Free Any Way You Want Me by Lucy Diamond Page B

I’d lied to, the one I’d told I was a scriptwriter! I smiled back quickly and nodded and turned around to the table, heart thudding uncomfortably. Shit. I hadn’t expected to see him ever again, let alone a week or so later.
    Cat kicked me under the table. ‘Who is that piece of eye candy over there you’ve just been flirting with?’ she hissed. ‘Don’t tell me you’re doing the dirty on Alex?’
    ‘No!’ I could feel my ears turning red and the blush sinking down into my neck. ‘He’s just . . .’
    ‘Go on, Sade, you can tell us. He is nice. Out of ten, I’d definitely give him one.’
    ‘Cat, stop it! And stop staring!’ I was giggling like a ten-year-old with nerves. ‘He’s someone I met, that’s all. Nothing more than that. Nothing.’
    ‘Well, he keeps looking over here,’ Becca said. Then she frowned. Remembered. ‘Hang on – isn’t he the guy who was in the Prodigal the other night?’
    I nodded. ‘Yes, he is. Jack.’
    Cat’s eyes were so wide, I could see the whites around her pupils. ‘Oh yeah? So what happened with you and Jack? Why is he telling you to call him?’
    Becca leaned forward, elbows on the table, chin resting on her hands. ‘Yeah, Sade. Why is he telling you to call him?’
    I put down my cutlery, cleared my throat. I had to explain, then. There was no way they were going to let me off without giving them every single detail.
    ‘So what’s going to happen now?’ Cat wanted to know when I’d finished.
    ‘Nothing!’ I said hotly. ‘Look – his number went through the wash, didn’t it? I can’t ring even if I wanted to. And, of course, just a small detail, I don’t want to.’
    ‘Of course,’ Becca said, nodding her head, lips pressed together in a smug smile.
    ‘Oh, of course,’ Cat agreed. ‘Turn down a babe like that? Of course.’
    ‘Stop it,’ I groaned. ‘Look, I’m a responsible mum, I’m settled down with my long-term partner, I’m . . .’
    Then I thought about the alter ego I’d invented on the website. The Sadie who worked at Channel 4, the Sadie who had chosen career over kids, who larged it up every night. Jack was just the kind of man she’d go for, wasn’t he?
    Sod it.
    I stood up. ‘Just a minute,’ I told them and walked off.
    What’s she doing?’ I heard Cat saying behind me. Her voice had gone up an octave.
    ‘Is she going over there ?’ Becca asked incredulously.
    She was. I was. All the way to Jack’s table. It’d be worth it just to see their faces.
    ‘Hi, Jack – oh, sorry to interrupt, everyone,’ I said sweetly. I batted my eyelashes, glad of the extra-length mascara I’d whacked on them. ‘Jack – I’m so sorry I haven’t called. I managed to lose your number. Could you give it to me again, please?’
    Someone at the table sniggered. The old ‘give it to me’ phrase always appealed to someone’s juvenile humour. Had I said it deliberately? I wasn’t even sure myself.
    Jack pulled out a business card and pressed it into my hand. ‘Now, don’t lose it again,’ he ordered, pretending to frown and be stern. ‘And ring me!’
    ‘Thanks,’ I said, smiling as prettily as I could. ‘I will.’
    I turned and sashayed back to my table, aware that Jack and all his mates were watching me. So, too, were my mates. With open mouths practically dragging on the linen tablecloth.
    ‘Sadie Morrison, are you going to phone him? For real?’ Cat asked, half-giggly, half-disapproving.
    ‘She’s messing around,’ Becca said, but her voice was uncertain. She caught my eye. ‘Aren’t you, Sade?’
    I shrugged. I was enjoying this. I’d forgotten how much I liked being part of the gossip. The troublesome middle sister seemed to be doing her damnedest to climb out from her confines these days. I’d missed her. ‘I’m not sure,’ I said in reply to both of them. ‘Oh, good, here comes our wine. Cheers!’
    I didn’t get home until midnight. God, I loved girly nights out. It had been so long since I’d had a