Page 97 of Never Tell Secrets

“Thanks, Lo.”

“You’re welcome.” I stretched, forcing myself from the warm comfort of her bed. “I’ve gotta get to work.”

“K.” She sat up and grabbed her coffee as I headed for the door. “Hey, Lo?” I paused, turning in the doorway. There was a rare hesitant look in Keira’s eye. “What did Damien say last night?”

I raised my brows. She was asking about Damien? Keira didn’t ask about men ever. She’d never once cared what they thought. I smoothed my face into an indifferent mask, determined not to spook her by making a big deal out of her show of vulnerability. “He said that you didn’t seem tough.”

She scowled, staring into her coffee. “Bastard.”

My day passed quickly and luckily, Imani didn’t mind my taking a few days off for an impromptu holiday. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I didn’t deserve her as a mentor.

As I worked at my desk, I kept one eye on my phone, waiting for it to ping with a text or call from Alfie. But it didn’t. He was sticking to the rules, even after the intensity of last night.

When I got home Keira was at her work station, hunched over her sewing machine and swearing at a swathe of red satin. “Work with me, you son of a bitch.”

“Rough day?” I laughed.

She groaned and waved a hand at me. “There’s leftovers in the oven. Maia cooked.”

I grabbed a plate of lasagne and sat myself on the couch, tucking in. Maia’s lasagne was incredible. She really was the perfect roommate. Tidy, quiet and an awesome cook.

“By the way, she’s coming with us.”

“Huh?” I mumbled around a mouthful of food.

“Maia?” Keira said, looking up, “to Greece? I was booking flights and she sort of invited herself.”

“Alright,” I shrugged, “that’s fine with me. Will your parents mind?”

“I doubt they’ll notice.” She turned back to her project, a faint line between her brows. “She’s practically invisible.”

“Yeah and your parents are the most oblivious people I’ve ever met.”

She let out a short, humourless laugh. “That too.”

“So when are we flying out?” I asked, popping another forkful of lasagne into my mouth.

“Thursday morning, flying back Sunday.”

“Awesome. Guess I need to rustle up my bikini.”

“Guess you need to pray that Moneybags doesn’t show up and ruin your holiday,” she muttered.

“That too.”

I couldn’t say she was wrong, interrupting my holiday was right up Alfie’s alley. Old Alfie anyway, I had no idea what new Alfie would do but I’d fall off my chair if he actually agreed to my going without putting up a fight. Not that I had to tell him. I could just go, I was holding the reins now after all. Did I want to tell him? Yeah I did. It was the healthy thing to do and that’s what we did now. The healthy thing.

I didn’t waste time and called Alfie straight after dinner. As always, he answered immediately.

“Lola,” he released a breath, as if he’d been holding it all day, “how are you?”

“I’m fine, you?”

“Missing you but apart from that I’m good.”

I smiled a small smile, butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I felt like a silly schoolgirl with her first crush, something I hadn’t felt the first time around. Old Alfie had felt too dangerous for butterflies. “Did everything go okay at the club last night?”

“Yes, all straightened out. Spankings have been administered, security measures won’t be broken again.”