Page 51 of The Best of Times

He hadn’t heard this story and wasn’t sure he needed any further detail.

“Wow.”

She leant closer and winked. “Wow. Indeed.”

Thankfully, Rodrigo came onto the stage with a huge beam on his face and the crowd applauded.

“Ladies and gentlemen. Sorry for the interruption. Do we have the happy couple?”

Aron gently pushed Granny toward a bewildered Professor, who had wandered onto the dancefloor.

Mick fucking Jagger?

Then he realised that the room he had at Granny’s house was her old childhood bedroom.

“Oh good lord,” he said to himself.

He focused on the stage. It would absolutely not do to dwell on what had gone on in his room. He’d never get a wink of sleep again.

“Ah here they are,” Rodrigo said. “Spotlight, please.”

Granny and the Professor were bathed in light. Aron glanced over at Paul. He winked.

It was the perfect time to escape. Yet, curiosity got the better of him. What was going on?

“We have a pair of surprise guests,” Rodrigo announced. “Please welcome, all the way from New York, Mrs Henrietta Harlton and Professor Gwendolyn Huffam!”

Granny clapped her hands together in delight. She also spun round as the famed fashion designer and her latest love project Josh Winterton walked through the door.

By the time he’d reached her on the dancefloor, two drag queens who were unmistakably Granny and the Prof had entered the stage. The whole crowd went wild. This had to be Josh’s new man, Hugh Mottram, and his drag sister. Well that was a turnup for the books.

Now he was more than ready to use their distraction to his advantage. Aron strode over to Paul.

“Ten minutes,” he said. “Don’t be late.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

The hotel room was based on the Dickens bookA Tale of Two Cities.One half of the room had London memorabilia and the other Paris.

Aron sat on the bed. Now he’d made it, the nerves were very real. He had never been that confident with a man in his life. Something about Paul Higgs made the wanting so strong, he would turn into anyone.

They had first got together one late night. It had been a long time coming. They’d practically torn each other’s clothes off on the Professor’s best rug.

This seemed far more nerve-wracking, which was ridiculous.

“It’s not like you don’t know what you’re getting,” he said to his reflection in the mirror.

He thought about Granny’s words. Surely if she suspected that he had been sleeping with Paul, she would bring it up. It would burn its way out of her.

He supposed that time would tell on that score.

Unable to settle, he got up and paced the room. The view out of the window faced Hyde Park in the distance. He couldn’t see Queens Crescent. That was behind him. He took that as a plus point.

They had shared many an assignation in this hotel over the months they’d spent together. It had seemed fitting that they would reacquaint themselves in the same location. He couldn’t remember ever staying in this room.

As he examined a picture of Paris, a soft knock at the door made him jump.

This is it.