Free SailtotheMoon by Lynne Connolly

hand, impelling her to sit next to
him. Closer this time, but he put his arm over the back of the sofa again, not
around her shoulders, so she supposed that had to be a good thing.
    Except that somehow she was pressed against his chest, and
somehow she was waking from the sleep she’d promised herself she’d take later
in the day.
    Kelsie was sitting close to Riku on the floor, imitating his
cross-legged pose. Like the others, she was listening to Jimmy talk. But the
moment she opened her eyes Laura saw that Jimmy was getting tired, and when he
got tired he got cranky.
    Like a cue in a play, the doorbell rang.
    The nurse managed to do what Laura had failed to do. She got
all four of them out of the flat by promising Jimmy the treat of a sponge bath.
That was something Jimmy thoroughly enjoyed, and not because he needed to get
clean. This nurse didn’t need a chaperone, a hardened district nurse of many
years, easily able to cope with Jimmy’s flirting. Laura promised to call back
on Monday and signed off on that day’s visit, getting out the forms and marking
the time down. One day her department would get automated, give its staff
tablets or laptops to use, but she couldn’t see it coming.
    Out of the flat she was prepared to go off on her own since
Riku and Zazz had gotten into an altercation about why Zazz hadn’t told Riku
about his father before, something she wasn’t listening to. Her head still spun
with her unexpected nap, she decided to go. They wouldn’t miss her. All that
girlfriend stuff was just for show.
    Faster than a striking snake, Zazz reached out and grabbed
her hand, hauling her to his side, but he still talked to Riku. “The old man is
and always will be an addict. His health’s bad. When Murder City Ravens got
big, the last thing he needed was press attention. It’d get him riled.”
    “I’ve only ever known you as Zazz. Is that your baptismal
name?”
    Zazz burst into laughter. “You know, that’s the best joke
I’ve heard all day. Baptismal? Sure. It’s not the name on my passport. I’m
James Asano.”
    Kelsie rolled her eyes at Laura, but she didn’t see any
reason for Kelsie’s exasperation. “We can’t argue in the street.”
    People were walking by. Although Riku had pulled on his cap,
he couldn’t disguise the fact that he wore blusher and eyeliner, or that he
wore clothes that were obviously expensive. In this district, that was like
shouting, “Look at me!” Zazz’s jeans, T-shirt and black pea coat were pretty
much classless, and his hair at least dark, but he was tall, and people were
looking.
    Both men turned on Kelsie. “Who’s arguing?” Riku demanded.
“What do you say? Gobsmacked. That’s what I am. Gobsmacked.” He pronounced the
word with relish, and both he and Zazz stilled.
    “No,” said Zazz.
    “Oh fuck yes,” Riku answered. “You know there’s a song in
this. We need to work on it.”
    Zazz glanced around. “She’s right. Not here. Get back to the
hotel. I’ll see you there in an hour.”
    Riku shrugged and nodded. Thrusting his hands in his
pockets, he set off for the main road at the end of the street. After giving
Laura a conspiratorial grin, Kelsie followed him, hurrying to keep up.
    “Riku’s quite something, isn’t he?” she murmured.
    “You’d rather have him than me?”
    Laura turned to face Zazz. “No. What did you mean by the
things you said in there? Was it to save face?”
    Zazz put his hands on her shoulders, brought her closer, but
not close enough to hold in his arms. Not yet. “Last night we started
something. When I threw you out, it wasn’t you, it was the thought of my dad.
You hit a sore spot. You made me realize that I needed to get back in touch. It
would have broken him if I’d left Manchester without talking to him.” Yes, she
acknowledged silently, it would. “You got me there, in a place I’d avoided
visiting for years. He couldn’t help what he did. He’s an addict, and when I
left for London, an