eyes behind his closed lids and wishing for things that would never be.
Chapter 8
Malcolm
Something was different. Much as I tried, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it as I waited in the empty airport lounge for Andrew and the team to finish their security sweep. It wasn’t just the new hairstyle or the open manner of speech Alice had exercised on our flight. (I honestly hadn’t known just how amusing or cheeky she could be previously, and I was intrigued by this side of her.) But there was still something else that kept drawing my eye every time she moved so much as a finger, and it was nagging at me.
The subject of my mind’s disquiet chose that moment to walk through the glass doors of the lounge, rifling through her large black handbag as she strode in my direction in her sensible flats.
“All right, sir. Take two of these vitamins now and continue for the next few days in case you picked anything up through the airplane’s ventilation system.” She extracted a plastic pill bottle followed by a San Pellegrino and thrust them at me without raising her eyes from the bag’s contents. “I’ve already contacted Wes, and he assures me Niles brought the BMW to pick us up instead of the Range Rover, as I know your day in the States will have you off SUVs for the next while.” Out came a double pack of Biscoff, which she handed over as well. “These were the only biscuits the flight attendant had on hand, but I’ll ensure your favorite chocolate ones are stocked up as soon as we get to the palace.”
She lowered herself into the seat next to mine and crossed her legs at the ankles before resting the bag on her lap. “And I arranged for Jamie to come cut your hair tomorrow morning. He canceled another client to fit you in, so please don’t give him a hard time. And, for heaven’s sake, don’t ask him about his boyfriend. They’ve split up and he doesn’t want to talk about it.” Her phone now rested in her hands while her thumbs moved over the screen at lightning speed.
“Is that all?” I watched her, unable to hide my amusement. She had me feeling almost giddy with her familiar efficiency and her literal bag of tricks. Oh, how I’d missed this.
But she was clearly not entirely up to speed yet because she failed to pick up on my sarcasm and simply responded, “Not even close,” as she continued to type.
I ran a thumb and forefinger over the morning stubble on my chin while I watched Alice. How was it that her skirt and blouse had barely a wrinkle while I resembled a homeless man who’d spent the night in the dumpster behind Gucci? The dark rose color of her blouse complemented her olive skin and, if I wasn’t mistaken, was more form-fitting than her usual choices. I was even able to make out the shape of the breast closest to me. Good for her. Now that she was single again, she should show off her figure.
This, of course, brought old Reggie to mind. I’d only met him once and, to be honest, had found the chap dull as shite, but I wasn’t one to pass judgment if he made Alice happy. But he hadn’t, it seemed, in the end. Perhaps I should grab Leo when he returned and we could go mess Reggie up a bit. It might be quite fun, actually—after all, he’d upset Alice, and anyone who did that deserved a beating, right?
Oh. Right. I supposed Leo should give me a good going over as well, while we were at it, in that case.
Despite Alice’s insistence that I’d done nothing wrong, it wasn’t my first day being a man. I took that as the equivalent of her telling me everything was “fine,” and everyone knew what that meant. I’d clearly either mistakenly slept with both her best friend and her mother or drunk too much and told her she had a fat arse. Which was ridiculous because absolutely everything on Alice was positively tiny, from her ears, to her mouth, to her overall stature, and certainly to her arse. Not that I’d purposely examined it, mind you. But when you work with someone for so long, you eventually get a glimpse of everything, don’t you? Which brought me to her tits. They were proportionately sized to the rest of her as well. Except…
“Alice?”
Her attention remained