Page 63 of Kiss Me Like You Mean It

Nico chuckles. ‘Her black cat energy is constantly fighting the fact she’s been raised by a family of huggers.’ He must see something in my face then because he adds, ‘But you should be honoured. She doesn’t hug just anyone, you know. It took me much longer to wear her down.’

I do feel honoured, even though I know it’s silly.

‘Do you want a muffin?’ I ask as I switch on the kettle. ‘I got one for you, too. And a cup of tea?’

Nico collapses into the armchair with a groan. ‘Don’t threaten me with a good time.’

I smile as I pull out the mugs and teabags.

‘Did the rest of your day go okay?’ I ask when we’re both settled with our drinks and pastries.

‘Yeah, I managed to get that tiling finished in the kitchen so that’s another big job crossed off.’

I sip my tea. ‘You’re all back late,’ I say. ‘I thought Phoebe finished school at 3.30?’

‘Shit, sorry.’ Nico glances up. ‘I’m not used to sharing plans with someone, I should have said. She does finish then, but Magda picks her up and keeps her until I finish for the day, which is usually around five-ish, then we go and pick up Taco from the dog-sitter.’ He picks up his tea, blows on the surface. ‘My schedule can change depending on what work I have on, but Magda’s flexible. Sometimes I pick up Phoebe from school myself, sometimes I work late… but this is pretty standard for us.’

I put my cup down and pick at my muffin. ‘You know, while I’m here, maybe I could keep Taco for the day?’

Nico looks surprised. ‘Really?’

I shrug. ‘It’s no big deal. He’s a good dog.’

Nico lets out a loud laugh at that, and I look pointedly at the ball of fur currently curled up tightly beside me on the sofa, his chin on my knee.

‘I’m trying really hard not to take this personally,’ Nico frowns, ‘because I think you must have some sort of secret dog whispering ability.’

‘Pretty sure your dog is a little baby angel,’ I coo, rubbing Taco’s ears while he lets out a happy grumble that presumably signals his agreement.

Nico shakes his head. ‘Sure, we can try it and if it doesn’t suit you, he can go back to Suzy.’

‘Okay,’ I agree. ‘I think he’ll be good company. And Luke texted me about his mum’s car – apparently I can pick it up tomorrow.’

‘Luke texted you?’ Nico asks, his face suddenly blank. ‘I didn’t know he had your number.’

‘I think Kat gave it to him,’ I say hesitantly. Maybe Nico isn’t keen on me muscling in on his friends. ‘Is that a problem?’

‘No, sorry, of course not, I just… he didn’t mention it when we spoke earlier.’ He pauses as if having some sort of internal struggle. ‘Luke’s a good guy,’ he says eventually.

‘I got that impression,’ I agree, still confused by Nico’s tone.

When he only stares moodily into his mug of tea, I take a breath. ‘I wanted to say thanks for today. It did get me thinking,’ I start nervously, ‘about this plan of ours. I know that the whole shared calendar thing was a bit overzealous, but maybe you and I should discuss what we want this thing to actually look like?’

‘And by “this thing” you mean…’

‘I…’ I flush. ‘I suppose what our pretend marriage should look like. The stuff that Magda and Phoebe and everyone else put on the calendar,’ I press on bravely, ‘the me and you stuff. We probably do need to talk about that, right? I mean, the trustee is going to be watching us so we have to… look married.’

I know Nico and I are technically married so I keep telling myself it’s not really lying, that I don’t have to do anything in particular to convince this trustee. But of course, that isn’t the whole truth. There’s the small detail I haven’t really acknowledged yet: we’re going to have to pretend to be in love.

The irony is that I’ve spent most of my life pretending I don’t have feelings for him. There’s something seriously messed up about the fact that acting madly in love with Nico Hart will be the most honest I’ve been for years.

Nico straightens. ‘To look married,’ he repeats my words slowly.

‘Exactly. It’s not going to be enough for me to be living with you, or for people in the town to be comfortable seeing me around. It’s you and me, we’re going to have to… act like a real couple.’

Nico’s expression is blank. ‘Okay,’ he says eventually. ‘Let’s talk about that. I don’t want there to be anything that makes you feel awkward.’

‘Right,’ I nod. ‘Same.’