my waiting car. I told Geoff to take us via a kebab shop, then collapsed back into the leather of the back seat, leaned my head against the head rest and closed my eyes. As I opened them, I flinched when I saw Noo watching me with a curious expression as she continued to eat her chips.
“Want to tell me what that was about?” she asked, her mouth still full of chips.
