It took a moment for me to take that in. ‘How do you know I’m trustworthy? For all you know, I could have embezzled thousands and right now I could be on Interpol’s most-wanted posters.’ I was stunned but over the moon at his offer.
‘You’re right, Cooper, you could be, but you’re Kate’s mate and she’s a good girl, so I’ll take a chance. You’ve got a great way with people and I think you’ll make money for me here.’ I was starting to feel warm and bubbly when he laughed and added, ‘And if one penny goes missing, I’ll break your legs.’ Well, at least we both knew where we stood – me on legs that I might one day have to pick up and carry around in a shopping bag.
I took the offer and started the following evening. Problem number one solved.
By the end of the week, I’d hijacked the lounge in Kate’s flat and turned it into a bedroom, with a little help from a clothes rail and a futon. Problem number two solved.
And problem number three? Well, I just put Joe to the back of my mind, blocked out the whole chapter and never did contact him. I knew it was wrong and I was mortified, but putting Joe Cain in a box and sealing it was the only way I could deal with it. I also swore off men for the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately, the foreseeable future turned out to be shorter than I’d anticipated.
I was standing on the door of the club a few weeks later, trying desperately to get the bouncers to focus on checking the ages of the females who were attempting to enter, rather than their breast size, when a crowd approached and I spotted a familiar face: Doug Cook.
Doug was a year younger than me in school and a friend of Callum. He had been in and out of our house since we were kids and was always the life and soul of every party. I gave him a hug, surprised at how much he’d changed in the two years since I’d last seen him.
He must have grown about six inches and he towered over me. His short blond hair was falling just over his green eyes. I could see every muscle in his chest and abdomen clearly defined through his tight white T-shirt and his beautifully developed thighs stretched his black jeans. Either he’d had a body transplant or taken up permanent residence in a gym, and I would have to have been wearing a balaclava backwards not to notice that he was seriously attractive. I tried to dampen down the physical reaction that was stirring my libido.
This was Callum’s best friend. Did that constitute incest? Was I becoming completely depraved and controlled by my oversexed hormones? And anyway, wasn’t I still in mourning for Joe? That did it – the thought of Joe made my heart plummet to the pit of my stomach. My conscience had finally kicked in.
Doug and I chatted for twenty minutes, catching up on old gossip. That’s when I suddenly realised that I was sitting on my hands lest they develop a mind of their own and wander to the vicinity of his biceps. Every time he smiled, I wanted to stroke his face. So much for conscience. I needed to have a serious chat with myself. Eventually, he went inside to join his friends and two minutes later Callum arrived.
‘Callum, inside, now,’ I ordered, motioning to my office. I sat him down and interrogated him for information on Doug.
Callum was stunned.
‘Christ, Carly, he’s like family.’ I was right about the incest bit.
‘So shoot me, Callum. I can’t help it – he’s adorable. I nearly jumped his bones the minute I saw him.’
‘Eeeew, too much information,’ he groaned. ‘Just promise me something, sis.’
‘Anything.’
‘Don’t let me see anything involving tongues.’
With a shudder, he gave me a quick hug and retreated to the bar.
At the end of the night, Doug knocked on my office door.
‘Carly, I was just wondering if you wanted a lift home.’ He looked nervous, but not half as nervous as I felt. I was pretty positive Callum wouldn’t have told him I was interested so maybe that meant Doug had sensed something between us too.
‘No thanks, Doug. There’s a crowd of us going down to Largs. Unless, of course, you want to come.’ Say yes. Say yes. Please, say yes.
Working in nightclubs reduces your social life to that of an agoraphobic, so we tended to go out after work. There were only two options at 3 a.m.. Option one was Glasgow Airport, where the café was open all night. Option two was Largs, a seaside town about forty minutes away, where we’d make a bonfire on the beach and spend a couple of hours drinking beers and singing along with Mad Mitch, the worst bouncer and guitar player on the planet.
‘Eh… sure. Sounds good. I’ll wait in the car,’ he nodded and I sat on my hands again so I wouldn’t punch the air.
At Largs, it was freezing cold and we snuggled up as Mitch tortured ‘Let it Be’.
Every time I looked up at Doug, I waited for him to kiss me. My lips were permanently puckered, but there were no takers. At 6 a.m., he dropped me at my house.
When he pulled on the handbrake, he turned his gorgeous face to me. ‘You know, for years I had a huge crush on you.’
What did he mean, ‘had’?
‘And now?’ I tried to act cool and keep the hope out of my voice.
‘Let’s just wait and see.’ With that, he leant over and kissed me on the cheek.
I got out of the car and went inside. What the hell was all that about? Wait and see? What exactly was he waiting for?
The following evening, he appeared at the club and again we went out afterwards. We cuddled
