Page 77 of In the Frame

Everyone’s downstairs when Florian arrives, his black Mercedes pulling into the lane behind my parents’ vehicles. With the open windows, I can hear the gravel crunching, first as he drives slowly to park, then his footsteps as he goes to the front door.

I meet him there and answer before he rings the doorbell, pretending I’ve got chill. “Hey. You found us.”

Florian smiles, obviously pleased. “I brought this as a thank-you for having me over for dinner.” He offers a bottle of wine.

“Come in.” I step back after accepting the wine. Florian passes close enough I can smell his sunscreen, along with his cologne. It makes something tingle at the base of my spine. And then lower. Which is very terrible timing. And who knew I could get turned on by sunscreen?

When Florian enters, the twins immediately pounce. Maggie arrives first, skidding across the hardwood floor in her white socks.

“Hi, I’m Maggie. And this is Jess,” Maggie informs him immediately, grinning. The twins look like small versions of Mum, with their ginger hair and freckles.

“Are you Matty’s boyfriend?” Jess asks without missing a beat, right on her heels.

Maggie elbows her. “We’re supposed to ask his name first.” She peers up at Florian. “What’s your name?”

“Girls.” I eye the twins, reddening. “Sorry,” I say to Florian. “We don’t usually invite guests over for an interrogation. Maggie, Jess, this is Florian.”

“Thanks for inviting me. And I’m Matty’s friend,” Florian says smoothly.

They look disappointed. “Leila says you’re Matty’s boyfriend.” Jess peers up at him without guile.

“He’s a friend,” I say firmly.

“Who happens to be a boy.” Jess laughs.

“Welcome to chaos,” I inform Florian, who’s grinning.

“It’s fine,” he assures me. “Don’t worry.” He turns to the girls and crouches to get more on their level. “Do you want to know something?”

They approach Florian curiously. “What?” Maggie asks, obviously curious too.

“I have a twin brother.”

Which results in instant glee from the girls.

“Is he identical?” asks Maggie.

“Who’s older?” asks Jess, more or less at the same time.

“We’re not identical,” Florian concedes. “I’m older by three minutes.”

“I’m older,” Maggie says proudly. “Fifteen whole minutes.”

Florian makes the rounds of introductions with my parents and Leila, which go more smoothly. Soon, we sit outside on the patio with drinks, as my dad grills chicken and veggie kebabs on skewers. At the back of the garden, the twins burn off some of their energy on the swing.

Florian looks relaxed, as if he comes around for dinner all the time. He’s very polite and as charming as expected. And when dinner’s served, he tries absolutely everything. Mum’s made dips and a chickpea salad and a lettuce salad too, and it’s all delicious, right down to the bread she baked this morning. Even the twins settle in to eat.

“Thank you so much for the excellent meal and company,” Florian says once we finish. The twins clear the dinner plates.

“We’re not done yet,” Mum says cheerfully. “I hope you saved room for apple pie.”

I perk up. My favorite dessert.

“Absolutely,” says Florian.

And we tackle the pie. My parents are very interested in Florian, who talks about his business as an investor and developer, that we met at my work in London, minus the tray-spilling disaster. He tells them he’s from London and grew up in Primrose Hill.

“My mum’s a barrister, and my father’s also in business,” Florian explains. “I took after him. And I have my brother, Gabriel. Unfortunately, no sisters.”