long. I had to do a favour for a friend, and it took longer than I thought.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He’s the boss, remember. “And it’s a nice surprise. Do you want dinner? I’m making spaghetti bolognese.”
“Sounds good.”
Fin and Robbie came barrelling down the stairs. Well, Fin skip-hopped as fast as he could with his leg still in plaster, and Robbie sprinted past and threw himself at Nick. Oof. As Robbie landed, Nick’s face screwed up in pain.
“Robbie! Be careful.” I pulled him away and parked him on the couch. “Sit over here, little one.”
“I’m not little anymore. Fin’s little.”
“Okay then, not so little one.”
“Can I play with Nick?”
I glanced across and saw Nick standing stiffly by the sideboard, and he didn’t look comfortable. Had Robbie hurt him?
“Not right now, okay?” I hustled over to Nick. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Really? He gave me a grimace-like smile, so I had to let it go, but I kept an eye on him as I served up the food. What were those pills he swallowed? Painkillers? I’d have to keep a closer watch on Robbie. He didn’t realise his own strength sometimes.
A game of Monopoly followed dinner, and I’d been sent to jail four times and gone bankrupt twice by the time we decided to call it a night.
“What time is it?” I asked as Paul helped Tori up the stairs.
Nick glanced at his fancy watch. “Almost midnight. Are you still staying here?”
“On the couch. Do you want to take it? I can always sleep on the floor.”
“I’m sleeping at a friend’s place. Want to join me? I know from experience that the couch is as comfortable as a bag of rocks.”
True, but the worst part was five people trying to share one bathroom, especially when two of them were in plaster. It had been a logistical nightmare for the last few mornings. We needed one of those numbered ticket machines that delis had, not to mention a bigger hot water tank. Tori’s only did two-and-a-half showers no matter how quick you were.
“Are you sure your friend won’t mind?”
“Not one bit. It’s only me there tonight, anyway.”
“In that case, yes please. I could do with catching up on some rest.”
CHAPTER 30
WHEN NICK SAID he was staying at a friend’s place, I’d imagined an apartment somewhere, albeit a reasonably upscale one. But twenty minutes later, the cab pulled up outside a freaking mansion. I didn’t know a whole lot about London property prices, but it had to be worth millions.
The entrance hall was bigger than my whole home and done out in cream with a huge multi-coloured glass chandelier hanging in the middle. That was a work of art in its own right. Staircases swept up both sides, and Nick took the right-hand one, leading me to the third floor.
“My room’s this one. All the others on this landing are empty, so pick whichever you prefer.”
I opened each door in turn. This was voyeurism meets HGTV—property porn at its finest.
Did people actually use these bedrooms? They looked more like movie sets or those fancy mock-up boudoirs they had in furniture showrooms that nobody ever slept in. Mint green, earth tones, fifty shades of grey, something futuristic with hot pink feathers everywhere. In the end, I settled on a pretty room done out in pink, mainly because of the antique claw-foot tub in the centre of the bathroom. It was fit for a princess, although I fell far short of that.
The mattress felt like a cushion of air, and even though my eyes popped open at six the next morning, I felt re-energised and ready to start the day. Was Nick up yet? I listened carefully, but the only sound was the occasional car on the road outside. Good. Because I had a plan—I’d try to find the kitchen in this place, then make him breakfast.
Nick said we were the only people there, so I just threw on the robe I found hanging on the back of the bathroom door and headed downstairs. Where was the kitchen? Several false starts led me to three separate living rooms, a music room with a grand piano, a dining room that would seat at least twenty, and—I’m not even kidding—a freaking ballroom. The kitchen itself was huge, fitted with the kind of equipment that could easily be used to cater a banquet. Actually, having seen the ballroom, I had no doubt that was exactly what the owner used it for.