vain,â he protested. âI just feel a little more comfortable in this than I do in the scruffy stuff.â
âItâd serve you right if I took you to a fast-food burger restaurant nowâand then youâd really look out of place,â she teased.
âIâll bluff it. Thereâs nothing wrong with burgers.â
Did he really expect her to believe that? Sheâd just bet he was the kind of guy who went for fine wines and Michelin-starred dining. âWhen was the last time you went to a fast-food place?â she challenged.
âLast weekend, with my nephews,â was the prompt reply. âNext question?â
Ouch. Sheâd forgotten about his nephews. If they were teens, like her own nephews, then she knew heâd be very familiar with fast-food places. She screwed up her face. âOK, now itâs my turn to apologise. Blame my rudeness on low blood sugar. Because I am a grumpy, starving photographer right now.â
He smiled, and she wished sheâd kept her mouth shut. Stuffy and uncomfortable, she could deal with, but relaxed and sexy was another kettle of fish entirely.
Right now, Nick Kennedy could be very dangerous to her peace of mind.
âLetâs go and eat,â Nick said, âand you can show me how much of an idiot Iâve made of myself.â
He hadnât made an idiot of himself at all. He was utterly gorgeous and heâd be the star of the calendarâeven more so than the actor and the musician whoâd posed for her earlier in the week, because they were aware of how pretty they were and Nick wasnât. But Sammy knew she needed to keep her libido under control. Sheâd learned her lesson well, after Bryn.
No.
More.
Relationships.
Make that underlined and with three exclamation marks. And covered in acid yellow highlighter to make sure she didnât forget it.
âMy carâs outside,â she said.
âSo is mine.â
She took a coin from her purse. âLetâs toss for it. The winner gets to drive. Heads or tails?â
âHeads.â
It was heads.
âMy car, then,â he said.
âDo you mind if I bring my equipment with me?â she asked. âIâd prefer not to leave it unattended, even if itâs locked out of sight in my car.â
âIt would make more sense,â Nick said, âif we got a takeaway and ate it at my place. Then neither of us would have to worry about leaving expensive work equipment unattended in the car.â
âWhy your place and not mine?â
He coughed. âBecause I just won the coin toss.â He paused. âYou can ring my sister and ask her to vouch for me, if youâre worried about going to a strangerâs flat.â
âA stranger whoâs willing to put himself out of his comfort zone to help raise money for an oncology ward, and whose day job means he skewers the baddies in court and gets them sentenced for their crimes? I think Iâll be safe enough with you,â Sammy said. Plus all her instincts were telling her that Nick was one of the good guys, and her instinctsâexcept when it came to datingâwere pretty good. âBut Iâll follow you in my car. That makes more sense than getting the Tube back here afterwards.â
âYou wonât have to get the Tube back here. Iâll give you a lift.â
âSo youâre going to drive home, then back here, then home again? That doesnât make sense either.â She took her phone out of her bag. âGive me your address, just in case I get stuck in traffic and canât follow you over a junction or something, and end up having to use my satnav.â She tapped in the details as he dictated them. âGreat. Letâs go.â
âCan I carry anything for you?â he asked.
She indicated his armful of boxes and carriers. âI think youâve got enough of your own, and anyway Iâm used to lugging this lot