Still just friends?!?!?!??!?! Yellow, but you need to phone us. We need details H x
A second letter Gill sent one:
It’s a yellow from me 2. But OMG, fill us in ASAP G x
With a wry smile to herself, Mia slipped the yellow one on.
And tried not to blush when Luke’s eyes widened with delight as she walked up to him in the car park.
‘Good God, Mia.’ Resting against the TVR, legs crossed casually at his ankles, his gaze ran up and down her body. ‘You don’t just have legs. You have bloody gorgeous legs.’
She glanced down, feeling oddly shy. ‘I don’t know what to say to that.’
‘How about, Luke, I promise to always wear a dress for my dates with you from now on?’
The appreciative way he looked at her, the flirty tone, the heat she could see banked in his eyes. It all left her flustered. ‘Non-dates.’
A flicker of disappointment crossed his face but he didn’t comment. Instead he held the door open for her.
She’d been so focused on trying not to look at him, so he wouldn’t see how nervous she felt, it was only now she noticed what he was wearing. A white T-shirt that moulded to his impressive chest and cargo shorts that revealed he worked out every bit as hard on his lower body, as he did on his upper.
They were man’s legs. Dusted with dark hair, bunching with muscles.
‘You have legs too, I see,’ she commented as she climbed into the low-slung TVR. Not easy with a flipping dress on.
He slid her a smile. ‘Not as sexy as yours.’
Not from where I’m sitting. She swallowed the words, reminding herself of the dangers of giving out mixed messages. So why did you ask him to kiss you?
God, she really was making a mess of this. It was a wonder he still wanted to talk to her. ‘I don’t believe you can judge your own legs.’ Before he asked her to judge his, she added, ‘So, where are we heading and who’s going to be there?’
His glance told her he knew she’d deliberately changed the subject. ‘We’re meeting the gang at Altrincham market. It was given an overhaul a few years ago – it’s now one of the trendy places to head outside the city. It’s got artisan food traders selling local produce, plus lots of craft stalls.’ He shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘I figured you might enjoy it.’
Her pulse sped up a gear. ‘Hang on, we’re heading there for me?’
He pulled up to a traffic light and looked over at her. ‘Is there something wrong?’
‘No, it’s just, well I thought you’d planned to see your friends anyway, and I was just tagging along.’
His green eyes were steady on hers. ‘I wanted you to meet my friends. This way you can also cross another item off your list.’
Panic bubbled but she tried to squash it. It wasn’t like she was his girlfriend. If his friends didn’t like her, it didn’t matter.
Except he’d specifically arranged today so they could meet her. And she really, really wanted them to like her, because she really, really liked Luke.
As if he could see her mind racing, he touched her cheek. ‘Don’t overthink this. I thought you might like to meet some more locals, that’s all.’ He gave her a small smile just as the lights turned green. ‘People who don’t live in the same block of flats, or frequent the same bar.’
The panic receded. She was getting ahead of herself. They’d kissed, he wanted more, but only sex more. Not relationship more. And like it or not, she was a relationship kind of girl. ‘These people, are they as crazy as you are?’
His laughter filled the car, erasing the knots of tension. ‘My brother’s wife, Janet, is sane. Phil is bordering on sane. Jim, Sandy’s husband, is a saint, which of course he has to be, to put up with her. As for Gary and Tony, they’re both single so they’ll probably try and flirt with you.’
‘Are they as good at it as you?’
His expression was enigmatic as he glanced briefly in her direction. ‘I’ll leave you to judge.’
Luke rested his arm along the back of Mia’s chair, the gesture both protective and proprietorial. As he’d suspected, Gary and Tony were all over her, partly because she was uniquely attractive and razor-sharp funny. Partly because they were the biggest flirts out. And yes, it hadn’t escaped his notice that she’d said he was good at flirting, which he knew wasn’t a compliment. The thing is, he wasn’t a natural flirt, as any of the friends around the table could testify. His skill, if he could call it that, was being able to talk to people, put them at their ease, and when it came to his customers, to make them feel important. Flirting was different. It was compliments, cheeky innuendo, smiling into the other person’s eyes, all done because you fancied the pants off them. It was why he’d flirted with Mia when she’d first walked into the bar, but it didn’t mean he did it with every woman he served.
And he sure as hell hadn’t done any flirting with anyone else since he’d met Mia.
‘Luke took you to Old Trafford?’ Tony burst out laughing. ‘Christ, he’s seriously losing his touch.’ His so-called friend spoke to Mia as if Luke wasn’t within earshot, sitting just the other side of her. ‘If you want a proper tour of the Mancunian highlights love, just say the word. I even work civilised hours.’
‘What Tony’s not telling you is he’s a Blues fan,’ Luke interrupted. ‘First place he’ll take you is the Etihad.’
Tony scoffed. ‘I’ve more class than that.’ He winked at Mia. ‘We’ll head for a Maccy D’s first.’
‘Aye, and the guy’s so tight he’ll probably make you pay,’ added Phil, earning a big brownie point from Luke.
‘It’s clear Mia needs a man with more class than you lot.’ Gary flashed her a cheesy grin. ‘I won’t take you to footie stadiums, I’ll wine and dine you. Dinner and jazz, dancing and cocktails.’
Mia laughed. ‘I’m very … sorry, I’m dead grateful for the offers.’ She turned to Luke, eyes amused, her smile sweet. ‘But Luke’s been a good tour guide so far. It seems wrong to sack him just yet.’ She turned back to Gary. ‘He’s already taken me dancing, and as for cocktails, he didn’t just buy me one. He concocted the Blue Mia especially for me.’
Phil glanced at him and groaned. ‘Mia, please, for all our sakes, stop flattering him. He’s already looking obscenely smug.’
‘Oh, he was rubbish at the donut racing and his knowledge of art is worse than mine, but cocktails, he’s a genius at.’ She smiled and gave Luke a brief sideways glance. ‘I was thinking, he should offer to make individual cocktails up at the bar. People would really go for that.’
‘You think so?’ Though he was flattered, Luke couldn’t see why someone would choose to drink a ropey cocktail a barman had thrown together instead of a tried and tested classic.
But Phil was looking animated. ‘Bloody hell Mia, that’s a genius idea. And frankly, with things as they are, anything is worth a try right now.’
Shit no. Luke’s stomached dropped. He didn’t want the conversation going down that route. He gave his brother a shut the fuck up glare.