Page 51

It was tentative at first, a soft meeting of lips as if both were testing the waters, unsure yet undeniably drawn to each other. Nancy’s hand settled at the nape of Ari’s neck, fingers threading through her hair, pulling her closer as the kiss grew more certain. It was slow but full of something that neither could ignore now. Something that had been building for longer than perhaps either of them realised.

The world outside ceased to exist. There was no Paris, no wedding, nobody outside the door waiting to catch them. Just Ari and Nancy, finally giving in.

And then footsteps retreating. The danger passed.

They broke apart, both breathing hard. Ari stared at Nancy, her lips tingling, her heart still racing for an entirely different reason now.

Nancy swallowed, looking like she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to do it again or run for the hills.

‘We should go,’ she said, voice hushed.

Ari nodded, but she couldn’t quite wipe the grin from her face. Because she knew, without a doubt, that Nancy had wanted this too. Whatever this was, it was mutual and real.

Forty-One

As they slipped back out into the corridor, Nancy was panicked.

She and Ari had kissed.

Her pulse was hammering in her throat, her body still buzzing from the heat of it, and all she could think was that she’d ruined everything. They’d struck a balance for years, and now Ari had tiptoed over the line, and Nancy couldn’t remember where it was anymore.

Nancy stole a glance at Ari as they walked. She looked perfectly unbothered, smoothing her hair like she hadn’t just completely upended Nancy’s entire existence. She didn’t look regretful, didn’t look conflicted. Hell, she didn’t even look like she was thinking about it at all.

Nancy was confused but unsurprised. This was just how Ari was. Never dwelling, never second-guessing. Just moving on like nothing ever touched her. She’d had an urge and acted on it.

Only Nancy was the overthinker. Only Nancy was the one swept up in it all. Only Nancy was the one who had felt something real. Just her.

‘That was stupid,’ she muttered.

Ari raised an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth twitching like she was already halfway to making a joke of it. ‘Which part? The sneaking, the lying, or the kissing?’

Nancy shot her a sharp look. ‘The kissing.’

Ari blinked. ‘Seemed like you were into it at the time.’

‘Jesus, Ari.’ Nancy raked a hand through her bob, trying to steady herself. ‘This isn’t funny.’

‘I never said it was.’

But there was something in her voice, that same infuriating lightness. Like she wasn’t evenremotelyconcerned about what it might mean, what it hadalreadychanged.

Nancy exhaled sharply, frustration rising like a tide. ‘You don’t care at all, do you?’

Ari cocked her head, eyes glinting in the dim corridor light. ‘About what?’

‘Aboutthis!’ Nancy snapped, motioning between them. ‘We’ve just buggered our working relationship.’

Ari bit her lip. ‘Yeah, sorry about that.’

Nancy clenched her fists at her sides. ‘Sorry about that?’ Nancy took a breath, trying to shove down the heat in her chest. ‘Right. Well. It’s done. But it doesn’t happen again. OK?’

For the first time, something flickered in Ari’s eyes. Something that looked almost like hurt. But then she laughed, the sound short and sharp. ‘Yeah. Sure. Lips on lockdown from now on.’

‘Everything’s a joke to you,’ Nancy muttered, turning away, desperate for space. But Ari didn’t let her have it. She stayed close, moving in step with her.

‘That’s not true,’ Ari said. But she didn’t say more than that.

Nancy forced herself to keep moving forward. ‘We can’t do this again,’ she declared angrily.