Page 128 of Never Tell Secrets

I realised then that so much of Alfie’s life wasn’t about materialism, it was borne out of necessity. Alfie didn’t just not want to fly coach, he really couldn’t, not comfortably anyway. He had to do everything in private.

“You have to seal yourself off from the world,” I said, unable to hide the sadness in my voice.

“I’ve grown up this way.” He’d never known any different. I wasn’t sure if that made it better or worse.

“Are we safe?”

“Elliot is here and I have a team meeting us at Heathrow.” A team? A security team? A sick feeling pooled in my stomach ? why the hell hadn’t any of this occurred to me before? “Plus, we’re insured.”

“Insured?”

“Kidnap and ransom insurance,” he said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

I stared at him. “That’s a thing?”

“Yes, Lola, it’s a thing. I’ve been insured since birth.”

My mind was reeling as I struggled to keep up. I’d never even heard of that before. “Well, I don’t have kidnap and ransom insurance.”

“Yes, you do.”

I blinked, hit by another wave of shock. “Since when?”

“Since you started to mean something to me.” His voice was low, trying to keep our words away from eavesdroppers.

“So, would that be the day I crashed into your car? Or the day I threw spring rolls at you?”

He grinned and removed his sunglasses, looking down at me with a soft look in his eye. “Since the day you ate a cake in my jacuzzi.”The day I’d told him about the Evergarden.

“I’ve been insured all this time? Even when…”

“We were apart? Yes.”

Alfie…

I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the sly looks we were getting from the other passengers. This was all so much to digest. Needing something to do with my hands I grabbed the bag of complimentary peanuts and popped them open, tossing a handful into my mouth.

“So, how much am I insured for?”

“Ten million,” he answered and I almost choked on a peanut. “Deep breaths, baby.” He leaned in, whispering in my ear. “You’re one of us now.”

We landed at Heathrow and I heard them before I saw them. Paparazzi. Everywhere. Alfie had forbidden me from tracking the progress of that girl's damned post but from the amount of cameras waiting for us, I was guessing it had done enough damage.

We stopped before they saw us, Alfie’s team had met us at the gate and formed a tight circle around us.

“I thought you said this wasn’t going to get bad?” I whispered fighting the ever-rising tidal wave of anxiety.

“It’s never usually like this, but I’ve never had a confirmed girlfriend before so…”

“So, I’m big news, huh?” My attempt at humour went down like a deflated balloon.

“Lo, you don’t have to deal with this. Elliot can take you separately so they will just follow me.”

I couldn’t see his expression behind his Ray Bans, but I could hear the edge in his voice.

Should I ditch him and take the easy route? Or stay at his side and face the vultures together?

I slipped my hand into his. “I’m with you.” I put on my sunglasses and we walked into the chaos. I gripped his hand tight, pressing myself close to him and keeping my head down. My heart rate picked up and anxiety pooled in my stomach. I’d never liked being the centre of attention.