 
The Decoy Date

Helen Barrowcliffe

Published by Helen Barrowcliffe at Smashwords.

Copyright 2014 Helen Barrowcliffe.

Visit my Smashwords author page at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hrb29

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

The Decoy Date

Love isn't finding the perfect person; it's seeing an imperfect person perfectly.
Chapter One

_Why are there no good men left in the world,_ Imogen Jones thought to herself as a flashback of last night's horror show of a date replayed in her mind. The two and a half bottles of Chablis and half bottle of vodka hadn't been enough to help her forget the nightmare, but had been successful in giving her the worst hangover she'd had since Fresher's week at university. It was just the latest in a long line of horrendous rendezvous set up by her mother; a mother who lived to interfere and meddle in her daughters' lives.

_I don't want a lot in life, just a man who loves me for who I am; if he's willing to stand outside my bedroom window with a boombox blasting out our song or wait for me outside the church after my sister's wedding with a birthday cake when everyone else had forgotten what day it was; well that was just a bonus. Sadly we can't all live in a John Hughes film; my teenage daydreaming years had taught me that._ Imogen thought to herself as she looked out the window at another grey London morning, rain began pelting against the glass as if to compound her misery further.

Slumping against the counter in front of her, she ignored the sharp pain as her glasses bit into the bridge of her nose; it was more comforting than the memory of last night that was on repeat in her head. David Umbridge had seemed like a nice guy, he'd let her pick the restaurant and on the surface appeared fairly normal; not always a given with the men her mother had set her up with. She chose a little known Italian bistro called Alberto's in the back streets of Primrose Hill, near where she lived. It was her favourite place to eat in the world and had all the charm and authenticity of a restaurant situated in Rome rather than North London.

Not many people knew of the restaurant but in her opinion that only improved it, she'd stumbled upon it accidentally herself. When her parents had come to town a few years ago, she'd booked into a high-end, rather expensive French restaurant – her mother's favourite – only to find when they arrived there had been a mix up with the booking and they had no tables left. In a panic and with her mother in a terrible mood, she'd walked them a few streets over and found Alberto's. Until that moment she'd never believed in love at first sight, but the bistro was perfect and the food was the best Italian she'd eaten outside of Italy itself. Of course it was too run down and there wasn't anything her mother liked but what more could she expect from a woman who looked for the worst in everything.

Alberto's wasn't to David's taste either and he made that perfectly clear when they met outside the doorway, him being fifteen minutes late and exclaiming "Italian, Great! This day couldn't get any fucking better could it!" in the most sarcastic and offensive tone she'd heard. Imogen had felt the impulse to put her arms around the building to prevent it from hearing the hurtful comments, however thought better than to show David all her quirks on their first date.

The minute they walked through the door she regretted holding back the craziness; yes it would have found its way back to her mother through her endless grapevine of contacts and she would have made her embarrassment known, but at least Imogen wouldn't have had to spend another hour and a half in the company of a certifiable lunatic. Nothing was good enough, they didn't serve the right beer, he didn't like any of the food and when they made him a special dish with ingredients he said he liked, it still wasn't good enough for him. Imogen found herself sitting opposite a male version of her mother and drank as much as she could so as not to reach out and pull at his hair to make sure it wasn't her in disguise, examining how she acted on dates so she could give her a critique the next time she called.

When he had gotten bored of complaining about the food and she'd apologised countless times to the staff, his conversation turned towards her and the fact that she had looked younger, prettier and thinner in the photograph her mother had shown him. Deciding anger was not the best way forward she used wine to mellow it out, only to have him accuse her of being an alcoholic like his previous girlfriend had been. Completely emphasising with her, Imogen bit her tongue holding back any comment that might come across as simply a drunken slur and wished she'd told her mother where to go when she revealed she'd set her up on another date.

Meal over, they left Alberto's and he had the gall to ask her whether they were going to her place or his, there was no chance in hell she was sleeping with him. On the way back to his car she heard him mutter that it had been two hours of his life wasted and felt exactly the same way before stumbling home to the comfort of neat vodka, a bubble bath and the Arctic Monkeys blasting through her speakers until the early hours of the morning. Most of which she now lamented.

"How was your date last night?" She looked up through tired eyes to see her best friend Jess and watched the change in her face as she recognised the hung over look from their shared student days. "That rough, huh?" She filled in her friend on the disastrous date and how she'd ended up drowning her sorrows to an indie rock soundtrack at one o'clock in the morning. This was the best part about the crappy dates, she endured them just so she could gossip and moan about them with Jess.

Every single one followed the same pattern, the man – usually one of her mother's friends' sons or an acquaintance she'd met through work – arrived to find Imogen totally different to what he was expecting, they'd eat and chat, which usually led to some hidden freaky personality trait being revealed. In the last year her mother had set her up with three men who were interested in S & M, the first one of which she'd misheard and started a conversation about how expensive Marks and Spencer's food was, one who turned out to be married and looking for a bit on the side, one that was later arrested for fraud and the latest one before last night who came out as gay the week after they'd been out. She wasn't sure whether to be offended or proud that she'd been the one that had finally made his mind up about his sexuality.

"I don't know why she only seems to set me up with weirdoes, I wouldn't mind going out on dates if the men didn't turn out to be freaks. I don't think she's set me up with one normal guy, I swear she thinks I'm a lesbian, the amount of men I've rejected." She sighed as her friend laughed, Carole Jones was always their favourite topic of conversation and had been since they had met at the age of five. Even at that age a pushy mother was the most embarrassing thing in the world, it had only gotten worse since.

"You should just tell her you are, then she'd stop setting you up on blind dates."

"Oh no she wouldn't do that. She'd probably wouldn't even be surprised, she'd find some butch women to set me up with. "You'll never guess who I ran into yesterday, Laura Simmons, you know you used to play football together. Well she's a "lesbian" now, I've given her your number and told her to call you." Jess doubled over in laughter at the perfect impression of my mother's well-spoken Home Counties accent.

Somewhere under the counter "I'll be there for you" by The Rembrandts began playing, Imogen reached for her iPhone and groaned as she saw the caller ID. "Speak of the Devil! Hello mother." She lifted the phone to her ear and listened as her mother reeled off all the news from Kent, all about the events she was organising including a surprise party for her father's sixtieth birthday the following weekend. It was just a small gathering, friends and family, the caterers had been contacted and a menu of canapés and finger food had been arranged; she had to stifle a laugh, something about the combination of finger and food always set her off. Listening to all the choices she thought of protesting that her father wouldn't want any of that, he'd be happy with a cheese and pineapple hedgehog; but her head was already pounding and she couldn't take her mother shrieking that you can't serve cheese on sticks at a sixtieth birthday party.

" _So how was your date last night? David's a nice man isn't he?_ " She cringed as the mention of his name brought back the unwanted memories of last night once again.

"Well . . ."

" _Oh Imogen, another perfectly respectable man rejected and dispatched. I keep finding all these lovely men for you and you don't even give them a chance_." She'd become so accustomed to the disappointment in her mother's voice she no longer felt any guilt over inducing it; it was there constantly, she waited for the day she finally did something to please her mother, but knew the tone would return before long.

"Mother, he turned up late and then swore at me!" There was no harm extending the truth a little, he had actually sworn, just not directly at her. "He also seemed to be expecting someone else, which photo did you show him? It was one with Daisy in wasn't it?" She didn't have to wait for an answer she knew what was coming, her mother had never hidden the fact that her younger sister was her favourite child. Daisy was the princess, the baby of the family that everyone doted on; she was girly and giggly without a care in the world, the complete opposite of Imogen who was a tomboy, shy and according to her mother didn't know when to let her hair down and have fun.

Her relationship with her mother had always been fraught, she got on with Daisy perfectly well, they accepted each other's contrasting personalities; but her mother just couldn't and their arguments always boiled down to the fact her mother was trying to change her into a different person. Her father Ian on the other hand loved her for who she was, he practically encouraged her to be that way. Their mutual love of Arsenal had driven Carole insane when she'd lived at home and even now when Imogen rang her father to discuss a game, she'd be somewhere in the background making derogatory comments or bringing up the increase of hooliganism in football.

" _You were in the photo as well, it's not as if I passed you off as a different person completely."_ She scoffed at her mother's reply and rolled her eyes at Jess who was listening intently and enjoying the conversation between mother and daughter, all she needed was some popcorn and chair with a drinks holder in the arm, Imogen thought to herself. " _Well seeing as David wasn't right for you, I ran into Yvonne Burrows-Hove yesterday her son Michael's just moved back to London from America; he went to university over there you know._ " From what she could remember of Michael Burrows-Hove at school, he was a jumped up snob, completely up himself. He'd always thought he was better than the comprehensive secondary they'd attended and wanted to escape as much as she had, albeit for different reasons.

"No mother! I'm not going on anymore dates with men you just happen to run into, I'm done."

" _I'm only trying to help you find someone like your sister has_ , _it's only_ _seven weeks to the wedding._ " That's what everything came back to; the fact her sister, who was four years younger was getting married first, that she herself hadn't come anywhere near meeting The One, let alone getting married.

"Yeah, well I don't need your help mother, I've met someone myself!" _Shit! What the hell am I doing? She's so not going to believe me._ Imogen thought to herself as she looked at Jess who was staring wide-eyed straight back at her, laughter long gone and replaced by a look of shock and her mouth forming the silent words _What the fuck are you doing?_ She shrugged her shoulders at her best friend as panic froze her brain and body to the spot.

" _Really, well why did you agree to go out with David last night? You're just lying to get out of another date aren't you?_ " She couldn't move her mouth, it was literally stuck in an 'o' shape like she was someone from an Edvard Munch painting. Her heart pounded so hard she swore her mother could hear it at the other end of the phone line; her mother was like a human lie detector, a slight hesitation or the tiniest whiff that something was off and she'd pounce and work the truth out of you anyway.

"I tried to get out of it but I couldn't get a word in edgeways when you called to say you'd set it up. Besides its early days, we only met last week, we haven't even been on a proper date yet, just coffee." She relaxed into the lie as her mother seemed to be believing her words, of course she could just be lulling her into a false sense of security, waiting until she tripped herself up and revealed everything was just a ruse to stop her meddling.

" _Well, what's he like then? What's his name? Is he tall, dark and handsome? I always imagined you marrying a man with dark hair._ " _Oh God, she's already planning my marriage to Mr Imaginary_.

"He's really nice mum, look, I've got to go we've got customers. I'll see you at Dad's party next Saturday." She started to pull the phone away from her ear only to have her mother call her back.

" _Bring this mystery man along and introduce him to us._ " Before she could protest that it wasn't really his thing her mother interrupted. " _If you don't, I'll assume he's made up and set you up on a date with Michael._ " Imogen could practically hear the smile that would be settling on her mother's lips through the phone, she knew her daughter was lying and had the perfect opportunity to prove herself right.

"Shit! I need a boyfriend by next Saturday!"

***

Charlie Ramsey sighed as the bell rang signifying the start of period five, the last lesson of the day; he didn't need to look at his timetable to know he had a year nine class that would rather be starting the weekend than learning Pythagoras Theorem at two o'clock on a Friday afternoon. He knew they were going to cause trouble, Jamie Preston was back from suspension and he was the ringleader of the adolescent circus. He just had to keep reminding himself it was just one more lesson, one more hour to half-term, then he'd be free, for the week at least.

It wasn't that he hated his job, on the contrary he lived for teaching mathematics, if somebody had told his sixteen year old self he'd say that, he'd have laughed in their face. It was just this one group, they didn't want to work, didn't want to learn; the rest of his colleagues had given up on the same group of students long ago but he'd persevered, wanting to be the one person who believed in them however it was becoming increasingly difficult.

Maths had always been seen as a boring subject but he'd managed to make it more interesting for all the other groups he taught, making it personal to them with real-life applications. This class however just weren't interested, they wouldn't listen, wouldn't do work in class, wouldn't do work at home. Coming up with fun and interesting ways to engage them was just becoming an impossible challenge, he needed half-term to research some new ideas and alter their remaining lessons until Christmas.

Nevertheless he powered through the hour, relishing the relief when it was finally over; he'd never thought teaching would be this hard, rewarding yes, but bloody hard work. Charlie slumped back in his chair, closing his eyes and exhaling slowly as the last child left his classroom.

"Have a good half-term sir." He looked up sharply to see Sam Harper standing in front of him with the PE kit bag he'd left behind as usual, he was the one redeeming factor of the year nine group, the one pupil who was interested in what he had to say. They often chatted after lessons about football, both were keen Arsenal fans and liked to discuss the matches from the previous weekend; it was good to know there were still some Gunners fans in North London, lots of people he knew had lost interest in what was now their ninth trophy-less season. He couldn't bring himself to let go, they were still the thing he looked forward to most at weekends.

"Thanks Sam, you too." He'd been trying to get him moved into the next set up, he was capable of doing the harder work and was one of the only ones who actually got on with the tasks he set, but the group was already overfilled and even though he'd reassured Penny the boy was good enough she wasn't sure. He hoped to persuade her by Christmas before the rest of his group dragged him down with them.

Charlie unplugged his laptop and packed it away in his bag along with the books he needed to mark over the holiday, then he headed to staffroom to catch up with his colleagues. Dan, a fellow mathematician waved him over when he entered, they'd both started at North Gate Secondary school at the same time three years ago and became friends over their mutual love of football and indie music.

"How were your year nines? Mine were bloody awful, they just wouldn't settle down. Then when they actually got down to working Ben Wilson let off the loudest fart I've ever heard and set everyone off again. I had girls screaming and all the boys letting them off, I thought we were gonna be gassed out the room. I'm glad it's half term, I need a week away from them." He laughed and slapped Charlie on the back, a little too hard before working off towards Jenny Parker – the biology teacher he'd been unsuccessfully trying to get into the knickers' of since the start of term.

He said goodbye to a few more co-workers then slipped out before anybody else could catch him, outside he pulled his jacket closer round him as the October wind chilled him. His bag weighed heavy on his shoulder as he made his way through the car park, reminding him how much he had to do this week. Reaching his vintage VW Beetle affectionately named Monty, he dumped his bag on the passenger seat and sank into the leather of the driving seat, resting both hands on the steering wheel before starting the engine.

He never tired of the sound of the classic car, it had been his father's from the age of seventeen and he'd given it to Charlie for his own seventeenth birthday, nearly twelve years ago. He couldn't believe it had been three years since he'd died, every time he went to see his mum he expected to find his dad sat in the living room watching the football. Patrick Ramsey had only been 54 when he was knocked off his bicycle by a supermarket delivery lorry; his death had really shook the family up, it was only in the last year that normality had settled around them.

_God, he needed a coffee or maybe something stronger,_ he pulled out of the car park and headed towards The Roast House – his favourite place for coffee, when he wasn't in the classroom or at home that's where you'd find him. A small convertible pulled out of the parking bay just up the road allowing him to slip in, _perfect timing_ he thought to himself. Some students from his year eleven class caught his attention across the road, they were being reckless winding in and out of pedestrians on skateboards. He had to stop himself going over and telling them off, they were no longer on school premises and he remembered being exactly the same at their age. _Ugh, he sounded old._

Something blocked his way forward and he felt the slow trickle of hot liquid down his shirt and trouser leg, he'd been so preoccupied he'd walked into someone coming out of the café.

"Oh! Sorry I wasn't looking where . . ." He stopped as he looked into a pair of striking blues eyes behind black-framed glasses, there was something so familiar about them but he just couldn't place why or where he'd seen them before. Both of them stared at each other in silence as they both tried to recognise the other, coffee slowly dripping down both their clothes and pooling on the pavement at their feet as the women clutched the nearly empty Styrofoam cup in a wet hand.

"I wasn't looking where I was going either, it's been a bad day and my mind's been elsewhere. Sorry!" Her voice had a slight huskiness to it, making her sound like she had a cold but a very sexy cold; it reminded him of his mother's voice and he found himself smiling at the thought of it.

"Don't worry about it, we all have them, me included." She looked away shyly avoiding eye contact, then smiled back at him. She wasn't a conventionally attractive woman like he usually dated, but there was something in the way she acted and talked that caught his attention.

"Yeah well, you haven't spoken to my mother today; she could turn the happiest day in the world sour." He was mesmerised by her voice, it had a lullaby quality; he could just imagine her singing songs with an acoustic guitar. "She keeps setting me up with weirdoes so I don't turn into an old woman with hundreds of cats . . . and I'm revealing way too much here." He chuckled as he empathised with exactly how she felt, his own mother had been trying to marry him off since his older sister Catherine had got hitched last year.

"I know exactly how you feel, as soon as one of the children is married, the rest have to follow as soon as possible." She smiled shyly and nodded, a knowing look in her eyes; he was about to ask her name when something behind her caught his eye. "Shit! . . . Sorry I didn't mean to say that out loud. I just saw my psycho ex-girlfriend coming this way, she's been stalking me since we split up five months ago; every time I turn around she's there." Panic rose through his body, narrowing his windpipe making it hard to breath and raising his pulse rate dangerously high.

His companion twisted to look at Sarah Woodward sashaying up the pavement towards them, she was literally rolling her hips from side to side trying to show off her over-emphasised bottom. The look in the mystery woman's eyes said it all, even he could tell she was a bunny boiler by the look of her now; but they'd met in a dark club and his trousers had overpowered his brain.

"I know she looks like a nutcase and I wouldn't go anywhere near her if I -" He was disrupted by the pair of hands that pulled his face down towards hers and the soft, luscious lips connected to his. Heat rose instantly and he found himself reaching his own arms round her back and pulling her soft warm body towards him, her mouth was incredible and he forget all about the street around them; hell he couldn't even remember his name with this woman's lips on him.

All too soon she pulled back and he was left with a dreamy, dazed look on his face as he turned to see his ex, the heat was instantly extinguished as an angry sneer confronted him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Charlie?" The question ended at a pitch only dogs could understand and all he could do was cringe away speechless as he wondered how he had dated her for three months. Her stare bore reproachfully into his skull, daring him to introduce the woman he had just locked lips with.

"Hi, Imogen Jones, Charlie's _girlfriend_! And _you_ are?" He twisted in shock as the woman introduced herself and extended a hand towards Sarah, his mouth parted in amazement at her bravado and gusto. _Wow! She's got balls!_ He thought to himself as he smiled at Sarah and placed a hand around Imogen's waist, she didn't flinch as he pulled her to his hip and enjoyed the comfort he got from the heat that radiated there. Sarah's face transformed before his eyes, anger displaced by shock, displaced by sadness and he knew the tears would soon follow; however she turned away not giving him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

"That was amazing!" He shook his head as the woman before him dissolved into a bundle of nervous laughter, her whole body shook and he took in her majestic curves and chocolate brown wavy hair for the first time. "I'm Charlie by the way, Charlie Ramsey." Stretching a hand towards her he stopped halfway as her laughter ceased and horrified surprise took over. Without another word she dropped the coffee cup from her hand, splashing his trousers further and ran up the street without looking back.

Chapter Two

Charlie Ramsey, she'd just kissed Charlie Ramsey; Imogen Jones was not an impulsive person she thought about every action, every repercussion, every consequence; yet she'd just stood up to her mother and kissed a complete stranger, who it turned out wasn't a stranger. Charlie Ramsey was a blast from the past she'd left behind and never wanted to visit ever again, they'd gone to the same school from the ages of eleven to sixteen and it hadn't exactly been the best days of her life. In all honesty school had been hell for her and she was glad when she got to university and could start afresh.

Glasses, the fact she actually did work and being overweight had made her an easy target for bullies, Charlie Ramsey or 'Rambo' as everyone used to call him wasn't the main culprit but he was always there in the background with his gang of lookalike cronies. They always found something to mock her with and the school hadn't done anything to help either. When she'd finally escaped at sixteen she thought it would finally be over, but college had been nearly as bad with some of the usual suspects from school following her there.

When he'd bumped into her outside the coffee shop he'd looked familiar but she couldn't remember where from and then when he'd said his name she just had to get out of there, away from all the horrible memories that were now flying through her mind. She'd suppressed them a long time ago, locking them away and burying them deep inside herself, never to see the light of day again. Nevertheless here they were, resurfacing and opening old wounds time hadn't quite healed.

Completely lost in her thoughts she walked straight past The Bookcase – the book shop she co-owned with Jess – only to be called back by her friend who was swinging in the doorway. Imogen trudged back past the neighbouring shop windows and through the door Jess had vacated, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as her best friend tried to hide her laughter.

"How was your coffee?" It was only now she realised she hadn't even got to drink her cappuccino, it was coating the pavement further round Regent's Park Road.

"I didn't get to drink it. A guy walked into me and I spilled it all over the path."

"And he didn't offer to buy you another?" Jess looked at me shaking her head, manners were a big thing for her, she believed men should hold doors open and throw their coats over puddles for women to walk over, she was really old-fashioned in that sense.

"Well . . . we were too busy kissing." I avoided looking at her until I'd said the whole sentence otherwise I wouldn't have gotten it out, when I finally turned to her she stared open mouthed and eyebrows raised in surprise. Imogen was never impetuous, the fact she'd finally refused her mother's date organising had been a shock to Jess, but kissing a stranger was a step even further.

"Was he fit?" An image of Charlie from this morning popped into her head, she hadn't had the chance to digest anything about his appearance, panic had took control of her and made her bolt straight out of there. However thinking back now she took in his dark brown tufty hair, shorter now than when she'd last seen him at school; he'd lost the boyish good looks that made all the teenage girls swoon, but he was still handsome and the thin layer of stubble concealing his cheeks made him even more attractive. Facial hair always seemed to get her heart racing, she didn't know why. Those deep blue eyes were the same unfathomable pools as they had been thirteen years ago, they were striking yet soft, capturing her every attention, not willing to let her go.

And the kiss, the kiss had been one of those that made you forget everything around you; only you and the other person in the whole world. She hated to admit it, but it was the best kiss she'd had in her life and one of the people she hated most in the world had set her alight with it. Jess stared encapsulated as she described what he looked like and how he had pulled her into his body and held her so close to him. Imogen's heart rate increased as she recounted the softness of his lips turning to urgency and then softening again, the way his hand moved to her neck to pull her in closer so he could kiss her deeper. _Why did he have to be such a good kisser?_

"So what was his name?" She froze, she couldn't tell Jess it had been him; Jess had lived through every harrowing detail of school with her, she'd been the rock Imogen had leaned on, always there for support when things got bad.

"I uh didn't get his name, his ex-girlfriend showed up and got into an argument with him, so I just kind of slipped away without them noticing." It wasn't completely untrue, his Ex had shown up and she had slipped away without saying anything.

"Noooo! You sounded like you really liked him, he would've been perfect for taking to your dad's party next Saturday." She frowned and went back to doodling on the notepad in front of her, Imogen went to help a customer look for a book he wanted but she couldn't take her mind off Charlie or that kiss.

***

Charlie had driven home in a trance-like state, the kiss had taken him completely by surprise and he hadn't expected it to blow his mind quite the way it had, plus it had scared Sarah away, for a while at least. Having almost hit two cyclists, a golden labrador and its owner he finally reached the comfort of the house he shared with two friends on Chalcot Road, the rent was extremely expensive but it was a really beautiful setting, not far from the park or where any of the three of them worked.

As he parked outside his Georgian terrace house, he couldn't help but recall the kiss and the woman's reaction after she'd found out his name. _Why had she run off so quickly?_ He'd wanted to find out more about her, maybe ask her on a date but he'd never got the chance. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, there was still something so familiar about her but he couldn't recollect the name Imogen Jones. They definitely hadn't dated, he would have remembered if he'd been kissed like that before and he definitely hadn't seen her at college; his fellow students had all been Goths and stoner arty types, which she certainly wasn't.

Toby, his best friend from the age of three, was sat on the edge of the sofa watching some quiz show where people had to play a giant game of monopoly, answering questions to move around the board. He had no idea where they were getting the ideas for new television shows from, most of them were crap anyway but as Toby was showing, people watched them. Charlie slumped down on the other end of the sofa, sinking slowly into the leather cushions and sighed as he leaned his head back.

"Barcelona, no it might be Madrid actually!" Toby shouted the answer to the question just asked on the show, Charlie looked at the screen, the quizmaster was some washed up actor who used to be in a soap, but he, like most of the country couldn't actually remember the person's name. Toby always got involved with TV quizzes, he got addicted to them and could always be found watching reruns of The Weakest Link or Eggheads on his days off. Nobody complained as he picked up useless knowledge that had helped them win the pub quiz the last five times they'd entered and resulted in Toby being disqualified and not being allowed to take part anymore.

"How was school?" His friend looked at him for the first time and noticed the giant coffee stain that had now dried on his shirt and trousers. "I know we were pretty bad, but we never threw liquid at the teachers; at each other yes but not the teachers." They both smiled at the memories of school, they'd messed about all the time which had given them legendary status, however now as a teacher himself he realised what little shits they really were. Something triggered in his mind, Imogen Jones, school. _Was that where I knew her from?_

"Hey, do you remember an Imogen Jones from school?" He asked Toby who had returned engrossed to the small screen when he hadn't answered the question straight away.

"Um, maybe, rings a bell but I couldn't tell you what she looked like. I've got my year book from when we left if you want to check in that." He got up and left the room, thumps echoed through the open door to the hallway from him running down the stairs to his basement bedroom. Five minutes later he returned with a cardboard box filled with books, photos and trophies; they both looked in the top and smiled at each other like children in a toy shop.

"Bloody hell! Look at your hair there." Charlie pulled a framed photo of Toby off the top of the pile before them, he was standing in front of a cage with a monkey in the background. He must have only been sixteen or seventeen, about the time he started working at London Zoo where he still was; animals had always been his passion and when he got the chance to work at the zoo he jumped at it. They both laughed as they pulled more and more photos from the box, most were of the two of them with Liam, their other housemate and Adam, another friend who made up their foursome. They all looked ridiculous like some floppy-haired boyband from the nineties, each looking more self-important and ludicrous than the last.

"Here we go, Holloway Comprehensive School year book from 2000." Toby pulled a brown hardback book from the box, it was in great condition not having been looked at in the thirteen years since they'd left school. He flicked through the pages scanning the photos of people he no longer saw and wondered how many of them had children of their own, how many were married or still lived in London. He'd run into a few people from the pictures but most of them would be strangers now anyway.

Good luck message after good luck message passed with each page as he came across the photos of Toby, Liam, Adam and himself. They'd been inseparable at that age, always hanging out together in Regent's Park, kicking a football around and daring each other to try and buy cans of lager from the off-license. Now they all had jobs, Toby at the zoo, Liam a civil engineer, Adam at the British museum and him at school; a lot had changed in thirteen years. Adam was even dating his little sister Molly, he'd been pissed off at first but came to realise Adam was one of his best friends and that he could trust him to look after her.

More snapshots of his youth passed by and he still hadn't found anyone with the name Imogen yet, maybe he'd been wrong, maybe it wasn't school he knew her from. He was near the end of the book and giving up hope when he saw the name he had been searching for - Imogen Jones – right there in black and white. Steeling himself he shifted his gaze to the photograph and everything dropped instantly, his stomach, his heart, his head. He remembered Imogen Jones now and understood exactly why she'd fled so quickly, if their positions had been reversed he would have run like hell in the opposite direction. He'd been horrible to her in school, everybody had; regret sat heavy in his stomach, churning enough to make him feel like running to the bathroom.

"Fuck!" He dropped the book to the floor and stood up awkwardly stretching his cramping legs. There was no way he'd see her again and he didn't blame her, he didn't want to see most of the people from school but she must have been horrified to run into him again.

"What? Oh that's Imogen Jones. Why did you want to know anyway?" Toby had picked up the book he'd discarded and began examining the photographs himself.

"I ran into her outside The Roast House, hence my attire. Then Sarah showed up and I freaked, so Imogen kissed me in front of Sarah and introduced herself as my new girlfriend. Sarah freaked and ran off crying, so I introduced myself and Imogen ran off as well." Toby burst out laughing, Charlie was not used to being rejected by women, he'd never made one so repulsed she bolted off let alone two in the space of five minutes. "I don't blame her, do you? Everybody made her life shit, I wouldn't want to meet me again if I'd gone through what she did."

"No, she had it bad. Does she still look the same?" Charlie walked over to his friend and peered at the photo again, fighting back a flinch at the pain he must have caused her in his teenage years. He examined the grey-scale picture of a sixteen year old girl, she wore thick milk bottle-bottom glasses, her dark hair cut short in a bob that looked homemade, the ends sat unevenly just below her ears. Her plump face was smiling but it hadn't reached her eyes, they only conveyed a hidden pain crying out to be noticed and relieved.

"Not really, she's still got glasses but they're those black-framed ones that everyone's wearing that make you look clever and sexy at the same time. She's lost weight but she's still curvy, you know in all the right places and warm and ballsy. Amazing lips as well!" His heart raced as he remembered the way she had took charge and initiated the kiss, the way her hands pulled his face to hers then snaked around his neck and held him in place. God he was turning himself on just thinking about it.

"You like her!" Toby smiled coyly at him, he began flicking through the rest of his year book looking up and smiling at Charlie every few seconds. "I wonder where she's living anyway." Charlie stood up and fetched his laptop from the bag he'd dropped in the hall on his way through the house, sitting back down on the sofa, he logged onto the internet and brought up facebook. Toby, wondering what he was doing, got up and hovered by the arm of the sofa watching what he was doing.

Finally he found the Imogen Jones he was looking for, the first one he clicked on was a transvestite from Middleborough who was more of a man than he was judging by the five o'clock shadow in the profile photo. He had clicked on a Welsh supermodel, a female lorry driver from Detroit and a surfing champion from Sydney, before uncovering the woman he was looking for, the women who had kissed him and made him lose his mind.

"She owns The Bookcase book shop, that's not far from here is it, on Regent's Park Road I think. She's literally around the corner. Is that her? Wow she looks good." Toby took the laptop from him and began scrolling through the photo album, it was made up of snapshots of Imogen and two other women, there were pictures of goldfish and holiday snaps thrown in as well. She looked happy in all of them and he felt a little relief that she'd found some joy since school.

Charlie watched the photos go round on an endless loop and allowed an idea to form in his mind, an idea that would allow him to see Imogen more and make amends for some of his previous misdemeanours. He went about planning for a trip to his local book shop without telling his friend what he was thinking.

***

"I can't believe you just kissed him Immie, without knowing anything about him. It's so not like you!" Imogen glanced over her coffee cup at Jenny Parker, she and Jess had met Jenny at University College London when they all moved into halls together. She was a biology graduate who had gone into secondary school teaching, for which she and Jess got endless laughter from all the stories Jenny told them. The three of them always met for brunch on a Saturday morning, Immie and Jess would open the shop and Jenny would bring the coffee and pastries with her. Jess had already passed on the news of Imogen's public display of affection.

"Can we stop talking about this please?" She moaned at them, she'd always hated being the centre of attention, that was the reason she loved books so much, she could hide away and escape to another world where she didn't have a worry or care. The library had been her safe haven at school, she could go there without worrying about meeting any of her tormentors; none of them would be seen dead in the library. Since the age of ten it had been her ambition to become an author, one she'd been working on ever since, although it was a lot harder than she thought it would be.

Her friends continued to discuss her actions, so she grabbed another Danish and settled back in her chair trying to ignore their chit chat. She didn't need to hear any more about it, it was all she could think about anyway, his lips on hers, his hands on her body. She'd even dreamt about him last night, it wasn't fair, she'd gotten rid of him once why did he have to make a reappearance in her life.

"You were going to show me that book on biodiversity you found the other day, Im. Can you show me now, I've got to get going soon I'm meeting my mum for lunch later. I can't wait." Jenny rolled her eyes as she stood up to follow Imogen to the back of the shop, she and her mother had the same sort of relationship as Imogen had with her own mother; not a very friendly one. They walked to the back of the shop where the non-fiction section was situated, the shop sold both new and second-hand books which people often donated. They'd received a box earlier in the week with some books from a university that was renewing its library and one book had stood out in particular as something that might interest Jenny, so she'd kept it back just in case.

She handed her friend the used book, it had a red leather hard cover with gold lettering, if it had been of interest to her she would have kept it to herself it was so beautiful.

"Wow, this fantastic." She flicked through the yellowing pages, examining diagrams and reading small passages to herself.

"Immie, there's a gentleman here to see you. I think it might be your mystery man from yesterday." She froze at the mention of yesterday's incident again, it couldn't be him, he couldn't have found her, could he? Her pulse rate kicked up a notch as she made her way back through the shop to the counter. She stopped dead when she saw him, he looked just as good dressed in jeans and maroon V-neck sweater this time. He stood looking at one of the paperbacks they had on the counter and thought he actually appeared a nice person, only she knew the truth of what he could be like.

When he heard her come in he looked up, his face full of remorse and nerves. "Hi, I wasn't sure if I'd got the right place." His voice shook slightly as he scanned the room, he took a step towards where she was rooted to the spot. "I just wanted to apologise . . . for everything. I was horrible to you in school, I was a bastard and I know there are no words that can make that up to you, but I have to try. I couldn't leave it the way it was yesterday. I'm not expecting any forgiveness but I just wanted you to know I am so sorry for everything that happened." His voice broke over the last sentence and her heart lurched at the genuine remorse he showed, but how could she believe him, trust that he truly meant it.

"Charlie, what are you doing here?" Jenny walked out from behind her and smiled at Charlie, she walked over to him and gave him a quick hug.

"I came to see Imogen, we used to know each other and I bumped into her yesterday, I just came over to apologise again and see if I could buy her a coffee to make it right." He looked imploringly at Imogen who was still in a state of shock, she couldn't bring herself to move or to talk, she still didn't know how he'd found her.

"You're the guy she kissed yesterday and hasn't stopped going on about, Ha. Sorry I've got to get going or my mum will be pissed. Talk to you later Immie." Jenny walked through the door waving through the shop window as she passed, then she was gone and Imogen was left alone with Charlie, where the hell was Jess?

"So what do you say? Can I buy you a coffee, I know it won't make up for anything that happened at school but at least let me make up for yesterday." She turned to her left where Jess had reappeared and was smiling at the two of them, she nudged Imogen in the shoulder and nodded her head trying to get her to accept the invitation.

"Jess, you remember Charlie Ramsey don't you? From school." The smile instantly disappeared from her face as she looked back at the man who had been one of their sworn enemies since they were eleven years old. She took a step forward and raised her fist landing a beautiful right hook, Mike Tyson would have been proud of.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Coming here apologising, not asking for forgiveness. You made her life a living hell, you've got a bloody nerve even walking in this place. You don't deserve anything from her, you know that!"

"Jess, that's enough. I think he understands he's a shit and he's lucky he hasn't got a broken jaw from that punch." Imogen stepped in front of her friend blocking her from another attack, she was breathing heavily and the rage remained in her eyes as she tried to calm herself down with deep shaking breaths. She turned back to Charlie who was holding the side of his face and stretching his jaw. She couldn't believe what she was about to say, but what the heck.

"Okay, I'll go for a coffee with you. I need one after what's just happened here."

Chapter Three

"Hello! . . . Earth to Imogen." She shook her head as his voice interrupted her daydreaming, Jess' punch was on replay in her head. She was a feisty character but she'd never actually seen her punch anyone before, the closest had been when she'd slapped a girl on a night out in the students' union. They'd been circling each other all night, well, all semester actually and a comment about Jess' then boyfriend being a cheat sent her over the edge. That particular night ended with both parties being thrown out by a bouncer.

"Sorry, I was miles away."

"I was saying your shop looks really good, have you had it long?" He smiled at her and she couldn't help but scowl in return, smirking when his own smile faded away. The hurt from school was still fresh in her memory and even more acute with the reappearance of him; she still wasn't sure why she'd agreed to go for coffee but there'd been something sincere in his apology and she was willing to see what else he had to say.

"We've been open seven years now, Jess and I started the place straight out of university. We thought the combination of her business degree and my English literature degree would be perfect. I'm still surprised every time we sell a book." They had reached The Roast House quicker than she'd expected, her cheeks flushed at the memory of yesterday's kiss and when she looked at Charlie he had a dazed smile himself as he looked at the spot where they'd stood yesterday, obviously remembering it as well.

Shaking his head to himself he walked to the door and held it open for her, she hesitated before taking a deep breath and strolling through with him right behind her. They ordered their coffees and a muffin, it was the least he owed her after what had happened all those years ago. Settling at a table by the window they both looked down unsure how to start a conversation with their companion.

"I really am sorry for everything that happened at school, it wasn't my idea to . . . you know . . . get involved, it's just everyone else was and then I felt I had to or I'd wouldn't be their friends anymore. God I hate peer pressure, you see it in school even now." She looked up at him in shock as what he'd said sunk in.

"You're a teacher! I'd never have said of all the people at school, you'd go into teaching." She chuckled and smiled at him for the first time all morning, his unexpected profession had broken through the barrier that she had set in place when she'd seen him standing right there in the middle of her shop and in the middle of her life again.

"I know right, I always thought I'd be a professional footballer or rock star, there was a time I thought maybe an astronaut, but a projectile vomiting episode after my Oblivion experience at Alton Towers put paid to that." He looked up at her and smiled nervously before continuing. "I did some volunteering in a school after college and fell in love with it, I thought when I left at sixteen I'd never set foot in another one but here I am, teaching maths, of all things."

She picked up her coffee cup, it was one of those huge ones that took two hand to hold; before coming here she'd only ever seen them on _Friends_. The hot liquid scolded her tongue but in a way that made her feel alive, each sip made her fall in love with it all over again. The pause also gave her a chance to digest the information she'd just received, Charlie was not what she had been expecting, she thought he'd work for some corporate designer or be employed by some company where he got paid to play computer games and do nothing all day.

"So you and Jenny work at the same school?"

"Yeah, she was already teaching there when I arrived about three years ago. She's a great teacher, all the pupils love her lessons." He drank his own coffee and took a bite of his blueberry muffin, licking the crumbs off his fingers and drawing her attention to his mouth again; forcing her thoughts back to their kiss. He noticed her staring and blushed before flashing a coy smile, she instantly looked away chiding herself for falling for his illustrious charm. She was supposed to be hating him not wishing his lips would touch hers again.

Imogen cleared her throat and pulled a piece off the edge of her own Maple-pecan muffin, savouring the sweet, nutty taste as it touched her tongue. Charlie began flexing his jaw again obviously feeling the effects of Jess, she stifled a giggle behind her coffee cup but he noticed and she let the laughter out.

"You look so different when you laugh, happy and carefree; it's a good look on you. Your friend's got a hell of a punch, she should take up boxing professionally, she'd knock her opponents out in the first round."

"She used to do it at the gym, but in the end nobody would spar with her. She took up none contact sport after that, but when you watch her playing in the hockey leagues you can see that aggression wanting to come out when the opposition scores." Her pocket vibrated as her iPhone buzzed with an incoming call, she pulled the phone out and her heart sank.

"It's my mum, she's been calling me about five times a day, I want to throttle her so much."

"Ignore it and call her back later."

"I can't, she'll leave a really snotty voicemail and call back straight away anyway, sorry about this." Imogen pressed answer and moved the phone to her ear. "Hello mother, what is it this time?"

" _What took you so long to answer? I'd thought you'd been in an accident._ " She knew her mother wasn't really concerned about her health, she'd be worried that Imogen would mess up her sister's wedding photos or ruin the wedding by not being able to make it because she was in hospital or heaven forbid lying dead in a ditch somewhere.

"I'm out having coffee with someone."

" _Is it him? Your mystery man, put him on the phone I want to talk to him_." She sighed, she couldn't win in this situation; if she refused to let her mother speak to him, she'd think her boyfriend was made up, which he was but she didn't want her mother to know that. If she let her mother talk to Charlie, he'd think she was crazy for making up a fake boyfriend and laugh at her all over again; evoking all the pain from school.

She pulled the phone down, covering the mouthpiece and whispered to Charlie; "She wants to talk to you, I told her I was seeing someone yesterday so she wouldn't set me up on another awful blind date; she thinks it's you." She looked at him pleading silently, hoping her puppy dog eyes made his heart melt and persuade him to help her. She couldn't believe she'd sunk so low as to be practically begging the man she'd loathed for so long to help her; desperate times called for desperate measures, especially when it came to her mother.

He held out his hand for the phone which she reluctantly passed over, hoping beyond hope he wouldn't give her lie away and humiliate her.

"Good morning Mrs Jones, how are you today?" Her mouth tightened as she waited for the worst, the thought that Charlie was in on it with her mother crossed her mind, this whole apology was just part of an act to humiliate her further and break her resolve once and for all. _No, he wouldn't do that, would he?_ She wasn't confident, yes he seemed different but could she really trust him, she didn't know anything about him.

"That's good, Charlie Ma'am. . . that's right. She asked me today, yes, I said I'd loved to go and finally meet her family." All the colour drained from Imogen's face as she listened to the one-sided conversation and could only guess what her mother was talking about. Now she'd definitely have to find a guy to take to her father's birthday get-together, who the hell was she going to ask? It looked like Jess, Jenny and her were going to have to go on a mission and find a suitable date.

Panic and anxiety flashed through her and made her pulse increase in expectation, she looked back to Charlie who was finishing his phone conversation and looking a little worn out, at least he knew how she felt. Saying goodbye, for now, he passed the phone back to her and blew the air out of his cheeks like he'd just run a marathon. Imogen put the phone back to her own ear waiting for her mother to laugh in her face and reveal it had all been a set up and she knew her daughter was making up a fake boyfriend.

" _He sounds very nice Imogen, well-spoken, polite, you've got a keeper there._ " She breathed out silently with relief, for the moment at least. Her mother reminded her of the brunch they were having on Wednesday with Daisy to discuss wedding details and hung up. She let out a shaky laugh and looked back up to Charlie. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it. Bloody hell, she's a little over the top isn't she; I thought my mum was bad but yours, whoa, no offense. Do you fancy another coffee? I could do with one."

***

Charlie waited at the counter while the barista made the two coffees he'd ordered, he glanced back to his table by the window and felt admiration for the woman sitting there. She'd been through so much at school but clearly hadn't given up, she found something she enjoyed and went with it; her book shop had looked fantastic, he wondered how he hadn't come across it even though he only lived around the corner. Moreover it seemed her was mother was constantly on her case, his own mother had an unhealthy obsession with his life but at least she let him live it himself.

He watched as she tapped the screen of her phone, the frustration palpable as she pressed harder and harder before taking a deep breath to ease the tension. He wondered how many dates her mother had set her up on, if she had to make a fake boyfriend up to put a stop to them it must have been a lot. Thinking back to their kiss yesterday, he pondered what sort of men they must have been; surely none of them would have rejected her, if they had they were idiots.

Something clicked in his brain and the words she'd said yesterday when she had introduced herself to Sarah, echoed in his mind; _Hi, Imogen Jones, Charlie's girlfriend!_ What if they did pretend to date? Both of them had reasons for wanting a fake relationship, she wanted her mother off her back and he'd enjoy a break from his mother nagging him about settling down and he could get rid of Sarah permanently. Paying for the coffees, he deliberated over whether she'd go for it or not; he'd been a bastard to her at school but she seemed to accept his apology. He contemplated whether to ask her on a phoney date or not, _I mean what's the harm, she can't hate me more than she did and I probably deserve to be rejected anyway but it could be the perfect solution for the both of us._

"Sorry about my mother, she can be a bit . . . much!"

"That's one hell of an understatement. I don't know how you haven't strangled her already." He chuckled and looked at her helplessly, all he needed to do was find a way of proposing his idea without scaring her off. Easier said than done.

"It's always been the same, for me and my sister Daisy, but mainly for me. She thinks if she pesters me enough I'll start thinking her way and change into the person she wants me to be. I'm never going to be that girly girl who wears pink and gets her nails done while gossiping about the latest celebrity scandal, it's just not me." He smiled, that exactly described Sarah and most of the women he'd ever dated, he was tired of women who went on dates and didn't eat anything, just pushed a few lettuce leaves around their plates and complained when he went to watch the football down the pub.

"I am what I am and that is my father's daughter, Daisy and him have accepted me. They try to tell my mum but she just doesn't listen, that's why I made up the boyfriend. You probably think I'm nuts, but I just couldn't take it anymore. The men she sets me up with are all weirdoes – sexual deviants or criminals, I mean I don't know where the hell she meets them." She took a deep breath and looked away embarrassed after her mini-rant.

The silence stretched on, so he thought this could be his chance to propose the fake relationship, with hesitant trepidation he pushed forward. "About that," He watched her freeze in alarm as he leant forward in his seat, her eyes widened and her mouth parted slightly. "why don't I be your fake boyfriend, all we have to do is pretend we're dating, you know make appearances at family things and go out for a meal every so often to keep up the pretence. It could be my way of making everything up to you, apologising properly. What do you think?"
Chapter Four

Imogen sat frozen to the spot, her mind had gone blank; the only thing floating around in there was his proposal, bouncing off the insides of her head like that screensaver everyone used to have. Charlie Ramsey, her fake boyfriend. There was no chance of that happening, but then she remembered her mother's warning and the way he'd spoken to her on the phone and how he'd changed and apologised to her, being genuinely sorry. Then she revisited that kiss again and the way it had made her feel and the way she forgot the world around her. She wasn't seriously considering this was she, how could she, the way he treated her; but here was seriously thinking about taking up the offer.

"You don't have to, I know I hurt you before. I just thought this could make your life that little bit easier." He was backpedalling quickly but the cogs were whirring in her brain going through all the possibilities; was it some elaborate prank to degrade her further or was he really offering himself up on the sacrificial altar in front of her and in front of her mother.

"I need to think about it, I want my mother off my back, but you and I have a history that I'd rather forget. I . . . I just need time to think about it." She sipped at her coffee trying to get her head around what he was proposing, she needed to think it through properly, write down all the pros and cons and weigh it up. "Let's talk about something else for now. Like how did you become a maths teacher? You never worked in school."

"I worked, I just didn't let on to other people that I worked. College made me realise I couldn't just sit back and expect to walk into a job, I needed to knuckle down and make it happen myself. I started my A-Levels just as my sister went off to uni, my parents were so proud of her, I just wanted them to feel proud about me just once. As you know I wasn't the best behaved kid at school." He smiled over his coffee cup, his eyes twinkling. "I've always been good at maths and I had a really great teacher at college, he worked with me and helped me get into university."

"I hated maths, I had sweaty smith every year, I don't know why they kept employing him he couldn't teach pigs to roll in shit!" Smiling ruefully, she recalled sitting in a dark, cold classroom being forced to do sums from a dank, musky textbook while the pupils behind her kicked her chair and called her names.

"All the maths teachers at school were crap, they didn't want to be there and they didn't want to teach us." Both she and Charlie finished their coffees and continued chatting about his job; she found out he graduated from the University of Leicester along with Adam Brent, who was another of her tormentor's from school. He then moved back to London and completed his PGCE.

"I better get back to the shop, Jess will be wondering where I am." She stood up and pushed her chair in, he mirrored her actions putting his jacket on before moving around the table towards her. Imogen flinched as he held out his hand for her to shake, after some hesitation she took it and felt the heat from yesterday return where they held contact.

"If you come to a decision about the fake dating thing, I'm at home alone tomorrow. You can pop round if you want, I'll either be watching the football or cooking for myself. I live on Chalcot Road." He walked her back to the shop without pushing the subject further, respecting her desire to think it through by herself. Imogen went into the shop without him and was immediately faced with a disgruntled Jess, she stood arms crossed and a single eyebrow raised waiting for some sort of explanation.

When one wasn't forthcoming the interrogation began. "You kissed Charlie Ramsey, the same Charlie Ramsey who tortured you and tormented you, gave you countless hours of anguish and suffering. What the hell were you doing?" Imogen stood speechless, her mouth opening and closing like her three goldfish at home, no words coming out. "It's like you'd forgotten everything he did to you and you came back all loved up having kissed him and then today you go and have coffee with him, accepting his meagre apology like it was the most sincere thing in the world." She was breathing hard, her nostrils flaring; all she needed was the fire coming from her mouth to look like a dragon.

"I didn't know it was him until after the kiss and when I found out I ran off. Then today I wanted to hear him out okay, I know he was terrible to me but he wasn't the worst and I felt he deserved a chance to explain." She glared at her friend who was trying to calm herself down. "I think this is a way to finally get proper closure on the whole school thing, leave it in the past once and for all." Jess still looked annoyed but seemed to accept her explanation, it wasn't time to tell her about Charlie's offer yet though, that would only set her off again. She really didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of her punches.

Settling behind the counter, Imogen grabbed a notepad and began noting down reasons for and against being Charlie's fake girlfriend:

PROS:

Get mum off my back

Prove mum wrong

Date for dad's party

Date for Daisy's wedding?

No more dates with weirdoes

Charlie nicer person

More kisses from Charlie

CONS:

Bad history

Elaborate joke to humiliate me?

Friends/family hate him

Can I trust him?

Wracking her brain she tried to find more negatives about Charlie, but other than the past they shared and all the trust issues that stemmed from that, she couldn't think of any. Whereas she could think of plenty of advantages, most involving her mother and minimising the input she had on her life. Why was there nothing else stopping her from doing this? She shouldn't even be considering it but here she was thinking about going round to his house and agreeing to fake date him.

"What are you writing? Jess reached round her shoulder and grabbed the paper before Imogen could stop her; Damn her cat-like reflexes! Imogen chased after her friend and cursed her lack of sportiness, she loved to watch it, but when it came to playing she had the skills of an elephant wearing roller skates on ice; her mother used to call her Bambi on ice, even though this hurt as much as the kids at school calling her fat.

"Get mum off my back . . . Date for dad's party . . . more kisses with Charlie? What the hell are you doing?" Imogen tried to grasp at the notebook, but Jess moved too quickly and left her empty-handed. "Why are you writing pros and cons about Charlie Ramsey?" Imogen tried once again to grab the book but Jess was prepared for another attack and ran back to the front of the shop, stopping to look through the list one more time.

Imogen paused and watched her friend, she needed that notebook back but had to use her skills to her advantage. She had strength, more strength than Jess if she caught her by surprise; surprise was definitely the key here she thought. Walking back towards her friend she feigned defeat, stooping her head and looking up through her eyelashes before unleashing her power and springing on Jess, pushing her to the ground. Grabbing the notepad, she straddled her friend and pinned her arms to the floor limiting the movement and damage Jess could cause.

"I will tell you what the list is all about, if you promise not to get violent. To be honest, you're not really in a position to argue anyway." She smirked down at her friend then shifted slightly so as not to cut off the blood supply to Jess' hands, she didn't want to fill out an insurance form for a member of staff losing a limb. "Okay, my mum rang while I was having coffee with Charlie and assumed he was the man I told her about yesterday, so she insisted on talking to him. When she'd finally rung up, Charlie couldn't believe what she was like and offered a solution to my problem of having made up a boyfriend." She took a deep breath and anticipated Jess' reaction to what she was about to say.

"He offered to be my fake boyfriend and go to this party my mum's organising and my sister's wedding."

"Why the hell are you even considering this? Have you forgotten what he did to you in school?" Jess wriggled between her legs, trying to escape the vice-like grip of Imogen's thighs; eventually admitting defeat and lying still.

"Of course I haven't forgotten what he did to me? That's why I was making the list, trying to decide if it was worth it agreeing or not. I can't face my mother without a boyfriend at my side and this offer is becoming more and more appealing at the moment it's my only option. So yes I am seriously considering it."

"Can I get up please? We haven't cleaned this floor in a very long time and I think there is a giant dust bunny under that shelf eyeing me up." She tried to joke her way out of her position of weakness, but Imogen needed to know she wasn't going to get hurt if she released Jess; a right-hook like the one Charlie received would leave her only able to eat through a straw.

"Do you promise not to hurt me if I let you up?" She could see the mechanisms working overtime in her friend's brain weighing up the cost of hitting her and decided against it with a look of surrender, if she could have moved her arms she'd have been waving a white flag.

"Fine, but I think you're an idiot for even thinking about this."

"I probably am but what you going to do about it." She stuck her tongue out as she pulled Jess to her feet and grinned as she dodged the fist she'd been expecting would come.

***

Where the hell is the pepper? Charlie thought to himself as he opened every cupboard in his kitchen, his housemates didn't cook, yet he could never find the things he needed in there. The chicken parmesan he'd made just needed that last bit of seasoning before it was ready to eat, he'd been waiting all week for this and the missing pepper was just another thing in the way of him eating his favourite meal. He checked each cupboard again and came up empty handed, where would they put it? He began to think they were doing it on purpose, just so his day off was ruined while they both had to work.

Maybe the fridge, why the hell they'd put it in there I don't know. There it was, on the middle shelf of the fridge, what was wrong with them? He ground the black pepper into the dish of baked chicken in tomato sauce and added a little more cheese before returning it to the oven for one last heat through. His mouth began salivating at the smell of it, he hadn't had time to cook much this week and had had to live off beans on toast and soup, so his Sunday lunch would be absolute heaven. Pasta check, chicken check, beer check; he got a plate out of the cupboard and gathered his cutlery, ready to serve up.

One last test of the pasta revealed it was perfect, slightly al dente, switching off the electric ring he grabbed a colander and moved to the sink.

Ding Dong!

"Ugh! Who's that now? I just want to eat my chicken and watch the football in peace, that's the only thing I'm asking for." He looked up to the heavens and slammed the pan of pasta down onto the dark granite worktop and let out a sigh from the deepest depths of his being. Slowly he trudged to the door, ready to shout at whoever it was that was disturbing him on his sacred Sunday and tell them to fuck off.

Ding Dong!

"Alright, alright I'm coming. What is wrong with you peo-". His jaw dropped in shock when he saw Imogen standing awkwardly on his doorstep, he'd never expected her to actually show up. The way she'd reacted to his proposal had made him believe he'd never see her again, yet here she was standing nervously in front of him finding something very interesting to look at by her shoes. After a few moments of silence she looked up shyly through her eyelashes in a way he found incredibly adorable and smiled as she shrugged her shoulders apologetically.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Chapter Five

Her heart was pounding as she waited for him to invite her in, he seemed as surprised to see her and she was to be standing on his doorstep. Right up until she'd rang the doorbell it was 50/50 whether she was going to actually go through with this, she was even more unsure now she'd seen the look of disbelief on Charlie's face. Nausea overwhelmed her and she was grateful she'd skipped breakfast, otherwise she'd have ruined the perfect privet hedges with something that resembled scrambled eggs but was a lot more disgusting.

Just standing there she felt out of place, everything was pristine, perfect and clean; there was no crisp packets or plastic bags swirling around in the wind, the gardens were all tidy, there were no unwashed vans with 'Clean Me' or rude pictures scrawled in the dirt. It was like walking onto the set of desperate housewives or the street where everybody in London who had OCD lived. The Georgian terrace house she was stood in front of was no exception, she didn't know where she expected Charlie to live, but it definitely wasn't anywhere like this. It reminded her of her parent's house, the one she'd lived in until moving into halls at university.

"Yeah, sorry . . . uh come in." He stood back and let her through into a clean, bright hallway. Through the door, she was hit with the smell of tomatoes and chicken and cheese making her stomach growl in complaint at her lack of breakfast. Charlie closed the front door behind her and ambled up next to her clearly still in shock at her appearance.

"I didn't think you would come." She followed him through a dining room with a large oak table set for six and into an open plan kitchen with dark worktops.

"I didn't think I would either, but I haven't really got any other options and I cannot face my mother alone. I would never live it down, so here I am. What smells so good? Was I disturbing your lunch?" She was really hoping he'd offer her some food otherwise she'd have to make this meeting quick and go and grab a cardboard sandwich from the supermarket.

"I was just about to put it out when you rang the doorbell. It's chicken parmesan, I've made loads if you want some? I was going to save it for lunch tomorrow but it's a lot better fresh." She nodded so glad he'd offered to share it, he grabbed a second plate and dished up the pasta then the hot, tomatoey chicken; her mouth was literally watering when he passed her the plate.

"What do you want to drink? I've got tea, coffee, fruit juice, beer, wine, spirits, water?"

"Beer's fine thanks." She said as she noticed his own bottle next his plate of food. She took the drink and walked to the dining table and began pulling out a chair, it was a lot heavier than she expected; the weight knocking her off balance, her food began slipping on her uneven plate and she could just visualize the red stain it would leave on the rug below her feet.

"I was going to eat in the living room upstairs actually, the match starts in about half an hour. We don't have to, it's up to you."

"Upstairs is fine, I was going to catch up with the footy on Match of the Day but watching it live is even better." She followed Charlie upstairs, careful to keep her plate straight and found herself in an enormous living room. It took up the whole of the floor of the house, completely open, there was an L-shaped sofa pointing towards a traditional metal fireplace that looked like it hadn't been used this century. Around the corner was another sofa pointed towards a huge flat screen television in one of those audio-visual units all men seemed to have in their living rooms. Along the back wall was a window seat with a view over a small back garden, the wooden floor echoed their footsteps as they crossed to the seats opposite the already switched on TV. Each wall had posters of classic films including some of her own favourites; The Princess Bride, Shaun of the Dead and A Fish Called Wanda.

"I don't think I've met a girl who's willing to eat Italian food in the living room in front of the football before, maybe my sisters but they'd be a bit miffed about the lack of table. Have you always like football then?" They sat down on the sofa, a couple of feet apart from each other and settled their plates on their knees and their bottles on the floor. She could get used to this, the television was at least twice as big as hers and the sofa was a lot more comfortable; her own was like sitting on stale cheese, hard around the edges, soft in the middle and smelt a little mouldy.

"For as long as I can remember, one of my earliest memories is my dad running around the house after Mickey Thomas' goal at Anfield in '89,then he took me out into the street to join in the celebrations." Charlie stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth, not even looking down when the pasta fell back to his plate with a slop that sent splatters of red up his worn grey t-shirt.

"You support Arsenal? Ha, unbelievable, you surprise me every time I see you." He put his fork in his mouth then looked confused when he didn't get any food off of it. Imogen started eating her own plate of pasta and couldn't believe how good it tasted, she could bake but savoury food was a no go area for her since she burnt a casserole to a dish a couple of years ago, she had to throw the dish away it was so charred.

"Yeah, why is that so unbelievable? We both grew up in Camden. This is really good by the way, where did you learn to cook like this?" She shoved another forkful into her mouth and turned to find Charlie staring at her and smiling. "What?"

"Nothing, it's nice to see a girl who actually eats, every woman I've ever cooked for just picks at their food and pushes it round their plate. My grams taught me to cook, she tried to teach Molly and Catherine – my sisters – but they weren't bothered." Imogen found her opinion of Charlie softening with each new thing she found out about him, only slightly but it was definitely softening. What was happening to her?

"What's in the bag?" Charlie pointed his fork at the shoulder satchel she'd brought with her, the power of food had overwhelmed her and made her completely forget why she'd even turned up on his doorstep. Putting her nearly empty plate reluctantly to the floor, she reached for her bag and pulled out a leather bound photo album.

"If we're going to do this fake relationship we need to do it properly, if there are any inconsistencies in our stories, no matter how small or unimportant, my mother will sniff them a mile off. So I thought I'd bring some photos and we could start planning everything out, you know so we know every detail off by heart before next Saturday." She flipped the thick front cover open and shifted closer to Charlie on the sofa, who had also put his empty plate on the floor and picked up his beer bottle.

Pushing the album further in between them so they could both see the pictures, Imogen tried not to flinch as their thighs touched each other and Charlie put his arm along the back of the sofa behind her shoulders. It was like one of those moves you saw teenagers performing to try and cop a feel of a girls breasts. Glancing round and seeing his hand firmly planted on the cushion she relaxed again and flicked to the first page of photos.

The album was filled with snaps of her family and friends so was a perfect start for getting to know her life, she reluctantly began to point out certain people and introduce them giving a few facts that might come in useful to Charlie. She was still a little unsure of how much she wanted him to know, she definitely didn't trust him, not yet anyway; a part of her was still the teenage girl being called names and sniggered at by him. She was constantly on guard for him to turn around and laugh in her face, saying it was all a big joke at her expense.

"This is Daisy, my sister who's getting married in seven weeks, as my mum likes to continually point out to me, she's a PR events organiser like my mum; another reason they get on so well. The guy she's with is her fiancé Sam, an accountant in the city; they live in Barking with their nihilistic cat Fluffy, who is constantly trying to commit suicide by jumping from second-floor windows." He looked at the photo of the mousey-haired, skinny woman and she couldn't help but feel he was comparing the two of them in his head.

Daisy had always been thin and beautiful, she could easily have been a model but had inherited her five foot four frame from their mother's side. Instead she'd followed their mother's lead and gone into events organising, which suited both of their bossy natures perfectly. If Imogen had had to choose a fiancé for her sister, Sam would have been the last man on Earth she would have chosen. He was quiet, shy and completely down-to-earth, the exact opposite of the high-strung Daisy; but they do say opposites attract and in this case, the pair were unequivocally in love with each other.

"This is my dad Ian Jones, he's a retired book editor – hence my love of books and that is my mother Carole, like I said she organises events mainly for charities." She noticed the change in her voice when talking about her mother and father and wouldn't if Charlie had picked up on it, if he did he didn't mention it. "They live in Kent now, which is where we'll have to go on Saturday, but my dad comes into the city every so often to take me to an Arsenal game." She smiled as she remembered some of the more recent ones, it was nice to see her father without her mother's complaining tone coming from behind him.

"You're closer to your dad aren't you? My sisters were closer to my dad as well, it's strange really."

"What about you? Are you closer to your mum or your dad?" She watched as a wave of sadness washed over his face and a set of tears rimmed the bottom of his eyes threaten to spill over. Oh, what have I done? Her heart lurched at his sorrow, he tried to clear his throat but his voice was still thick with emotion as he answered her question.

"Well I was always closer to my mum, but we were all really close until three years ago when my dad died." His voice broke on the last word and he got up and walked over to the window and looked over his garden. Imogen felt her heart sink, here she was boasting about how well all her family members were doing without even knowing the pain in his. She stood up and followed him to the window, placing a hand on top of the one he was gripping the windowsill with.

"I'm sorry, I . . . I didn't know. Look the match's kicking off, let's give the family talk a rest and watch the footy." He turned to her a single tear track down his right cheek, she took his hand and relished the warmth of it in her own, she'd missed that warmth of holding on to somebody without even realising it; it was nice to have someone there again.

***

Charlie stared at his hand still intertwined with Imogen's, she hadn't let it go when they'd sat back down to watch the football and he was beginning to get accustomed to it being in his own hand. He hadn't meant to get so upset at the mention of his father, but it had been a while since he'd talked about it with anyone and the grief was still raw, even three years on. They'd sat in near silence, only a few comments about the ref or a wayward shot had broken it, yet it didn't feel awkward, there was something almost comforting about just being with someone and sharing a moment with no need to actually speak.

Ding Dong!

The doorbell made them both jump and they looked at each other startled before breaking into nervous laughter. "Shit, that scared the living daylights out of me!" Grudgingly he let go of her hand and immediately felt the cold air there, he stood up and walked downstairs hoping he could get rid of whoever was at the door and return to Imogen. Opening the door, disappointment flooded through his whole body as he saw his Sister Molly clinging to the hand of his best friend Adam, both of them smiling. It wasn't that he didn't want to see them, he just wanted more time alone with Imogen, he felt like they'd broken through a barrier there this afternoon.

"Hey, we thought we'd come and keep you company and watch the second half of the match while Toby and Liam are at work." There was a definite undertone in his sister's voice, she wanted something and almost certainly Toby had told her about him meeting a woman and she wanted to pump him for information.

"You just missed the most amazing goal by Jack Wilshere . . . oh sorry!" Imogen appeared at the top of stairs looking incredibly excited. Great! He had no chance of getting rid of the visitors now.

"Come in." He stood back and let them through the doorway, trudging up the stairs behind them. He saw the questioning look on his sister's face and obliged with the introductions that would inevitably have to take place. "Imogen, this is my sister Molly and her boyfriend, my best friend Adam. Molly, Adam, this is Imogen, we all actually went to school together and we ran into each other the other day." He stood back watching uncomfortably as everyone shook hands, waiting for the unavoidable comments about what, if anything was going on between the two of them.

That was the thing he hated most about his friends and family, they were all committed gossips; everybody knew everything about each other, hence his sister's unannounced trip to his house. "Do you want a drink?" he asked the room in general, but kept his eyes on Imogen's trying to convey some sort of unspoken, silent apology at the intrusion.

"A beer would be great mate." Adam said, his eyes concentrating on the match as he sat on the sofa.

"Can I get a coffee please?" He smiled at Imogen as she seemed to accept his earlier apology and sat next to Adam, engaging in a conversation about the goal they'd all missed that had just been replayed on the screen.

"I'll help you." Molly followed him down the stairs, obviously intent on finding out more about the woman she'd just been introduced to. He flicked on the coffee machine and waited for the third-degree to begin.

"So is that the woman you ran into on Friday? The one who kissed you." She made the question sound so innocent, one of the qualities he really hated about her; she could get out of anything, everybody believed her innocence. I am going to kill Toby, that boy cannot keep his mouth shut can he.

"Yes, it is. Before you ask, it's early days, so I don't know what's going to happen. I was a bastard to her in school, so it's nice that she's even talking to me okay." He looked at his sister who was struggling to keep her mouth shut tight, he knew there were so many questions bubbling away in that mouth of hers, but for the moment she was managing to hold them in. They made the drinks in silence and headed back to the living room where it was now half time.

"Charlie, your girlfriend here thinks Rosicky should start every game ahead of Arteta, can you believe that?" His heart literally stopped as he felt his cheeks turn a crimson red to match the football shirts of his favourite team, he glanced at Imogen and found her face flushed and her staring at her feet avoiding looking at their company. Molly slugged her boyfriend on the arm and whispered something along the lines of its early days, they haven't called themselves that yet, into his ear.

"Well I'd probably have to agree, he's a lot more creative, he can dribble, he can pass and he scores some great goals; remember those two against Liverpool in the FA cup eight years ago." He took a long sup from his fresh beer bottle trying to hide his own embarrassment and prevent anymore. Imogen looked gratefully at him over the top of her coffee cup, he inclined his head in acknowledgement.

The four of them watched the second half of the match without making any more comments about the status of the relationships in the room. When the final whistle blew, Imogen stood to leave and he had to fight hard to mask his discontent at the wrong person leaving first. He walked her to the front door apologising properly for the intrusion and leaned in for a hug with a little trepidation, happy when she returned the squeeze without hesitation.

Over her shoulder he saw his other two guests watching them from the top of the stairs, what was their problem, why could he get no privacy? He moved his mouth to Imogen's ear, hidden beneath her soft brown hair that smelled of almond and coconut and whispered barely moving his mouth.

"Is it okay if I kiss you? We've got an audience and they won't leave unless we give them some sort of show." He took the slight nod of her head as an affirmative, moving his head back slowly he looked her in the eye and saw a trace of nerves there that mirrored his own feelings. Leaning towards her, head tilting to the right, his heart began to flutter in his chest and he was sure she could feel it against her own.

Once again her lips were soft and yielding, welcoming him in. This woman is an amazing kisser. Before too long Imogen pulled back and looked at him biting her lip, he fought the urge to pull her into him again and let her go; sighing as he watched her walk down the road and wave back at him.
Chapter Six

Her fear had been building all week, the dread of her mother finding out her boyfriend was fake, the dread of everyone finding out her fake boyfriend was one of her worst enemies, the dread of people reacting the same way as Jess had and judging her for her decision. She'd come close to calling her mother and feigning illness to get out of the visit, but it was her dad's day and she really wanted to see him; plus Charlie had been great all week, genuinely interested in her family and the stories she told of her childhood growing up with the world's most annoying mother.

Together they'd come up with a plan, deciding on a backstory to their relationship and that they would stay "together" until after Daisy's wedding, that way she had a date for big day and her mother wouldn't keep trying to find her one. They would sort out how to break up when the time came. When she'd met her mother and sister for brunch, she'd managed to avoid the questions both were firing at her, making them wait until the weekend. Mainly because she wasn't sure on the answers and didn't want to drop herself in the shit before they'd even met Charlie.

The week had gone too quickly, they'd only just begun to learn everything about each other when Saturday was upon them. Jess arrived at the shop early, they'd decided to close for the day instead of bringing in cover. She wasn't at all happy about the arrangement of going in Charlie's car, but gave in when she found out he had a vintage beetle and her only other option would have been on the back of Imogen's Vespa, an experience she'd endured a few times before and as she says never again.

The two of them waited for Charlie to arrive, an awkward silence had settled between them and had for most of the week; Imogen thought it must have been the longest Jess hadn't talked to her since an incident where she had thrown up in Jess' anorak hood after a trip on the Ferris wheel when they were eight. That time they hadn't spoken for a week and only had because Imogen's mother had enrolled her in ballet classes, which Jess found hilarious and made sure Imogen knew this. Even as an eight year old she was a little pretentious.

"I know you don't approve of this whole Charlie thing and I get that, but please don't give anything away today!" Imogen looked at her best friend through puppy dog eyes, hoping her pleading would work for the first time ever; Jess was a hard nut to crack.

"I wouldn't do that, I wouldn't sacrifice you to your mother I know what she's like. And I'm still going to give him a hard time on the drive there."

"That's okay, I think he's expecting it from you anyway after that punch you landed on him last week." They were both laughing as Charlie's car pulled up on the pavement in front of them, one look at his face set them both off again and it took five minutes before they were even capable of getting into the car.

"Is this thing really safe? it seems a bit of a hunk of junk." Jess settled into the back seat making a big show of putting her seatbelt on, rattling the door and bouncing on the seat to make sure it would hold her. Charlie watched her with an air of annoyance, Imogen could see him biting his tongue trying not to make a comment that would put him even further on the wrong side of Jess.

"Monty's fine. Both my father and I have taken great care of him, he's my baby." She noticed the slight crack in his voice at the mention of his father and let her hand drift to his on the gearstick, he smiled warmly at her and started the engine before Jess noticed their small interaction.

An hour and a half of jokes about Charlie being in love with a car, an argument about who was better: The Smiths or The Cure, in which no agreement could be reached and an almost crash caused by said argument and they arrived at her parents' house in Broadstairs, Kent. Imogen looked up at the large sea front house her parents had bought after her father had retired, there was always something about it that made her uneasy and the fact one of the neighbours had told her a ghost story about an old spinster dying there certainly hadn't helped. She tried to avoid coming down here whenever possible, but there was no ducking out now.

"This is your parents' house, it's . . ."

"Creepy, spooky, weird." Jess looked up at the old Tudor style front, it was in complete antithesis to the Georgian townhouse they'd lived in in Camden. It wasn't friendly or welcoming, she was surprised her dad had agreed to move down here; she was sure her mother used an ultimatum that was something along the lines of move or die.

"Yeah! It's not really what I was expecting." The house seemed to be giving her a particularly frosty reception today, the October cold front they'd been sustaining definitely didn't help. Imogen shivered as she continued to stare at the vast, hostile building in front of her, almost daring her to run away and hide from the people she was about to face. "You okay?" Charlie asked, looking at her with a concerned face. What the hell am I doing? I'll never pull this off, what was I thinking? She managed a slight nod as she swallowed the bile that was rising in her throat.

Jess rang the doorbell as the three of them huddled together on the doorstep, Charlie pulled her hand into his; she could feel his pulse hammering in the tips and gave his fingers a slight squeeze hoping to reassure not only him but herself.

"Once more to the breach dear friends." Jess smiled nervously, she hated coming here as much as Imogen did. A shadow appeared behind the door and time seemed to stand still waiting for that first moment of recognition and the beginning of the end of her life; because her mother would surely kill her if she found out Charlie was a fake. As the heavy wooden door pulled back to reveal a spotless black and white tiled hallway, Imogen swore she felt a breeze chill her from inside the house; it certainly felt a lot warmer and more welcoming on this side of the door.

"Ah Imogen you're here, we've been expecting you." There was definitely an evil scientist hidden away in her personality, she waited for her mother to call in her assistants to bundle her into a laboratory and strap her to an operating table next to set of rusting torture instruments; of course she didn't actually need the instruments to torture Imogen usually what came out of her mouth was enough. Carole's lips tightened into an unwelcoming, cold smile as she saw Jess, however immediately brightened as she saw Charlie.

"Come in, come in, it's no use standing outside in the cold." She closed the door as the three of them shuffled reluctantly into the hallway, she walked back to the front of them, taking their coats and hanging them on the old wooden hat stand that had been part of furniture for as long as she could remember.

"You must be Charlie, we spoke on the phone last week." She stretched out a perfectly manicured hand and offered it to Charlie, who looked as if he were frozen to the spot and unable to take his eyes away from it, like it might jump up, grab his throat and throttle him. Imogen watched as he swallowed trying to clear the lump that had settled in his throat, rendering him speechless. Finally he managed to connect his brain with his body and regain all function, taking the hand and introducing himself properly.

Imogen held her breath waiting for any tiny slip-up that would give them away, but it didn't come and her mother began reeling off who else had turned up and who they were still waiting to arrive, including Daisy and Sam. When they reached the living room or 'Drawing room' as her mother liked to call it, making them sound like characters in some rejected Jane Austen novel.; she introduced Charlie to a few of her friends and leaving him with them before returning to Imogen's side.

"He's really nice Imogen, you never mentioned he was so good-looking. He reminds me of your father when I first met him." She looked dreamily back to Charlie reminiscing about her youth, she was only eighteen when she'd met Imogen's father and twenty one when they got married. "Very polite as well, what does he do?" She glanced back at her daughter her eyes shining with something close to pride but not quite there.

"He's a maths teacher. Where's dad?"

"A teacher, so he's intelligent and good with children, please don't mess this up Imogen!" Her jaw dropped as her mother continued to stare at Charlie, smiling wider than the Cheshire cat.

"What makes you think I would mess it up? All those men you set me up with were the ones that messed those dates up. They all had hidden secrets I mean one wanted to tie me up for Christ's sake. Where's dad?" Anger built in her as she tried to distract her mother's attention away from her boyfriend, uh fake boyfriend. Every failed date had to be her fault; it couldn't be the fault of the men her mother had chosen, her judgement was perfect of course.

"Well I'll have to take your word on that, apart from Peter Rowley, his arrest was an awful business. Shook his mother no end, there was a real scandal in the neighbourhood when the story was on the news." Ah, The Neighbourhood, the houses on this street that belonged to the better-off in the community, Imogen thought to herself. "Your father isn't here yet, your sister is picking him up from the club; he's having a birthday lunch there with his friends. He should be here in about fifteen minutes, he has no idea I've organised this little soiree for him.

"Not again mother, you know how much he hates surprises." Imogen's heart sank at this new piece of information, memories of previous surprise parties pushed into her memory. Ten years ago at Ian Jones' fiftieth birthday he'd gone out with a few mates and ended up absolutely bladdered, nobody had told him about the surprise party and he ended up vomiting over his wife and his sister, not a pretty sight. Then a few years ago on his 57th birthday, her mother had taken him to see a show he'd wanted to see for a while, only to have the interval interrupted by the cast singing Happy Birthday and drawing everybody's attention to him; the one thing he hates the most, exactly like his eldest daughter.

Imogen shook her head as her mother went to answer the door again, Jess had disappeared soon after they arrived probably in search of alcohol to numb the pain of seeing Imogen's mother. The drinks bar was always well-stocked at the parties her mother organised and the barmen could always knock something up to take your mind off anything. Imogen headed to the kitchen in search of her own liquid distraction.

***

Charlie stood with a smile plastered to his face as he half listened to a woman telling him a story about how her daughter had released one hundred white doves at her wedding and they'd ended up shitting on everyone in the wedding party and ruining the photos, I mean what do you expect they're bloody birds. He offered his sympathies as he looked round for Imogen who had disappeared not long after they'd got into the house.

He was beginning to panic she'd run off and left him with all these unknown people as some sort of cruel punishment for his past actions, a sort of bad karma. Then she appeared walking towards him with a big grin on her face as she saw who he was talking to; thank God she's come to rescue me, I can't face another story from this crazy woman. His heart leapt as he saw a bottle of beer in one hand and a glass of white wine in the other, she could definitely read his mind.

"Hello Aunt Sally, I see you've met my boyfriend Charlie. I hope you weren't flirting with him too much, I don't think I could compete with you for him." She handed him the ice cold bottle and leaned against his hip, he moved a hand to her waist and squeezed lightly, grateful for the rescue and the drink. He smiled as he saw the woman's reaction to Imogen's joke and thought how warm and genuine she was.

"Imogen, dear I didn't realise he was your boyfriend, your mother had to answer the door before she introduced us properly. That woman is always rushing around, I don't know what my brother is going to think of this party. I really don't want a repeat of last time, it took me a week to get the sick smell out of my hair and clothes." Charlie looked at Imogen confused but she just laughed and motioned that she'd tell him later, he couldn't wait to hear that story.

"I was just telling him about Melanie's wedding and the chaos of all those doves she let go after the ceremony, you were one of the lucky ones that didn't get covered in bird shit weren't you." He reeled in shock as the old woman swore and felt Imogen shake with laughter beside him, he'd definitely heard the polite version of the story; Aunt Sally was undoubtedly growing on him. As Imogen settled on his hip again, he felt comfortable, for some reason she felt right leant against him like she was meant to be there and he didn't want to let her go, at least not yet.

"I'll leave you to your man, he's very handsome; I bet your mother loves him." She winked at the woman at his side and was gone, champagne glass in hand toddling off to a group of young men on the other side of the room.

"She's a terrible flirt you know and she likes you, you better be careful. Aunt Sally likes her younger men, she's been married five times and each husband gets younger every wedding; she's just divorced a 33 year old. You could definitely be next." He saw the flirty twinkle in her eye as she moved off his side, the cold rushed to where her heat had just left.

"You seem a bit more relaxed. I thought you were going to break my hand earlier with your Vulcan death grip on me." He smiled as her cheeks flushed and she looked away from his eyes to the floor and back; a gesture that sent his heart into overdrive, he was not expecting that reaction but enjoyed it none the less.

"Yes, well my mother is no longer in the vicinity and I may have had a few drinks in anticipation of what happens when my dad arrives anytime now. He's not a fan of surprises, so he may go ape-shit when he gets here and that is a lot more entertaining if you've had a drink or two, believe me." He looked into her eyes and seriously thought about leaning down and putting his lips to hers; she couldn't argue, they were supposed to be boyfriend and girlfriend and what do boyfriend and girlfriend do but kiss. Just as his lips nudged hers, someone called out behind them.

"He's just pulling into the driveway, positions everyone, positions." Imogen's mum ran around like headless chicken pushing people to where she wanted them to be then hid behind the doorway herself. His heart sped up as the anticipation of meeting Imogen's father ramped up, he reached out for her hand which she offered with a nervous smile.
Chapter Seven

"SURPRISE!"

Imogen watched her father's reaction, he was shocked at the number of people gathered in his living room and was giving her mother a look of mild annoyance. As he looked round and caught her eye, he smiled and nodded. Everyone in the room began to crowd around him and wish him Happy Birthday, so she decided to hang back and wait for him to find her.

Just behind the group assembled around her father, she noticed Daisy talking to their mother and behind them Sam looking a little awkward carrying Daisy's handbag. She always felt sorry for him, he was quite a shy person and always looked uncomfortable in the background behind Daisy, who liked to be centre stage. However when her sister turned to him and gave him a tender kiss, she knew the two of them were completely in love with each other.

"So what was this story about Aunt Sally getting the smell of sick out of her clothes?" Charlie pulled her attention away from her sister, she turned to face him.

"My mum organised a party like this for my dad's fiftieth, only she didn't know he'd gone out on the lash with his mates. Mum sent out a search party when he didn't come home and he turned up two hours later plastered and threw up over mum and Aunt Sally. It was hilarious really, you'd have thought mum would have learnt her lesson about organising surprise parties; the thing is dad wouldn't mind a meal with family and friends if he was asked first." She watched as he cracked up with laughter and looked at both her mother and Aunt Sally and doubled over once again.

It was completely different being the one that was laughed with and not laughed at she thought, Charlie finally managed to tone down his laughter to a small giggle that was so infectious she started herself. At school she'd never noticed how good he looked when he was smiling and laughing, she'd always been escaping; but he really was handsome, beautiful even, a word she'd never used for a man before. His deep blue eyes shone like the sea when the sun glimmered on it, while a fun, sexy twinkle danced through them; his mouth spread into a wide grin that framed perfect teeth and lit up his whole face. He looked younger when he laughed, mirroring his teenage self but with a few more lines and that stubble that made him a little less polished and a little more human and attractive.

Her stomach began doing somersaults as she looked at him smiling at her, she tried to stop the sensation but it only increased. She'd always wanted a man to look at her like that, but definitely not him and definitely not when he was pretending it was real. A lump formed in her throat as she thought about the man in front of her again and what he had done to her in the past, she had to try and keep it hidden from her parents and Daisy, who knew what they would do if they found out it was him.

"That reminds me of a party I went to a few years ago, it was the works' do of a woman I was going out with. Everybody was getting pissed and there was one girl who was completely off her face, I mean she would not be remember a thing about the night. She was all over every bloke in the room, myself included. Honestly she was like this." He grabbed her round the shoulders, taking her by surprise and moved his face close to hers. "I thought she was going to strang-"

Before she knew what was happening, Charlie was crumpled in a heap at her feet. She looked around confused and saw Daisy dusting off her hands and scowling down at Charlie.

"There's no need to thank me sis." She smiled at her older sister and drew her into a bear hug, Daisy was only small and slight but she had the strength of a superhero, Imogen wouldn't be surprised if she saw her lift a car of a stranded child.

"You just knobbled my boyfriend in the nether regions, I may never have children now." She smiled at her sister and leant down to help Charlie to his feet, his eyes were closed and he was holding the place between his legs. As she pulled him up, she had to supress the giggle that was threatening to burst free. When he was standing again, he breathed out hard and groaned before looking at her.

"Shit! Sorry, I thought he was attacking you, I mean he had his arms around your neck and I don't know . . . Sorry!" She looked at Charlie with eyes full of guilt as she apologised to him.

"I really didn't deserve getting kneed in the balls for trying to tell a funny story." His voice fluctuated from low and strained to a high pitch that made him sound like he was experiencing puberty again and made the laughter she'd stifled earlier finally escape. "It's not funny, being around you is lethal. I've nearly had to live with eating through a straw and having no children."

"Daisy this is Charlie, Charlie this is my little sister Daisy." Charlie reached out his hand to greet her sister however she didn't offer hers in return, instead recognition flashed in her eyes replaced by anger. Her fist flashed out and straight into the middle of Charlie's face, clashing horribly with his nose. Daisy was incredibly short-tempered and the realisation that this man had ruined her sister's life lit the fuse of her very short torch paper.

"You're dating Charlie Ramsey, the guy who made your life hell. What the hell are you doing?"

"We ran into each other and he apologised to me, then he asked me out and it went from there. He's changed, he's a different guy now, alright. Look, don't tell mum and dad it's him, it's the first time mum's been off my back for a while and I kind of like not having her breathing down my neck." On the ground by their feet, she heard Charlie groan through the hands he had covering his mouth and nose, he got onto his hands and knees and pushed himself up.

"Well, I probably deserved that." As he turned round she saw the red seeping into his shirt and looked at the mess that was now his face. The sight of the blood flowing freely from his nose made her feel nauseous and she felt the darkness creep into the edge of her vision before blackness took over.

***

Charlie's heart raced as he crouched by Imogen's pale body; he didn't know what had happened, one minute she talking to her sister, the next she was flat out on the floor. He took her hand in his, grateful beyond belief when he felt her pulse and the flutter of her fingers as she came round. Daisy, who was crouched on her other side, looked as concerned and relieved as he was when her eyes flickered open. He let out the breath he'd been holding since she hit the deck and smiled as she looked up at him and noticed the blood again. If it was possible her skin whitened further, however this time she managed to stay conscious.

Nearby a crowd had gathered around them all concerned about the woman who had collapsed to the floor. Charlie helped Imogen into a sitting position as the people behind him parted to reveal the worried, flustered faces of her parents.

"Imogen, Imogen. Are you okay?" Her mother pushed him out of the way and he fell onto his backside from his crouching position, the relief in his hamstrings as his legs relaxed wasn't the only one that rushed through him. Thank God she's okay.

"I'm fine mum, the blood caught me by surprise that's all." Her voice was shaky and she sounded slightly winded as she tried to stand up. He rushed to her side and supported her weight as she stumbled to a standing position. "I just need to sit down for a little bit, maybe have a drink." Her hand tightened on his shirt as she leaned into him, her father came to her other side and helped him walk her steadily over to the sofa in front of a large window looking onto the vast back garden. They helped her down onto the cushions, which she gratefully sank into with a content sigh.

Charlie kneeled in front of her and pushed her fringe out of her eyes, she had a dreamy, far-off look in them as she smiled at him; he was so relieved he leant in and kissed her lightly on the lips, enjoying the sensation as she gasped and kissed him back. Leaning back she looked into his eyes a little more aware of him than before.

"Sorry. I don't do blood." He grinned and looked down at his red soaked shirt, his face must look an absolute mess he thought to himself.

"It's not your fault, you're not the one who deserved to get himself punched by another girl." She chuckled and the colour began to seep back into her face as a blush crept up her neck and cheeks. Behind him Daisy and Carole bustled through and sat next to Imogen on the sofa, both full of concern for her. Each grabbed a hand in a vice-like grip like they wouldn't let go ever again. He felt a presence appear at his side, glancing to his right he looked straight into the eyes of Imogen's father.

He was an inch taller than Charlie with black and white pepper-speckled hair, his skin held a light tan like he spent time outside in the garden or on the golf course, his eyes were the same scintillating blue as his daughter's but were a lot less welcoming. He was still handsome for a man who had just turned sixty and he had the air of someone who worked hard to keep his looks. His thin lips were set in a straight line across his face, while his chin and cheeks were clean shaven. Charlie gulped as he looked up at the man in front of him, intimidated for the first time in his life; he reached out a hand and Charlie flinched thinking another punch was coming his way.

"Ian Jones and you must be Imogen's new boyfriend."

"Charlie." He barely croaked out his nerve-constricted throat and took the hand offered to him, giving a firm shake.

"I think we ought to get you a change of shirt." He smiled for the first time as the he nodded at Charlie's shirt, he let of his hand and led him through the throng of people who had returned to their own conversations now the drama was over. Once out of the lounge and kitchen area of the house, the silence weighed heavy over the two of them. He followed the gentlemen, his heart racing as they went up the stairs and along a landing. The walls either side of him were scattered with framed photos, he glanced at each recognising a few famous faces posing with Carole and Ian.

One snapshot in particular caught his attention, he stopped and stared at the two familiar men posing together. "You've met Charlie George?" He looked back to his companion who had turned around and walked back towards him. Stopping next to Charlie he glanced at the photo and smiled to himself remembering the moment.

"Are you an Arsenal fan, Charlie?" Ian glared out of the corner of his eye at him and once again he felt about the size of an ant, even if he wasn't an Arsenal fan he'd have said he was to avoid insulting the man next to him. If looks could kill, Charlie thought to himself.

"Oh yeah, I was named after this man in the photo. He was my father's favourite player, especially after that first double in '71." He looked at the man next to him and caught a smile playing on his lips as he crossed his arms.

"That photo was taken a few years after that, he was a great player you don't get them like that anymore. I always said if I had a son I'd call him Charlie, Carole wouldn't have liked it but it never happened anyway." Ian looked at Charlie then walked back in the direction he was headed in before, Charlie followed after taking one last look at the photo of the two men. They entered a bedroom that was mostly taken up by a mahogany four poster bed, it was in the centre of the room facing a large bay window.

Ian walked over to a chest of drawers and pulled out a red and white long-sleeved t-shirt, Charlie recognised it instantly as a 1971 Arsenal shirt. He took it as it was offered to him and began to unbutton the pale blue blood-stained shirt he was still wearing. Pulling the clean shirt over his head, he felt the excitement of when he was a kid pulling on his replica shirt and watching the match with his dad.

"I'll wash this shirt and it back to you as soon as I can."

"Don't worry about it, I've got plenty of shirts, Carole will be pleased I've got rid of one. I'm going to put the game on later if you want to stay and watch it." Charlie accepted the invitation and headed back down to check on Imogen. He found her with a class of whiskey in hand and telling Jess what had happened. They both looked up as he arrived.

"That looks painful, Daisy did a better job than me." Jess smiled at him, a little malice in her eyes but it soon disappeared.

He smiled at jess then turned to Imogen. "How are you feeling? You look a little better."

Raising her glass, she smiled at him dazedly and slurred; "Whisky does that to you, you know."

"How much has she had to drink?"

"Not nearly enough to be spending the day with my mother." Imogen was near shouting and waving her arms around, sloshing the drink up the sides of her glass. Jess pulled her arms down and was trying to shush her but couldn't help the smile that plastered her face.

"I love drunk Imogen, she's so much fun." Charlie sat down on the other side of Imogen and helped Jess keep her under control for the rest of the night. The three of them joined Ian and some of the other guests to watch the Arsenal match in the evening before he and Jess bundled a dozy Imogen into the backseat of the beetle. As soon as they hit the road she was out like a light and didn't wake up until they reached Jess' flat.

Imogen insisted she was fine to walk home but he insisted on taking her himself, she was in no fit state to make her own way home in the dark. He drove to the shop with her in the backseat calling him Parker. She did however seem to have sobered up on the drive home, she was aware of her surroundings and looked a lot sharper than when they'd left Kent behind. He pulled the bug into a parking space in front of her shop and killed the engine.

"Do you want to come up for a coffee?" He looked behind him into Imogen's eyes, they danced with the light of the streetlamp as they twinkled with a never before seen flirtiness. She bit her lip waiting for his answer and his heart began to race as he watched the hope raise in her heart, he waited a few seconds before answering.

"Coffee would be great."
Chapter Eight

Charlie watched as Imogen struggled with her keys at the front door to her shop, he looked up and down the street but there was no one around. A car alarm began whining in the distance as he finally heard the lock click. Complete silence greeted them when they were through the door, she bolted it behind them then turned to look at him. The pale moonlight danced across her skin as it fought with the blanket of cloud that swept across the sky; he stared at her mesmerised, she looked the most beautiful he'd ever seen her.

In three quick strides he was standing in front of her, looking down into her eyes knowing he shouldn't be doing what he was doing. It was far beyond the decoy date they'd organised; he should have stopped at dropping her off, making sure she was okay and leaving. However he just couldn't bring himself to, he didn't want to leave her, he wanted to stay and look after her. His heart pounded against his ribcage trying to escape as his head leant down to hers slowly, so slowly, giving her all the time to pull back; but she didn't, she stood still just staring into his eyes.

When their lips touched he felt the heat explode within him, he'd been fighting this feeling every time they'd kissed since that first one in the street. This time however he let the sensation run through him, enjoying the tingling that covered his whole body, delighting in the path her arms took up his back to pull him closer. They left a trail of fire and goose bumps as they went, he felt her gasp as his tongue traced her lips and danced with her own. They continued to kiss until he felt like he couldn't breathe, he pulled away unwilling to leave the heat behind but he thought he might pass out if they didn't stop. Her hand was clutching his shirt as his chest heaved up and down.

They were both breathless as she moved a hand to her lips looking at him confusedly, her fingers traced over her red, swollen mouth. Staring at her lips, he felt proud that he had done that to her; he didn't know what had come over him, the kiss just felt like the right thing to do. However as he watched her bewilderment, guilt and uncertainty crept into his conscience; they weren't actually dating and he'd just kissed her so passionately and with so much desire he'd bruised her lips. Charlie closed his eyes and rubbed his temples trying to comprehend what had just happened, he shouldn't have done that, really shouldn't have done that.

"I better go. Sorry!" He turned on his heel and practically ran out of the shop, dropping his car keys as he fumbled with them by the car door. He was so confused, there was something else in that kiss, something deeper, for him anyway and she'd looked so strange before he left; fighting with herself over wanting more or not. Finally he got the key in and turned, only letting himself breathe when he'd sat down, he pictured her bemused face all the way back to his house. He'd virtually taken advantage of her, she'd had a lot to drink and he knew she wasn't completely sober when she'd asked him in for coffee, she'd been vulnerable after her fainting episode earlier and he'd just overpowered her with his lust.

Each time he replayed what happened he painted himself in an increasingly worsening light, some sort of sex-crazed monster who had thrown himself at a beautiful, slightly drunk woman. He ignored the calls of his friends as he ran upstairs, heading straight to his bedroom and lay face down on the bed, hoping the duvet and pillows would suffocate him and stop the shame that was continually building. After a few minutes he rolled over and looked at his ceiling imagining her face again, only this time he saw the smiling one that had looked at him all night at her parents' house. Eventually tiredness took its toll and he was thankful to fall into a dreamless sleep, fully clothed on top of the covers.

***

Imogen groaned as the throbbing in her head became too much to bare, she'd drunk way too much at her parents' house and then that kiss with Charlie had blown her mind. She knew she shouldn't trust him and shouldn't have been kissing back the way she had, but it had felt so amazing she hadn't wanted it to stop. Then he'd ran away and all she could do was picture the look of disgust on his face, he obviously couldn't get away quick enough judging by the skid marks that now adorned the street below her window. That look of horror had driven her to drink even more alcohol, she couldn't find much but had stumbled upon a bottle of tequila Jess had brought round for a Mexican night a couple of months ago but had never opened. She'd drunk over half the bottle before realising it was half past three in the morning and she had to open the shop at ten.

Rough was an understatement. Wrenching the covers off herself, she fought the cloudiness in her head and braced herself against the cold air. Her head pounded as she sat on the edge of the bed, it felt like a troupe of those cymbal-playing monkeys was marching through her head; she breathed in and out slowly fighting the heavy feeling of nausea in her stomach and throat. It wasn't working, she rushed to bathroom reaching the toilet bowl just in time to release last night's drinks. When nothing else was coming out and she was left dry heaving, she moved her head from the resting place of the toilet seat and curled into a ball on the floor.

Somewhere in the bedroom her iPhone began to ring, she sat up testing whether the movement would cause another wave of sickness but she actually felt a little better away from the bathroom floor. Straining, she got to her feet and regretted standing up when her head felt like it was splitting open, she should have crawled on her hands and knees; it wasn't dignified but at least she wouldn't feel like there was a mosh pit of heavy metal rockers jumping around in her head. She looked at the caller ID and saw a photo of Charlie smiling at her, they'd taken it when they'd been to Regent's Park, all part of their cover. The phone rang off before she could answer it. Great! He probably thinks I'm ignoring him now.

She had about ten minutes to take a shower and get dressed before Jess arrived to help her open up, maybe she'd pop back upstairs for a nap later, she definitely wasn't going to make it through the whole day. Her shower did nothing to ease her tiredness or the pain in her head that dulled to a constant ache in the background. Throwing on a pair of scruffy jeans and a woolly jumper her Grams had knitted her a couple of years ago, she headed to the kitchen and made an industrial strength coffee.

A few minutes later and walking down the stairs, she heard Jess coming into the shop and scrunched up her face as her friend shouted a hello that reverberated painfully around the inside of Imogen's head. Walking through the door she could see Jess was in an extremely good mood, not usually the case at ten o'clock on a Sunday morning. She was breezing around the shop, moving piles of books and whistling the latest Katy Perry song; that was weird, she'd never heard Jess whistle in the 24 years they'd know each other and Jess absolutely hated Katy Perry, calling her a blue-haired, psycho bitch on numerous occasions.

"Please don't whistle so loud." She spun around and stopped dead in her tracks as she finally saw Imogen.

"You look like a warthog's behind! What the hell happened after you dropped me off?"

"Thanks! Well Charlie drove me back to the shop and I offered him a coffee upstairs to say thanks for the lift and looking after me and he . . . sort of . . . kissed me, then ran away with a disgusted look on his face. When I got upstairs I found that bottle of tequila you bought me and drank most of the bottle." Jess tried to hide her anger and then laughter as she listened to Imogen's story.

"Wait, he kissed you, like really kissed you. But nobody was around to see it." Imogen nodded, words unable to form as she remembered the kiss, it had been amazing; hot and passionate, at one point her knees had actually gone weak and she'd had to cling onto him to stay upright. However with the kiss came the look on his face; that startled, sickened expression of someone who'd stood in dog muck and then walked it into their new cream-coloured carpet. She grimaced at the memory of it.

"That bad!"

"No the kiss was nice, it was the look he gave me after that was awful. He was so repulsed by me, he literally ran out of the shop. It reminded me of school again, it was the type of look everyone gave me back then." She shivered and pulled the sleeves of her jumper over her hands, wrapping arms tightly round her body.

"If he doesn't want to kiss you then fuck him, there are plenty of hot, gorgeous men in the world who you don't have a history with that you can go and kiss." Behind the two of them the door opened, they turned expecting to see their regular Sunday morning customer Mr Riley but instead Daisy walked through the door, looking as refreshed and happy as Jess had. Both of them were a complete contrast to the way she felt herself and the nauseous feeling that had subsided was rearing its ugly head again.

"Wow, you look like shit! I didn't think you'd had that much to drink at mum and dads." She was wrapped in a dogtooth woollen coat on top of skinny jeans and knee-high leather boots, the outfit made her look skinnier than usual and Imogen wondered how she'd got there without the wind snapping her in two, it was causing a lot of damage to the trees outside and the litter definitely wasn't enjoying the ride.

"That would be the bottle of tequila she downed when she got home." Jess was struggling not to laugh as Imogen rested her face on the cool, wooden counter.

"Ouch! You and tequila aren't exactly best friends are you? Remember cousin Rachel's hen night, she had that Mexican theme and we all did shots, you ended up puking all over the stripper when he arrived!" She burst out laughing, while Jess looked between the two sisters none the wiser.

"Why didn't I hear about this?"

"It wasn't a pretty sight, all the girls hated me that night. I told her the shots were a bad idea." Imogen groaned without moving her head from the sideways position it was in, she swallowed the sick that had risen to her throat as she pictured the half-dressed stripper covered in chunks of food with pale yellow liquid dripping from his police hat down his bare chest.

"She didn't speak to you for six months. Why the hell did you drink it again?"

"Charlie and her had a fight last night." Jess crossed her arms and looked unimpressed while the smile vanished from Daisy's face, she looked almost angry when Imogen looked hesitantly up at her.

"Why the hell are you dating him anyway?"

"I . . . uh . . . I think it's kind of to get closure about school and he is a great kisser." Her eyes glazed over as she replayed the kiss again from last night, it had definitely been more intense than all the others, the way his hands held her and the pressure of his lips on hers. She opened her eyes again and saw him standing behind Jess and Daisy, had he just heard what she'd said about him. "Hi."

The two of them turned around and looked at him through narrow eyes, he smiled nervously and looked her straight in the eye. She saw him visibly swallow, his Adam's apple shifting up and down. "I came to apologise for last night, I shouldn't have left like that. It wasn't your fault, it was mine. I lost control. I'm really sorry." She couldn't forget his expression and wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or was just forcing himself to carry on with their plan so he could gain her forgiveness.

"Seeing as you're both here I want to ask you a favour." Daisy looked back and forth between Charlie and Imogen, a fierce aspect to her face, she was not going to take no for an answer. "Sam and I are having dance lessons for the wedding and I want the two of you there so it's less embarrassing. Neither of us is very good and from what I remember you've got two left feet sis, so you could use the lessons as well." Imogen didn't know whether to be offended at this or not, she wasn't a good dancer and she'd hated every class her mother had forced her into. "Well, what do you say?"

"Sounds good, I'm not very good at dancing myself." Charlie surprised her by agreeing to help her sister, she looked at him and found he was smiling at her.

"Thank God! The woman mum's organised is a total slave driver, it'll be nice to have someone else she can boss around. Sam was on the verge of crying after our first lesson on Friday, he twisted his ankle and she made him carry on. He was limping as she dragged him around to an Adele song, don't get me wrong I love her songs, but they are mainly about heartbreak not really appropriate for a wedding dance. Which reminds me, have you sorted the music out for the wedding yet, Imogen?"

Imogen watched her sister ramble on without taking a lot of it in, she couldn't process all that information the state she was in at the moment.

"Yes I've organised a band called The Lilacs, they're really good, the lead singer has an incredible voice. I just need to know what song you want as your first dance." Imogen watched as her sister shrugged her shoulders and revealed she didn't mind, her and Sam didn't have a song, so it could be anything slow and romantic that they could dance to. Well that doesn't help, what the hell am I meant to pick for their first dance?

Before Imogen could ask Daisy for a little more guidance she was gone, breezing out of the shop as quickly as she came in. Jess looked at Imogen and rolled her eyes, she looked at Charlie then left just the two of them alone. Charlie looked down at his shoes, rubbing them on the floor kicking at a mark that had been there for a few years. After a few minutes he looked up at her and walked over the counter, facing her.

"I wanted to see how you were, I didn't mean to run away like that last night. It's just . . . the kiss took me a little by surprise, I threw myself at you and I didn't want you to think I wanted more, sorry!" He reached a hand across the counter to hers and rubbed the back of it. She instantly felt relief flow through her, he wasn't completely disgusted by her and he'd enjoyed the kiss too. "So dance lessons with your sister, I'd suggest you wear steel-toed boots I'm going to warn you I have absolutely no rhythm."

He chuckled as he continued drawing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb, it seemed such a natural movement for two people who were supposed to be dating and she had to remind herself they weren't actually together.

"Me neither, I'm about as graceful as a giraffe standing on a bed of marbles." He burst out laughing and she felt a whole lot better, the nausea had left her stomach and her head no longer ached.

Chapter Nine

"That shade of blue really suits you, it brings out the blue in your eyes." Imogen was stood in front of a mirror wearing the fifth bridesmaids dress in one hour, it was made of ruffles and toile and nothing else. She looked at herself and saw how the dress, if that was what you could call it, made her look frumpy and her hips spread wider than a hippos behind. It was tight across her chest but made her cleavage bulge in a completely unflattering way and the skirt burst out like a ballerina's tutu but did not look graceful and elegant on her body. In the mirror she saw the grimace on her sister's face at her mother's comment and stifled the giggle that nearly burst out, afraid if she let it go it wouldn't be the only thing bursting out.

Even the shop assistant frowned at the garment, the same one who had started out by gushing how beautiful we all were and the three of us could be sisters instead of mother and daughters, the same one who had found Daisy the ideal wedding gown; white and lace.

"I'm not sure, I think I've got one more dress that might be suitable. It's just come in, but I think it would look great on you." She retreated to the dressing room grateful to be away from her reflection, she wasn't comfortable wearing dresses anyway and being forced to look at herself in some of the worst dresses ever made was even more painful. She struggled out of the pale blue monstrosity and sat on the stool in the corner of the room waiting for the next horror show to arrive. God I hated shopping with my mother, she made Hannibal a better companion; at least he'd eat you before you could see yourself in these awful clothes.

The assistant popped her head through the curtain and handed through a dark blue dress, as soon as Imogen saw it her heart beat a little faster. She took the hanger and held it up, it had three quarter length sleeves and was made of lace with a lining in the main body; when she held it up in front of the mirror it came to just below her knees. Smiling at herself she couldn't wait to try it on, removing the hanger and undoing the zip; she stepped into the garment and shimmied it up, pulling the zip up her back.

Slowly her eyes swept over her body as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, a smile spread across her face as she saw how the dress accentuated all her features. It hugged her curves in a sexy way that made them look voluptuous rather than chunky, it especially showed off her breasts without being low cut and her legs looked amazing for the first time in her life. She turned and pushed the curtain aside, walking proudly through to her mother and sister in bare feet.

"Now that is the dress my bridesmaid is wearing!" Daisy clapped her hands together and pranced across to get a closer look. "You look beautiful and sexy as hell. Charlie won't be able to resist you in this." Imogen let the smile on her lips widen as she thought about Charlie's reaction to her in this dress, she knew she shouldn't care what he thought about her but part of her was still waiting for that judgement from him. She looked at her mother who was wiping a tear from the corner of her eye and knew she just had to get this dress now, there was no excuse not to.

Having spent more than she'd wanted to on a dress she would probably only wear once, Imogen and Daisy headed to the dance lesson in Bloomsbury. They walked from the wedding boutique as it was only a few streets away, the excitement she'd got from the dress waned and became a dread lying heavy in her stomach as they approached the road. Charlie was standing on the street talking to Sam when they arrived, he turned and gave her slow smile as tremors shook through her stomach. She put them down to nerves as he leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips, next to them Sam and Daisy embraced in a similar tender way.

They were greeted by a woman who was a cross between Judy Dench and Louis Spence, in looks as well as mannerisms. Every sentence was ended by calling them darlings and she flourished her movements with pirouettes and hand gestures only a dancer would get away with. Imogen was completely out of her comfort zone, shopping with her mother was a walk in the park compared to this.

The terrace house they were in had been converted into studios, the bottom floor had been opened up into one big room with a dance floor installed and mirrors lining every wall. It was like being in a fun house at the fair, every time she turned she saw a new and more disturbing reflection staring straight back at herself. It was even worse when they started actually dancing, she caught sight of Charlie's hand on her waist and flushed with embarrassment.

Madame Lebon, who was no more French than Imogen dressed in a stripy t-shirt, beret and a string of onions hanging around her neck, was exactly as Daisy had described her; a slave driver who loved the sound of her voice way too much. Having got the two pairs into position she put some music on in the background, unfortunately it wasn't loud enough to drown out her instructions.

"How was the fitting with your mother?" Charlie looked down at her as he held her waist with his left hand and her hand in his right hand, they were moving around the dance floor slowly trying to stay in time with the rhythm of the music. Madame Lebon was distracted getting Daisy and Sam into position, leaving the two of them to their own devices. He smiled as he looked into her eyes.

"Ugh! Don't ask. I had to try on six dresses before I found one that I wanted, my mother said all the previous five looked beautiful when they were downright bloody awful. I looked like a pink blamange in one of them, honestly you could have served me as a dessert. The last one I tried on though was amazing, I'm not a dress kind of girl but it was beautiful and I looked good for once."

"You look good all the time, you don't need a dress to look sexy. Some girls look mind-blowing in jeans and a baggy jumper." Imogen blushed as she remembered the outfit she had been wearing on Sunday when he'd come to apologise about the night before. She looked away from his eyes as her heart beat a little faster; nobody had ever told her she looked good in her scruffs before and she doubted he really meant what he said. "You should learn to take a compliment you know, there were men practically drooling in the coffee shop the other week."

She burst out laughing as she listened to him, alerting the other people in the room to their presence for the first time in a while. All three of them stopped and watched as they swayed around the room completely oblivious to the bystanders observing them.

"Watch carefully you two. Zat is how a couple in love wiz each other dance togezzer. They are only focuzzed on each uzzer, nozzing else around zem." Her false French accent cut through the music and Imogen turned her head to see the others stood still and watching. Embarrassed, she let go of Charlie's hand and froze on the spot. "No, no. Please don't stop, you looked wonderful togezzer." She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw the pink of Charlie's cheeks flare up like her own.

Madam Lebon returned her attention to the other two when it was clear no coaxing – subtle or obvious – going to get her and Charlie dancing again. Imogen walked over to a set of chairs in the corner of the room and plonked herself down, Charlie joined her a few seconds later and they watched as Daisy and Sam were forced to dance with each other for another half an hour before they were all finally released. When they got out onto the street it was already getting dark and the street lamps had sprung into life. Sam and Daisy rushed off to a restaurant reservation they had booked leaving her alone with Charlie for the first time all night.

"Are you doing anything now?" She shook her head in answer to his question as they fell into step slowly ambling up the street, people were beginning to come out of the buildings on their way home from work. "My mum's cooking dinner for me and my sisters if you want to come?" She looked up at him, unsure of what to say; it seemed a little too personal to go to his mum's house and eat dinner with her and her children, but then she remembered they were supposed to be dating.

Sensing her hesitation, Charlie filled her in on the details. "It's not just me and my sisters, Adam will be there and my older sister Catherine's husband Harry will be there." Imogen considered this, it made sense he'd want to take her and she knew Adam and Molly and that they thought the two of them were dating, besides he'd gone to meet her parents why shouldn't she meet his.

"Okay, you said she was a good cook didn't you. Are you sure she won't mind an extra person showing up?" He smiled coyly at her before looking away. "Oh, she asked you to ask me. How did she know about "us"? Molly told her didn't she?" He nodded, sighing as he pulled his phone out and revealed he'd better let them know they were on their way.

Chapter Ten

What am I doing, I've never brought a woman home before! Charlie thought as his heart leapt to his throat hammering against his windpipe trying to suffocate him. He'd just swung the car into the drive at his mother's house in Hampstead, she'd moved to a smaller place when his father had died and it still felt like he was parking in front of a stranger's house every time he went to visit. Molly and Catherine had already arrived, they'd parked in the drive that would easily accommodate five cars; who the hell had that many vehicles anyway.

Turning the engine off, his hands remained attached to the steering wheel as he stared at the front door. He knew his mother would be behind the curtains looking out for him and a glimpse of the girl he had brought with him, sure enough there was a slight twitch as Imogen put her hand on his arm. He turned to see her smiling at him but her shining eyes showed she was as nervous as he was.

"Ready?" He tried to smile at her but it never reached his eyes; it wasn't that he didn't like visiting his mum, they were really close, he just always thought the first girl he'd take home to meet his mum would be the one he would marry. Even as a teenager he never took girls back to his house, they either went to hers or hung out in the park or at friends' houses.

It just felt weird he was taking a fake girlfriend home to meet everyone as if he was in love with her and spending the rest of his life with her. The thought made him smile, Imogen was definitely the type of woman he could see himself settling down with; a couple of children and dog in the suburbs. Obviously it wouldn't be Imogen herself, he knew she'd never truly forgive him for what he did and he'd accepted that when they'd run into each other again.

The walk from the car to the doorstep wasn't long enough for him to calm his nerves, they had settled a little when Imogen had taken his hand in hers but his heart still fluttered as his hand reached up towards the doorbell. Before he could press it the door swung open to reveal Molly standing in front of the two of them, she was smiling broadly as she looked from him to Imogen.

"Hi, again. It's nice to meet you properly without football to distract anyone." She gave Charlie a meaningful look that meant she wanted to know everything about their relationship and everything about Imogen as well. He stepped through the threshold and gave her a quick hug whispering behave in her ear so only she could hear, when he pulled back she had a face portraying pure innocence but her smile flickered with a touch of evil. Maybe I should warn Imogen about my family, they can be a little eager. Molly was now giving Imogen a hug like they were old friends, though they hardly knew each.

He heard his mother banging pots around in the kitchen and aroma of roast chicken and rosemary made his mouth water in anticipation. Marie Ramsey was an amazing cook, she could have done it professionally but chose to look after children instead as a primary school teacher; she'd been there since her own three children had gone to the school. When he thought about, Charlie had to admit she had been a big influence on him becoming a teacher himself.

In the living room Harry and Adam were having some sort of animated conversation, they both looked up and smiled as he walked in, the latter rolling his eyes obviously not sharing his partner's opinion. Catherine his elder sister by three years stood up and walked across to him, well waddled was more like it. Her stomach protruded roundly out of her body carrying her first child and his first niece or nephew; when she'd told him, he'd been so excited for her and Harry.

The two of them had met at Oxford University, he was studying medicine and she was reading law; both said is was love at first sight and they'd been married for nine years now.

"Hi Kit, how are you? How's my future niece or nephew?" She pulled him into a tight, awkward hug, trying to angle the bump sideways so she could reach him and kiss his cheek.

"So who's this girl Molly hasn't stopped talking about? You have brought her with you haven't you?"

"Yes, Molly's trapped her in the hall. She's probably told her our life story by now." He looked behind him to see the two of them standing in the hallway through the open door, Imogen was hanging on every word his little sister was telling her. He only hoped it wasn't some embarrassing story from his past, the bubble of laughter from the two of them suggested it probably was. Oh God don't let me be naked in the story, every tale she tells I'm always naked.

"Ha! You wait till mum gets the baby photos out, she's got them ready to share all your naked childhood glory." She giggled as his mouth dropped, there was no wonder he never brought women home to meet his family, they enjoyed humiliating him way too much. He needed to try and get those photo albums out of his mother's reach as soon as he could, nobody needed to see him running round the garden of their old house wearing nothing but a fireman's helmet.

Molly had finally let Imogen into the living room, both still chuckling from the secrets they'd shared a few minutes earlier. When she reached him he put an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, using only his eyes to ask what they had been talking about.

"Molly was telling me about what you were like as a brother while she was growing up."

"All good I hope." He looked round sharply as Molly burst out laughing and said "Not bloody likely!"

"Of course it was all good. She said she couldn't have wished for a better brother." The arm she'd snaked around his back gave him a little reassuring squeeze as she looked up into his eyes and smiled warmly at him. He could definitely see himself settling down with someone like her. Harry and Adam moved over to join their circle and he introduced Imogen to everyone, giving a little detail about each one as they shook hands.

Leaving her in the capable hands of his two sisters, he slipped into the kitchen to see how his mum was getting on. The roast chicken was steaming on the side waiting to be carved and the vegetables were boiling away in the pan, his mum was pulverising some potatoes trying to get the mash as smooth as possible. He also saw roast potatoes browning in the oven and few jersey royals sat in a dish with a knob of butter melting through them.

"You didn't have to go to this much trouble mum, one type of potato would've been enough." She looked up from her workout and a smile spread across her face, she dropped the masher into the pan and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Well, it's not every day you bring a girl home Charlie, I'm going make sure everything's perfect so she'll come back again." She let him go and moved back to her workout. "You can sort that chicken out if you want, everything else is nearly ready." Charlie rolled his shirt sleeves up to elbows and picked up the carving knife his mother had left next to the meat and began cutting.

***

Imogen felt a little overwhelmed talking to Charlie's sisters, both Molly and Catherine were nice and were really interested in her bookshop. They asked questions about setting it up and the types of customers she got, they also asked where her interest in books had come from; she revealed that her father was a book editor but omitted the fact that she'd used books as a coping mechanism for her childhood bullying.

"Mum's gone all out with the food tonight, I've never seen her cook so many different types of veg or potatoes for one meal." Molly took her through to the dining room and sat next to her, as they waited for the others to join them.

"Hasn't she cooked for Charlie's other girlfriends?"

Imogen felt a little nervous when everybody else in the room – Molly, Catherine, Harry and Adam – all burst out laughing. "What other girlfriends? Charlie's never been a settling down type of guy, he's never dated anyone for more than a month except Sarah and she turned out to be a nutcase. You're the first girl he's brought home, he must really like you." Molly smiled at her but her words made Imogen feel even more uneasy, at school Charlie would have a different girl hanging off his arm every week and the rest would follow him around hoping to be his next choice.

Nevertheless since they'd been pretend dating he hadn't seemed like a player, in fact he seemed like the type of man she'd like to marry in the future, only without such a horrible past between the two of them. Before she could reply Charlie and his mum began bringing plates and plates of food through, there was easily enough to feed a small army battalion rather than the seven of them. When all the food had been placed at the table, Charlie took his seat next to her and began spooning peas and chicken onto both their plates.

An hour later she had eaten so much food she wasn't sure she could move, she'd listened to stories about the children as they'd grown up including lots about a naked Charlie and watched in amusement as his cheeks turned a shade of violent pink each time. Carrying plates through to the kitchen she was glad of her experience waitressing while at university, there was so much crockery to move and get washed up. She and Charlie both offered to help his mum and she seemed grateful to have the help. With all three of them working together it took no time at all to get cleaned up.

When they'd put the last dish away, Marie went to check on the others leaving her alone with Charlie for the first time since they'd walked through the door earlier. She turned to find him leaning against the kitchen counter smiling at her with a tired look on his face.

"So, what do you think of the family? I bet you wouldn't have agreed to date me if you'd met them first." He grinned as she moved over to stand next to him.

"They're really nice, Harry's nice too. He and Catherine seem so happy together, he's really excited about the baby as well." She looked at her feet and back up at him before continuing. "Is it true you've never brought a girlfriend home before?" His smile faltered slightly and it was his time to look away and think what to say.

"I guess I've just never met someone I've wanted to introduce to everyone. I've dated a lot of unsuitable girls, women I wished I'd never met but you're the first one I've wanted everyone to meet and get to know. They all love you by the way, my mum especially; she thinks you've had a good influence on me already." He smiled and once again his cheeks were a little more flushed than normal, he moved in front of her and looked straight in her eyes. "I think I'd probably have to agree with her as well."

He leant his head down and she found herself reaching up to his face and kissing him gently on the lips, his arms moved around her waist and pulled her lightly into his body. Letting the initial adrenaline rush slow, she settled into the kiss and began to enjoy the feel of his lips on hers. She knew she shouldn't be doing it but there was something about the way his lips touched hers that she just couldn't get enough of.

Somewhere in the background someone cleared their throat, the two broke apart slowly and looked round to find Adam staring at them. Her face and neck grew hot as heat flared red there, she looked at their intertwined legs as Adam tried to keep the smile off of his face.

"We're having a launch night for the exhibition on Saturday, I got the two of you tickets for it if you're interested in going. It'll probably be boring but there's free booze and finger food for everyone." Once again she tried to hide the giggle from the finger food comment, she really needed to grow up. He handed two tickets to the opening of a World War One exhibition at the British Museum to Charlie, he looked expectantly at her, she shrugged her shoulders and nodded. Why not.

"Seeing as there's free food, we'll see you there mate." Charlie put the two tickets into his wallet and led her through to the living room where everyone was sat down watching the large television. Imogen took the empty seat next to Marie and Charlie sat on her other side. Before she knew what was happening, a photo album was placed in her lap and Marie began showing her snapshots of the three children, all of whom now blushed with embarrassment as she told more awkward stories from their childhood.

Chapter Eleven

"They all really like you by the way, my mum especially. Anyone who likes her food is already in her good books." Imogen led the way up the stairs to her flat above the shop, she'd invited Charlie in for a coffee again hoping the lack of alcohol meant both of them would be a bit more sensible. She'd spent most of the night laughing at his mother's stories and his embarrassment, it was nice to see a side to him that didn't exude confidence.

"Well she's a great cook, I think that chicken is the best I've had in my life." She smiled dreamily remembering it, food was an important part of her life it always had been. She could never be one of those stick-thin women who could live on a glass of water and a salad, she loved steak and chips and roast dinner with sticky toffee pudding for desert; no matter how much dieting and nagging from her mother, she just couldn't give up food.

When he didn't say anything she turned to look at him, one glance down showed he was staring at her arse. It was pretty sizable, one of the things she loved now she'd lost a little weight was that she now had curves in the right places; she'd caught men checking her out before but felt too embarrassed to say anything to them. Charlie's eyes slowly moved up to hers and his cheeks flushed bright red as he realised he'd been caught ogling her, she smiled as he stuttered out an apology and climbed the last couple of steps.

Reaching the top she smiled to herself as she thought about the effect she was having on him, if only she could tell her sixteen year-old self that one day Charlie George Ramsey would be lusting after her. She walked into her open plan kitchen and living area and placed her iPhone on the breakfast bar, Charlie walked in behind her and looked around.

"Coffee, alright?" She flicked on the coffee machine and put a new filter paper in, it had been a present from Jess when she'd moved out a few months ago trying to soften the blow of her leaving. Grabbing a couple of mugs, she followed Charlie into the lounge area and breathed a sigh of relief at the fact she'd tidied this morning. Ten hours earlier Charlie would have been wading through piles of newspapers, books and dirty washing – including her underwear, not what he would have wanted to see.

Walking back into the kitchen she poured the coffee, keeping a close eye on Charlie who was looking along her book shelves; she kept her own personal books up here, the ones she loved to reread over and over again.

"Why do you have so many copies of _Pride and Prejudice_?" She placed the two mugs on the coffee table in front of her sofa and joined him in front of the bookcase.

"I collect them, it's one of my favourite books. My parents gave me a copy for my twelfth birthday and I just fell in love with it, every time I pass a second-hand bookshop I have to go in and see if they've got a different copy. Any of the copies downstairs are duplicates of ones I've got up here." She looked up at him slightly embarrassed, he probably thought she was crazy keeping lots of copies of the same book. She could see him trying to assess if she was obsessed with Colin Firth emerging from the lake in a wet shirt, which she sort of was; the show had definitely made her like the book even more and fancy Colin Firth something rotten.

"Lizzie is definitely Austen's best heroine. I never got on with Anne, she always seemed so weak if she loved Wentworth she should have just ignored her father and Mrs Jenkins and Emma always seemed way too pretentious and up herself."

Imogen raised her eyebrows in surprise, she hadn't come across many men who'd read Pride and Prejudice let alone the other Austen classics. "You've read Jane Austen?" She tried to keep the disbelief out of her voice but completely failed.

"Is that so unbelievable? I love reading, especially the classics. _Around the World in 80 Days_ is my all-time favourite book, Jules Verne was just a master of adventure writing, I always wanted to be Philieas Fogg and travel around the world in a hot-air balloon and ride on an elephant. I'd still love to do it." He turned and smiled at her, the innocence of childhood still shining in his blue eyes.

They both settled onto the sofa and drank their coffee discussing the books they'd read and she even divulged a little about how they had saved her from her childhood misery but she didn't dwell on it when she saw the guilt once again cross his face. They also chatted about his family, how they all seemed happy and liked her, she felt slightly embarrassed but revealed that she liked all of them as well.

Charlie finished his coffee and continued to snoop through her things, she thought about stopping him but if he was really her boyfriend he'd be snooping through her stuff anyway; at least this way he'd know more about her. This last thought scared her a little, she'd worked so hard repressing her memories from school and having them thrust back in her face and combing through her belongings didn't feel quite right. Imogen watched Charlie carefully ready to stop him if she couldn't take it anymore, he was looking at her pictures on the wall when he almost tripped over her acoustic guitar.

"Do you play?" He picked up the instrument her father had given her for her twenty-first birthday, it was meant to replace the one he'd given her five years earlier that had been his but she still loved that one.

"A bit, I've been trying to choose a song for my sister's first dance at the wedding, she's left the choice up to me and the pressure to find the right song is unbearable. I was hoping to play and sing for her to make it more personal but the songs I'm looking at need two people." She walked over and pulled a notebook out from the side of the sofa, it had a list of songs with lots of notes and crossings out. She'd narrowed it down to a choice between two songs but both needed a second player and she didn't really want to involve the band she'd hired for the wedding.

"That sounds amazing, I bet she'll love it. I can't believe she's given you free reign on the music though, it's such a personal thing. Catherine had Etta James' At Last, she hired this really great singer; everyone loved it." Imogen had to agree with him, she could never let anyone else make such an important decision for her, but Daisy had never been interested in music; she listened to the radio and sang along to songs she liked, but she didn't go to gigs or follow bands the way Imogen did.

"I play a little guitar if you need someone to practice with, I'd be more than happy to help."

"Really, well I've got another guitar upstairs. If you really want to help me out that would be brilliant." She rushed up the two flights of stairs to her bedroom and grabbed her father's guitar and her laptop; she had both her songs choices on there and could let him listen to them. When she walked back into her lounge, Charlie was sat on her sofa again with the guitar on his knee. He strummed the strings and she watched from her hiding place behind him as he began singing softly; she recognised Jack Johnson's Banana Pancakes and stood frozen simply listening to his voice.

His voice was beautiful, melodious and rich in tone; it would be perfect for either of the songs she had shortlisted to perform, but she'd never dare ask him to do it with her. The guitar in her hand slipped and she caught the strings as she prevented it from falling to the floor, he stopped and looked round embarrassed that she'd heard him. "Don't stop." She smiled encouragingly but he was unwilling to continue; damn her clumsiness, it always reared up at the most inopportune times.

"I've narrowed it down to two songs, I thought we could listen to them and you could help me decide which one to use." She perched on the edge of the settee next to him and set the laptop on the table in front of the both of them. Uploading the internet, she searched for the first song; an acoustic version of Madness' It must be love. She sat back and tried to gage his reaction, he tapped his foot as he watched the video but didn't say a word.

He motioned for her to play the next song when the first had finished. She searched for the video and decided this one needed a little more of an explanation, before hitting play she turned towards him.

"This one is from the TV series Nashville, it's one of Daisy's favourite shows and I thought this song would be perfect for a wedding dance." He nodded eagerly not giving anything away, she pressed play and they listened as Sam Palladio and Claire Bowen – the stars of the show – sang Fade into you. This was her favourite of the two, it seemed perfect for Daisy, it was the right sort of tempo and was from her favourite TV show. Charlie leaned in towards the screen and her heart rate increased a little as she watched him.

His voice was still resonating inside her head, the low rumble had stirred something inside her and she couldn't wait to hear him sing again. She watched as his hand tapped his thigh in time with his foot tapping the floor and the strumming of the guitar coming out of the speakers. When the song had finished he turned to her and simply nodded; decision made, that was easier than she'd expected.

"I've got the chords and the lyrics here, I thought I'd sing the first part if that's okay?"

"It's your song, I'm just here to help." She let him look through the words and music and watched as he positioned his fingers on the guitar frets. He moved them gently into the different positions and couldn't help but feel jealous. Oh, how she'd like to be touched like that. She felt his gaze shift to her and flushed at her inappropriate thoughts about his hands.

"Do you want to try the song? It seems fairly straight forward but I'm a little rusty." He smiled and she thought back to his earlier playing, _if he's a little rusty he must be bloody good._ Imogen placed her own guitar on her knee and counted them in.

"1, 2, 3 . . . If you were the ocean and I was the sun  
If the day made me heavy and gravity won  
If I was the red and you were the blue  
I could just fade into you"

"If you were a window and I was the rain  
I'd pour myself out and wash off the pain  
I'd fall like a tear so your light could shine through  
Then I'd just fade into you"

"In your heart, in your head,  
in your arms, in your bed under your skin,  
Til there's no way to know where  
you end and where I begin"

"If I was a shadow and you were a street  
The cobblestone midnight is where we first meet  
Til the lights flickered out, we dance with the moon  
Then I'd just fade into you"

"In your heart, in your head,  
in your arms, in your bed under your skin  
Til there's no way to know  
where you end and where I begin"

"I wanna melt in I wanna soak through  
I only wanna move when you move  
I wanna breathe out when you  
breathe in then I wanna fade into you"

"If I was just ashes and you were the ground  
And under your willow they laid me down  
There'll be no trace that one was once two  
After I fade into you"

"OoOoOo OoOoOo OoOoOo  
Then I just fade into you.  
OoOoOo OoOoOo OoOoOo  
Then I just fade into you."

When they had both fallen silent, Imogen noticed her heart was racing and her hands were shaking around the guitar. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw him staring at her, they're voices had fit so perfectly together; both melodic and beautifully harmonic. She sighed and placed the guitar down on the table, standing up she ambled towards him and took the face he had turned up to her in her hands.

All her sense left her and she stroked his stubbled cheek, leaning her lips down to meet his softly; her heart strummed in her chest as he moved the guitar from his lap to the floor. He stood and put his arms round her back extending the kiss. His lips were soft at first but became more insistent and Imogen opened inviting him in, as his tongue flickered across hers she sighed into the kiss and moved one hand up to his hair. It was soft and feathery where she thought it would be greasy from gel, she felt him moan as she began to move her fingers through the strands and she smiled to herself, feeling his lips smile back on hers.

Pulling back to see the smile on her face, it suddenly dawned on her what she was doing. She was kissing Charlie Ramsey; she was dating Charlie Ramsey, well fake-dating Charlie Ramsey but she'd just kissed him like they were dating for real. And she'd liked it, well more than that, she'd loved it and wanted more. He opened his eyes when her lips hadn't returned to his and saw the daze instantly clear when he saw the anguish on her face, his hands dropped from her back and he stepped back.

"I think the song's perfect for Sam and Daisy, I'll play it with you if you need me to." Charlie continued chatting as if the kiss hadn't happened, it was just another cover for the relationship even though there had been no one there to see it. Imogen decided it was probably for the best, there was no way she could like Charlie Ramsey, she was just confused about the public affection and not having to show any behind closed doors, that was it.

She walked him down to his car and said good night, avoiding even the slightest of pecks on the cheeks in case they led to something a little more out of control. When she returned upstairs she sighed as she saw the guitars, without putting anything away or washing the coffee mugs she climbed the two floors to her bedroom. Sinking into her mattress, she tried so hard not to think about Charlie as she drifted to sleep but found it incredibly hard.

Chapter Twelve

This dress is definitely not as good as the one I'm wearing for the wedding. Imogen looked at herself in the bedroom mirror, turning this way then that way trying to get a better look around the back. When Charlie had asked her to go to the exhibition opening at The British Museum, she'd gone into her wardrobe and found nothing suitable to wear; she didn't own any dresses other than the one she was wearing to Daisy's wedding and she didn't want to mess that up and none of her other clothes were right for a black tie event, either too scruffy or too faded. With no other option she'd turned to the internet.

At the fifth site she visited she found what she was looking for, it was a lace dress like the one for the wedding but in black with three quarter length sleeves and a thin brown belt around the waist. In the pictures it looked perfect on the model and for the first time in her life she bought a dress on impulse. However now it had arrived and she had it on, she was regretting the purchase. It was a lot shorter than she'd expected, cutting into her thighs halfway up rather than just above the knee and it was a lot tighter than she'd expected, hugging her body like a glove and sticking to all of her curves. Studying herself in the mirror, she couldn't see past the pair of legs protruding from the bottom of frilly lace or the bulge of her hips as they blossomed from beneath the thin belt holding her waist in.

The doorbell rang three floors below her making her jump. "Too late now anyway." Imogen sighed, slipping her flat ballet pump shoes on – high heels and alcohol were a definite no-no; besides following recent performances she wasn't planning on drinking much at all tonight – and grabbed the black clutch she'd borrowed from Jess. One last glance in the mirror wasn't the confidence booster she was hoping for, heading downstairs nerves built uneasily in her stomach before she reached the door and took a deep breath, opening it wide.

Charlie was stood in a black suit and crisp white shirt, she smiled as she thought he looked incredibly dapper, as he turned back towards her she saw he had on a thin, black neck tie and was a little disappointed not to see him in a bowtie. As he gazed at her shock was replaced by a slow sexy smile and speechless awe, his eyes met hers and he began to grin.

"What do you think?" She waited nervously for his reaction and hoped she hadn't over done it with the dress; why hadn't she just gone with the black trouser suit, it was a lot more elegant. His eyes swept over her again as he searched for the right words.

"You look stunning, absolutely beautiful. I'd have worn something similar myself, but I think that would have taken everyone's attention away from the exhibit." Imogen burst out laughing and took the arm he offered her, she was instantly more relaxed by the time they got into the black cab waiting on the curb.

"I thought you might be wearing a tuxedo, I'd readied my Dick Van Dyke cockney impression but I can't really do it now you're not wearing a penguin suit." They had set off through the streets of North London towards Euston Station and to the museum beyond.

"I loved the film when I was growing up, Molly and I used to pretend we could tidy our rooms by clicking our fingers like the children in the film and then every time there was a chalk drawing on the pavement we used to run and jump into it, hoping we'd get inside it. It's a jolly holiday with Mary!"

"I know Daisy and I actually wrote a letter hoping we could get a nanny like Mary Poppins but we never did. Every time I see Dick Van Dyke I burst out laughing at that awful cockney accent he did. Meery Poppins!" She made an awful cockney impression that matched the Americanized version in the film, they continued comparing impressions and songs throughout the taxi ride and in next to no time were pulling up outside the museum.

Charlie got out of the cab and held the door open for her, she followed and waited as he paid the driver. Once again he held out his arm for her but this time she took his hand in hers and intertwined her fingers with his. They were supposed to be dating after all. They made their way up red-carpeted stairs and walked into the main reception where their tickets and bags were checked and their coats taken. The red carpet led through a set of glass doors and she and Charlie followed a few other sets of guests through.

They were both met by hundreds of people dressed in suits and evening gowns, women in black dresses carried trays of champagne flutes around the room, Charlie reached for two and passed one to her. Men dressed in green soldier uniforms and tin hats offered trays of canapés and appetizers as they wound through the groups of people. The great hall was full of world war one memorabilia; propaganda posters, vehicle manuals, uniforms and displays of trenches.

Imogen took a sip of champagne and felt the bubbles burn the back of her throat as she looked around the room, amazed at the amount of people gathered around. She'd never been to anything like this, she usually avoided social occasions as it meant dressing smartly but she felt right in place in her new dress and had forgotten all the worries she had about her appearance. Charlie kept a hand on the small of her back, warmth radiated from the spot and she relaxed into the night.

"Hey you two, I wondered when you were going to show up. Adam's gone off to sort out some problem and I have no idea who anybody is. Wow, you look amazing Imogen, that dress is beautiful!" Molly came up to them with a half-empty champagne glass in hand, she was wearing a floor length sapphire gown that matched the colour of her eyes and her hair was curled into loose ringlets. She gave Imogen a quick hug and kissed her brother on the cheek before grabbing another full glass from a passing waitress' tray.

"This place is amazing, I've never been before and all these people. Adam must be pleased." Imogen continued to look around the room in awe of all the displays; the building itself was magnificent, vast and echoing, the ceiling seemed to go on forever.

"It's really beautiful isn't it, but there's been a problem with one of the exhibits so Adam's had to go and sort it out. He could probably use your help Charles, I'll take you over he's only in the next room. Charlie turned to Imogen and gave her an apologetic look as his sister began to drag him away by his shirt sleeve.

"I'll be fine, Charles." She smiled cutely at him, finding his name hilarious; he tried to scowl but it turned into a smile. Imogen took another sip of champagne and watched as Molly led Charlie to the other side of the great hall, she sighed and took another look around the room. She took a second glass of champagne from a nearby waitress and headed to the closest exhibition, it was about life in the trenches. As she began reading the literature alongside the photograph, she felt the presence of someone standing next to her, thinking Charlie had returned she looked up and smiled only to find a stranger smiling down at her.

"Fascinating display isn't it?" His deep, low voice caught her by surprise, he looked at her with such intensity she found it hard to turn away. His black hair shone almost purple in the lights over the displays but there were a few grey strands at his temple that suggested a maturity and experience. He smiled a slow sexy smile that twinkled in his eyes as he reached a hand forward for her to shake.

"Jack Livesey."

"Imogen Jones" She took the hand and shook firmly, loving the heat she received from the touch of his skin. He gazed into her eyes as he held onto her hand a little too long, Imogen looked away as her cheeks flushed with heat and let go of the man's hand. She listened as he talked about the display and how he had helped create it, she was amazed at some of the stories he told her and found herself feeling increasingly attracted to the man she hardly knew anything about.

***

Charlie rolled down his shirt sleeves and pulled his jacket back on, when Molly had said Adam needed help he hadn't thought that would mean lifting boards and holding them up while Adam drilled them into place. He pulled his tie out of the hole between his third and fourth buttons and straightened it, then he brushed the sawdust from his trousers and followed Adam back out to the main exhibition hall.

"Thanks for the help Rambo, I was in a panic when I got here and found it wasn't finished." Adam clapped Charlie on the shoulder and led him back into the bright lights and chatter of the busy room. He began to scan the room looking for Imogen, he checked where she'd been standing when he left her and began to panic when he couldn't spot her. There were too many people in the room and most of them were wearing black like she was and he just couldn't make her out.

He searched again, looking at each of the displays until finally he spotted the lace dress and her brown hair, relief flooded through him until he saw a man standing next to her, chatting to her and her laughing in return. His heart dropped a little as he realised he had no right to be annoyed or angry at her for talking to other men, they weren't really dating but that wasn't enough for him to not feel a little hurt and jealous that she was flirting with someone else, he had invited her here.

Charlie set out across the room heading in Imogen's direction, they were supposed to be here together, his sister and Adam thought they were here together, thus they should be together. He grabbed a champagne flute and drank the whole contents in one gulp ignoring the burning in his throat and the bubbles that fizzed up his nose. In his anger he began to push through the crowd, not bothered about knocking people over or spilling drinks down suits and dresses; he only cared about getting to Imogen.

When he finally reached her he pushed the man with black hair and a tailored silver-grey suit out of the way and pulled Imogen towards him by the waist. He pushed his lips to hers, crushing them in a kiss so passionate and forceful he thought he might hurt her, but knew he hadn't when she responded in the same hot and fervent way. When Charlie thought he might pass out from lack of air he pulled back and looked deep into her eyes, they were dazed and confused mirroring exactly how he felt. When he moved from in front of her, he made sure he kept touching her; his hand rested on her waist and pulled her gently to lean on him.

Charlie smiled to himself as he saw the man's reaction, he was shocked and surprised caught off guard but it wasn't long before he was smiling again. He reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a business card, holding it between his index finger and his middle finger he extended his hand towards Imogen.

"Here's my card, just in case your . . . situation changes. It was a pleasure to meet you Miss Jones." The man thought about taking Imogen's hand to kiss it goodbye but thought again as Charlie pulled Imogen closer to him. He watched the man march off and join a group of women, they all giggled as he said something and Charlie felt his grip tighten further until Imogen stroked the hand he had rested on her hip.

"What was that for?" He turned away from the man and looked down into Imogen's face, she still sounded a little breathless and her cheeks were tinged with pink as her blush began to fade slightly. He smiled at how adorable she was when she was nervous and embarrassed and lightly touched his lips to hers again.

"I don't know, I just thought a boyfriend would kiss his girlfriend when he returned to find her flirting with another man. Who was he anyway?" Jealousy tinged his voice and he felt a little disgusted with himself for letting the green-eyed monster take control of him. Why was he feeling so possessive over Imogen, it's not like they were even dating; they had never said that they'd be exclusive in their dating, Imogen could talk to other men if she wanted to. The thought made his stomach turn cold and he reached out his hand to take hers again, revelling in the warmth it instilled in him.

"Jack Livesey, he's something to do with the museum. He came over to talk to me while you were gone." She looked up at him and smiled, but there was something different in her eyes like she was thinking about him instead of Charlie. He really didn't like that and had to force himself to keep the jealousy at bay, there was no need to lose control here. He had another month of dating Imogen before he had to let her go, a thought that sat heavy in both his mind and the pit of his stomach; he was going to make the most of the next four weeks starting with tonight.

"How about a dance? We should practice before the next lesson really." He was grateful as she followed him out to the dance floor, the music had started while he'd been helping Adam and a few couples had took to the floor as some traditional music from the first world war era played. He pulled Imogen into his arms and began to sway allowing all the tension and jealousy slip away as he held her close. He closed his eyes and sighed, perfectly content once again.

Chapter Thirteen

"How was the party last night?" Jess handed Imogen a cup of coffee as they sat at the counter in the shop. It had been a quiet morning, not unusual considering the rain was pelting against the windows and that November was well underway; it was still a couple of weeks before the Christmas shoppers would be around.

"It was really great actually, normally I hate those type of things but last night was good. I, uh, met a guy." Imogen smiled at the memory of meeting Jack last night, when she had been talking to him she thought he was exactly the man she would be looking for. He was articulate and funny, he was good-looking but not so stunning people would wonder what he was doing with her and he'd seemed genuinely interested in her until Charlie had disturbed him. Her mind wandered to that kiss, it had took her by surprise, the passion and force behind it, like he was actually her jealous boyfriend. She didn't want to admit it but it was really hot, she flushed at the memory and took a sip from her cup to hide the pinkness that had blossomed across her face.

"Please tell me his name was not Charlie Ramsey."

"No, Jack Livesey. He works for the museum. He came up to me when Charlie went to help Adam with something and we just chatted for a while. He was really nice and funny and gorgeous."

"Well, good for you, did you get his number?" Imogen nodded and fished around in the back pocket of her jeans for the business card Jack had given her last night, she pulled out the small card and handed it to Jess. Taking it she raised her eyebrows, impressed at her best friend. "This is a nice business card, thick, quality; I bet he's got some money. You should give him a call."

Imogen laughed and shook her head at her friend, whenever Imogen met a guy she only needed to know two things about him: whether he was hot and whether he had money. Yet she wasn't bothered about either of these in her own relationships. She'd been dating Matt for a year now and they'd moved in together a few months ago, he was a painter and decorator from Barnes but they'd moved into a flat just round the corner from the shop.

"Maybe I will but he's going to China for a month for the museum, so I'll have to wait until then." She saw the disappointment on Jess' face and smiled, when he'd told her last night about the trip she'd been disappointed as well, but then she thought it worked out better with Charlie. They had planned to stay together until after the wedding anyway and she didn't want to just throw him aside now she'd found someone else. Her stomach lurched at the thought of throwing Charlie aside, he'd been great since they'd been in their "relationship" and she really didn't want him out of her life completely; they'd become sort of friends now.

The rest of the morning was quiet and she jumped when her phone started to ring, she'd been nodding off as Jess was playing Angry Birds on her phone. Reaching into her pocket she saw the picture of Charlie she'd taken when they'd gone for lunch at Alberto's last week. She smiled at the memory, they'd talked about food the whole time; their likes and dislikes. He loved Italian like her but couldn't stand restaurants that gave you a few pieces of food on a giant plate, whilst she had revealed her hatred of Thai food, there was just too much coconut and lemongrass in the world for her.

"Hello." She put the phone to her ear and felt herself grin as she heard him reply.

"Hi, I just wanted to check in after last night, I had a really good time."

"Me too, it was a lot better than I was expecting. Thank Adam for the tickets."

"I will do. I also called to ask if you were doing anything tomorrow night?"

"No, I'm free after four. We're closing the shop early because Jess has got to be somewhere." At the sound of her name Jess looked up from the game she was playing, she pressed paused and listened into the conversation.

"Great! How'd you fancy meeting up at five?"

"Okay, sounds good. Where do you want to meet?" She was more than a little intrigued to see what he had planned, every time they met up something fun was involved even if she had expected it to be awful.

"Come round to mine tomorrow at five. There's no need to dress up, but wear something warm. I'll see you tomorrow." With that he hung up on her, she pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at Jess. She was pouting obviously disappointed that she'd organized another date with Charlie, but they had to keep up appearances for the people who thought they were dating. Besides she was looking forward to seeing what he had planned, he hadn't given anything away and now she was fascinated to see what they would be doing. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.

***

Charlie checked his watch, ten to five, he really needed to get home Imogen would be there waiting for him if he didn't hurry up. He practically ran out of school and jumped in his car; there was too much traffic, he had no chance of getting home in ten minutes. It was all Chantelle Watson and Demi-Leigh Holmes' fault, the two of them had decided to start a full-out cat fight in the playground just as he was leaving to go home. No other members of staff were around so he'd had to step between the two warring girls.

An hour and a half and a three page report later he was finally on his way home with a horrendously deep scratch as a thank you for pulling the girls apart. One of them had stuck her nail into his arm and drawn blood, the scratch was so deep the nail was still there when she moved her hand away; why the school let the girls wear false nails like that he didn't know. To top it all off he was now stuck in the rush-hour traffic when he could have been spending his evening with Imogen.

When the traffic finally cleared he had to use all his control to not break the speed limit, he couldn't afford the fine or the points on his license. He pulled up in front of his house and found Imogen sat on the doorstep, she looked up and his heart lurched at the look of concern in her eyes. She put her arms around him and squeezed, he checked his watch and saw he was twenty minutes late realizing he probably should have texted her to say he was stuck in traffic.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to break up a fight, then I got stuck in traffic. I should have called to let you know." He pulled her tighter to him and loved the way her body fit perfectly with his; she was wearing the woolly jumper she'd had on the other day and it felt warm and soft in his hands, matching the owner perfectly. He leaned back and smiled at her, watching her relax in his arms.

He led her into the house and hurried off to change out of his work clothes, shoving on a pair of jeans and his own thick, knitted sweatshirt; it was a Christmas present from his mother the year before last and he'd grown to love it. Grabbing a hat and scarf he trotted back downstairs to the living room, where Imogen was looking at the film posters on his wall.

"Is this really signed by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost?" She was standing by his Shaun of the Dead poster, it was one of his favourite films and when his sister got the chance to meet the stars for an interview; he'd tagged along and got the poster signed by them.

"Yeah, my sister interviewed them for a magazine she was working for and knew I was a huge fan so took me along as her "assistant". They're really nice people, completely down to earth. So are you ready to go?" he turned towards the stairs and felt her follow close behind him.

"Where are we going exactly?"

"Ah, that's for me to know and for you to find out!" He grinned back at the worried expression she was giving him and took her hand in his as they walked out of the house and up the street. There was still plenty of traffic and people making their way home from work as they made their way through Regent's Park. The final destination of their journey finally dawned on Imogen when they reached the other side of the park and the entrance to the zoo.

"I thought the zoo would be closed by now."

"It is to everyone but us and Toby." He smiled as his best friend held the gate open for the two of them to walk through. "He's going to give us a private tour." Charlie clapped a hand on Toby's shoulder and squeezed a massive thank you, he must have gone through a hell of a lot of trouble to sort this out for Charlie; but he wanted to make sure Imogen had the time of her life and forgot all about that slimeball Jack Livesey from Saturday night's party.

***

Imogen followed Charlie and Toby through the gate and wondered how they'd organized this, they must have been planning it for a while; you'd have to go through a lot of people to get permission for something like this. Charlie was still holding her hand and looking at her and smiling, making sure she was enjoying herself and she most definitely planned to with this once in a lifetime opportunity.

"Where do you want to go first?" Charlie handed her a map and she couldn't decide, there were too many animals to choose between. Studying the map, she decided to rule out the things that she wasn't bothered about; bugs, reptiles and the aquarium weren't at the top of her list of things to see.

"How about the lions and the tigers?" Charlie smiled and nodded at Toby to take them in that direction first, he led them past enclosures of sleeping lemurs and reindeers before taking them into the tiger exhibit that was brand new. They went into the house and found three big cats sleeping on the other side of the glass, she walked straight up to it and simply stood and watched their chests move in and out with each breath.

Charlie came up behind her and put his arms around her waist, she tensed in surprise but relaxed into his warmth and leant back against him. She wasn't really a touchy-feely person, her mother wasn't into hugs and she'd carried that through herself; but Charlie was definitely showing her how nice being in another person's arms could be. Sighing, she moved her hands to rest on top of his and watched the tigers continue to sleep peacefully.

They moved onto the lion house and found they were a little more lively than the tigers, they had just been fed huge chunks of meat and a set of two cubs were play fighting together. All the time Charlie kept in close contact with her, he was holding her hand or had his head leaning on her shoulder; it was beginning to feel normal to have him wrapped around her and she actually began to enjoy the warmth he brought with him.

Following on from the lions, they visited Penguin Beach where the birds were just being fed. Instead of watching from the sidelines, Toby allowed them into the enclosure and his fellow keeper Hannah invited them to help with feeding time. When she'd handed out a few fish she went to stand with Toby and watch Charlie have his turn.

"Does he give all his girlfriends a private tour of the zoo?" She looked at Toby who was laughing at the penguins who were literally mobbing Charlie trying to get the fish he was holding.

"What girlfriends? Charlie doesn't really date, he asks women out but it never turns into anything serious. Only Sarah recently, but we don't mention her, she was a little crazy."

"Um, yes, I met her. She was definitely something else." He laughed and smiled at her before nodding in agreement.

"You could say that. It's not that he's scared of commitment – that's what his sister's think – he's willing to fall in love, he just wants the person who's perfect for him; the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with. After what happened with his dad he just wants to find the right person. He's kind of a perfectionist in that respect."

Imogen smiled and watched as Charlie dangled another fish for the penguins to jump at, Toby's side was a completely different idea to the one Molly had portrayed at dinner last week. She had made Charlie out to be a womanizer, hopping from one girl to the next; but Toby made it sound completely different, almost romantic.

"What happened with his dad? If you don't mind me asking, I know he died but that's all Charlie has told me."

"Well he doesn't like to talk about it, he won't admit it but it shook him up pretty badly. His dad was cycling home from work and was hit by a lorry that ran a red light, everyone was devastated especially his mum. The two of them were deeply in love with each other, married for over thirty years and then he was just gone from their lives, taken way too early. I think that's part of the reason he's so picky about dating, he wants what his parents had and he doesn't want to waste his time dating women he wouldn't want to take home to meet his mother."

Imogen's heartstrings drew tighter as she watched Charlie, this threw a whole new light on him. He was willing to help her and be her fake boyfriend when he could be out there searching for his ideal partner. She was now even more grateful to Charlie for doing this. Dinner at his mum's house played into sharper focus in her mind, it was a lot more significant than she'd thought it was at the time.

"That's my theory anyway, but maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic." Imogen smiled at Toby, but guilt began to make her heart heavy; all of Charlie's friends and relatives thought they were dating and that the two of them were in love with each other. However in a month's time she'd be dumping him and moving on to someone else like Jack and they'd probably all hate her like they did Sarah. It had been his idea but she'd agreed to it and played along. I am a horrible, horrible person.

Charlie walked towards her smiling and happy, giddy from playing with the penguins. She pulled him into a tight hug and whispered in his ear.

"Thank you, for everything." She wasn't sure if he understood that she meant being in a fake relationship as well as for the trip to the zoo. When he pulled back, she knew he had comprehended her meaning and smiled gratefully at her.

"Don't worry about it." He whispered back and moved in to kiss her gently on the lips. They worked their way around the rest of the enclosures before leaving Toby to finish off his jobs. Imogen took Charlie to Alberto's for dinner as another way of saying thank you for all he had done and began to see him in a different way; enjoying the time they spent together and the feelings he instilled in her when she was with him.

Chapter Fourteen

Imogen sat behind the counter flicking through the photos on her phone, she smiled as she saw picture after picture of Charlie and animals from the zoo. In each one he was grinning at her behind the camera and pointing at a tiger or a penguin; she hadn't realized she'd taken so many of him. There were also pictures of the two of them, Toby had offered to take a few of them. One in particular caught her attention; Charlie had his arm around her waist while she stood smiling at the camera, Charlie on the other hand was looking at her instead with a look that made her stomach somersault.

He looked so happy smiling down at her, his eyes a little dazed and in awe of her; it was almost like he was in love. Well he was a really good actor, Toby or anybody looking at the picture would think he was in love with her, the way he looked at her and touched her.

"Are you sure you're alright cashing up? Remember last time you did it by yourself, you panicked when you were £3.35 short and you'd covered it up with your mug on the desk." Jess made her jump as she walked through from the back room, now donned in coat and scarf ready to brave the evening rush and November cold.

"I'll be fine. It won't take long anyway."

"Okay see you tomorrow." She patted Imogen on the shoulder and walked over to the door, she turned the open sign to closed and went outside to meet her boyfriend. Imogen watched as Matt pulled Jess into a long hug and kissed her tenderly, sighing Imogen put her phone on the counter and began counting the shops takings; it had been another slow day but not as bad as yesterday. She took the bag of money to the safe in the storeroom through the door at the side of the counter and returned to the shop to turn the lights off.

A tap on the door disturbed her, when she looked up she saw Charlie smiling in at her; he was wearing the silly bobble hat he'd had on last night that made him look incredibly cute. She walked over to the door, unlocked it and let him in.

"Hi, what are you doing here?"

"I thought we could practice the song for the wedding again, if you're not doing anything else." Charlie took his hat off, leaving his hair tussled like he'd just woken up; Imogen was left a little breathless by how sexy he looked when he hadn't taken time to do his hair. _Imagine waking up with that!_ Her heart sped up as she imagined Charlie in her bed in nothing but her bed covers. _Stop it! Just stop it!_ _Great now she couldn't stop imagining him naked._

"Well actually I was going to work on my speech for the wedding, I have absolutely no idea where to start. I'm not very funny so I can't go down that route, besides the best man'll be doing funny; he does stand-up gigs at the weekend. So funny's definitely out." Imogen put the bolt across the door so no one could get in and went through the door and up the stairs to her flat with Charlie right behind her.

"Funny's good if it's funny, I know that sounds obvious but when it doesn't make people laugh you can actually see the tumbleweeds roll by. I'd go for heartfelt, something sentimental that'll get all the ladies crying; it isn't a wedding until the women are crying." He smiled as they walked into the living room together, she stopped at the kitchen and put her iPhone on charge.

"Do you want anything to drink? I've got tea, coffee, water, juice, squash, wine, vodka, tequila . . ." She shivered at the memory of her tequila binge a few weeks ago and hoped he wouldn't opt for it, she couldn't take another hangover like that one again.

"Wine would be great thanks. White if you've got it." She was grateful when she opened the fridge and found a full bottle of pinot grigio, she pulled two glasses from the nearest cupboard and filled them with the pale liquid. Charlie was looking at her fish tank when she found him and handed him one of the glasses.

"Am I going crazy? I swear the tank wasn't here last time."

"It wasn't I sent it to be cleaned at the weekend, my goldfish Patrick died last week so I thought I'd get it cleaned and get some new fish." She smiled at the tank that was now the home of three clown fish, she'd wanted one ever since she'd seen _Finding Nemo_. "That one is Ian, that's Dennis and that's Thierry, I think. It's kind of hard to tell they all look the same." She smiled back at him as she pointed at each of the three fish swimming round in the tank.

"Do you name them all after Arsenal players?"

"Yeah, it's a tradition from my childhood, we used to have a hamster called Alan after Alan Sunderland and a labrador called Brady after Liam. Daisy wanted to call him Fudge but my dad insisted it should be Brady." Charlie laughed as he moved away from the tank and sat down on the sofa. She walked over and joined him, her notepad and a pen sat on the table waiting to be picked up and used.

"What have got so far for this speech?" Imogen picked up the notepad and showed the empty page to Charlie. "Oh, I see. Well you could talk about Daisy as a child, maybe how she always dreamed of falling in love and getting married. If she did" He looked at her questioningly and she nodded, taking the pen and noting down his suggestions. "Then throw in some quotes about love and boom! Everybody will love you." He grinned and took a sip of wine.

"Once I heard someone say: If a man loves a woman, he will find a way to be with her, no matter what it takes. Sam's done that with Daisy, he'd do anything for her; I've never seen anyone devoted to another person like he is and vice versa for Daisy. They love each other but they're also best friends who care deeply about each other." Charlie nodded at her paper and she wrote down what she'd just said, she picked up her wine glass and took another mouthful, the coolness relaxing her.

"I once read somewhere that the Greeks believed humans were created with four arms, four legs and two faces but Zeus thought they were too powerful so split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend the rest of their lives in search of their other halves. I like that whole idea of there being one person out there for everyone, one soulmate, one person you're meant to spend the rest of your life with."

Imogen looked at him in surprise, she hadn't expected anything so deep and philosophical. "Do you really believe that? That there's one person for everyone?" She rested her pen and notepad on her lap and looked at Charlie, waiting for his reaction.

"Yeah, I do; and I think when you find that person you should just tell them how you feel." She sipped the rest of her wine and considered what he'd said.

"How do you know that that person is the one you want to be with, the one you're supposed to be with? I mean you could have already dumped the woman you're supposed to be with." She smiled coyly at him and raised her eyebrows questioningly at him.

"I don't know, I suppose it just feels right with them, comfortable with them. You don't feel you have to be someone else, you can be who you are and the other person accepts you that way; they love you because of who you are and in spite of who you are." He was so serious as he said the words she could do nothing but believe him. He seemed so sure of himself and she had no reason to doubt him; she'd never felt that way with a man, never been comfortable being herself around any of the men her mother had set her up with. She was always trying to be someone close to herself but not as quirky or full on.

However around Charlie she could be herself, let all the crazy out without worrying what he thought about her. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that she already knew him and he already knew her, they weren't meeting for the first time. She found herself writing her speech with ease, offering parts to him and seeing what he thought about it; asking for his advice of what to put in next. Before she knew it the speech was done and pretty much exactly as she wanted it.

They finished their wine and went on to practice the song for the wedding. Everything seemed to be fitting into place between them for the ceremony and it all looked good.

Chapter Fifteen

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Charlie ran into the dining room and began waving a tea towel at the fire alarm to try and get it to stop screaming at him; he was not having a good day. It had started really well, he'd finally gotten Penny to take Sam into her group as long as he took a couple of the pupils back to his group; but he didn't care about that because Sam could finally escape the nightmare of year nine third set for the green, green pastures of set two. However it only went downhill from there.

The two year nines Penny had given him were Jamie Preston's best friends, which meant he now had two more people spurring him on to disrupt the class; he'd definitely succeeded in that today, nobody in the class had gotten past question three. Then Michael, the head of department, had sprung a theme day on them at this week's meeting; they had less than a week to come up with maths activities relating to Christmas for all year groups. Then it got even worse as Ben Wilson gave him a pile of GCSE mock exam papers to mark over the weekend.

Now he was having to host a dinner party for eight people, trying not to give them food poisoning and trying not to burn the whole house down; he was sure he'd already singed his eyebrows off while he tried to flambé something earlier. Finally the bleeping stopped and he removed the battery so it wouldn't start off again when everybody arrived; he'd just have to pray he didn't set fire to anything. The smell of burning onions drew him back to kitchen just as the doorbell rang; he gave the pan a quick stir and turned the heat down before rushing to the door in a panic that people had arrived an hour early.

He opened the door to find Imogen on his doorstep, in spite of the cooking freak-out he smiled at her. "Hey, you're not supposed to be here for another hour." He stood back and let her in feeling confused when he saw the duffel back she was carrying with her.

"I know but I wondered if I could use your shower, mine's on the blink and the plumber can't come until tomorrow. I know it's really cheeky, I've brought my own towel and shampoo and stuff, so I literally only need your water."

"Hmm, well maybe I'll have to charge you, I mean I am cooking you dinner as well." He folded his arms and looked at her with a thoughtful look on his face, but he was having a hard time to keep his smile hidden.

"Ah I thought of that, so I brought you this." Imogen reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of red wine. He looked at it and thought it looked quite expensive.

"I suppose that's alright then. You're probably better using my bathroom, it's on the top floor. I can smell burning so I need to get back to the kitchen." He stayed to watch her start up the stairs and smiled to himself before hurrying to the kitchen. His onions were no longer just burnt they had turned black and were caked to the frying pan; sighing he chucked the mess in the bin and started chopping another onion.

The bitter smell of burning was soon replaced by the sweet smell of softening onions, Charlie turned to the wine Imogen had bought for him and decided one glass couldn't hurt. He grabbed a corkscrew and opened the bottle, letting it breathe while he reached for two wine glasses. Pausing before he poured the drinks he thought he'd better ask Imogen if she wanted one, just in case she'd driven over.

Climbing the stairs two at a time he couldn't hear the shower as he reached his room, hopefully she was finished and hadn't got to the wrong bathroom. He walked to the en-suite and stopped in his tracks when he reached the opening to the room. She had definitely finished in the shower and was now drying herself, his eyes slid over body stopping on a tattoo of a trail of three swallows on the back of her right shoulder. Her skin looked soft and warm, all he wanted to do was reach out and touch her, hold her close to him.

The towel slipped down her body and he stared at her curves. Shit, she was turning this way. He covered his eyes with his hands so he didn't seem like a pervert ogling her in the shower. "Would you like a glass of wine when you get down?" he kept his hands tight over his eyes as he heard her gasp and then the towel drop to the floor, he really wanted to peek through his fingers but didn't trust what he would do if he did.

"How long have you been standing there?" He heard her pick up the towel and cover herself. "You can look now." Charlie removed his hands and saw her wrapped in the towel, she looked at him with her eyebrows raised.

"I didn't see anything, Scout's honour." He held up his fingers in salute and grinned at her.

"Wine would be nice thanks. I won't be a minute." He nodded and left her to it, the food downstairs needed his attention now.

***

Imogen watched Charlie leave the room, her cheeks burned with embarrassment and she wasn't sure if she believed him when he'd said he hadn't seen anything. Her heart was still racing from the fact he was behind her in the first place. She unwrapped the towel she was holding firmly around her and folded it up; reaching for the towel rail she picked up her jeans and slipped them on, followed by a clean blue and white striped t-shirt.

Placing all her toiletries and the towel back in her bag she dropped it in the bedroom thinking she may as well make the most of her opportunity and have a sneak peek at his bedroom. It covered most of the top floor, with a small roof terrace at the front of the building, one similar to her own room. The wall opposite the bathroom was papered in green and brown patterned wallpaper, while the other three walls were painted lightly. On the plain walls was some photo frames with pictures of Charlie and his friends and family. She scanned his shelves of books and CDs, seeing they had a similar taste in music as well as literature.

A glass of wine was waiting for her when she finally made it downstairs, along with the smell of something delicious. She found Charlie in the kitchen stirring a couple of pans at once, when he saw her he smiled but quickly returned his attention to the hob. They talked about their days while they waited for the rest of the guests arrive, she listened as he told her about the papers he had to mark and that one of his pupils had finally been moved up to the next group.

Before long the doorbell was ringing, Imogen left Charlie to his cooking and went to answer it. As she did she found herself looking at a nightmare of her school days, she was faced with three of the boys who could always be seen in the background of the crowds of bullies and her best friend standing in front of them trying to protect her. She had to shake her head to remember they were no longer at school and these people were now her friends.

"Hey Imogen. We'd have come in but Liam and I forgot our keys." Toby smiled as he walked past her, Molly gave her a quick hug following Adam and the others through the door. Jess walked forward and hugged her too, Matt waited on the doorstep then followed his girlfriend through the door, stopping to give Imogen a peck on the cheek.

Charlie was pouring out more wine as everybody gathered around the dining table, he smiled through the gap in the group at her. The eight of them chatted all night through dinner and through the three bottles of wine they'd gotten through with the food. She was sat in between Molly and Charlie both of whom were talking to her at the same time and she was struggling to keep up with both conversations.

"You never told me you had a tattoo? Isn't that something a boyfriend would know?" Imogen shivered as Charlie leant down to whisper in her ear, she turned and found herself looking straight into his eyes as her face flushed at the thought he had seen her earlier.

"I thought you said you hadn't seen anything. Scout's honour."

"I was never a scout." He bit his lip looking as cute a ever. "So when did you get it?"

"For my 21st birthday, I'd wanted one for ages but my mum would have killed me. Then Jess and I went out and got a little drunk and I finally built up the courage to get it done. Jess has a heart on her hip and your friend Jenny has Tweety Pie on her shoulder, I think she really regrets drinking so much." They both burst out laughing and Charlie moved his hand to the small of her back.

"I always wondered why she wore long sleeves all the time, even when it's sweltering hot." She looked back across the table at Jess who was staring at her and Charlie while listening to Toby and Matt's conversation. Imogen immediately stopped smiling as she saw the look on Jess' face, she didn't look happy, annoyance dancing in her eyes and a scowl drawn across her face.

Imogen gave her a questioning look and furrowed her brow in confusion, however Jess just shook her head and returned to looking at Matt. For the rest of the night Imogen tried to get Jess by herself so she could ask what the problem was but didn't get the opportunity as she and Charlie found themselves the last ones at the dining table. All the other guests had left while they'd been immersed in conversation and before she knew it was nearly midnight and time to go to bed.

Chapter Sixteen

"Hey what was that look about last night at Charlie's dinner party?" Imogen confronted Jess as soon as she came through the door to their shop, she'd been up most of the night unable to sleep trying to figure out what Jess' problem had been. Jess stopped halfway through shrugging her coat off and turned to look at Imogen with it clinging to her upper arms. Imogen crossed her arms waiting for an answer, Jess sighed and shrugged the rest of the coat off and unwound her purple scarf, hanging both garments on the coat stand by the door.

"You're falling for Charlie!" Imogen sat frozen, too stunned to reply or deny Jess' statement. "I saw the way you were looking at him last night, like he was everything, the centre of the world. You're falling in love with him, I knew this would happen when you agreed to this stupid fake dating idea."

"Hey! I am not falling for him! It's all part of our cover, we are meant to look like a proper couple for Christ's sake."

"I've known you since we were five and you're not that good of an actress, you can't lie very well either. Every time you get a text from him you smile, your whole face lights up when you see him and you are always talking about him when he's not there. If that's not love I don't know what is. Besides what about Jack? He'll be back soon and you haven't even mentioned him this week." Jess threw her hands up in the air and puffed out her cheeks, when Imogen didn't reply, she shook her head and huffed walking to the back of the shop to sort out some stock.

Imogen just stared at the empty space in front of her, Jess' words sinking slowly into her brain and images of herself with Charlie and talking about Charlie flashed through her brain. She couldn't be falling for him, not Charlie Ramsey; it was all part of their act as a couple, nothing more. She must have talked about Jack, she'd been so excited after meeting him at The British Museum. She sat immobilised trying to convince herself she wasn't in love until a customer banged on the counter in front of her having asked the same question five times with no response.

All the commotion brought Jess back to front of the shop, she carried a book in each hand and was red-cheeked from climbing up and down to reach the top shelves. "Is everything alright?" The customer nodded and moved to the area of the shop where Imogen had indicated what he was looking for would be. "Are you alright?" She looked at Imogen slightly concerned. "I'm cooking dinner tonight, you should come and bring Charlie. Matt really liked him and he still thinks you're a couple."

Imogen managed a nod and tight smile in acceptance and pulled out her phone to text Charlie about the plan. A minute later her phone was ringing and she smiled involuntarily as the photo of Charlie flashed up on the screen, remembering Jess' words she stopped immediately.

" _Hi, so Jess is cooking tonight? Is she good at cooking?"_

"Yes she's not bad, I can't promise you won't get food poisoning tomorrow but it will taste good tonight. Her last couple of dinner parties haven't ended up with people hospitalised but the one in May wasn't good – "

"Hey, it wasn't that bad!" Jess stopped in front of Imogen looking annoyed and exasperated

"Ben had to have his stomach pumped and was on a drip for three days."

"Well I didn't know the meat was off when I bought it! The bloke didn't tell me." Jess was getting more and more angry as her face reddened at the memory of that awful night.

"You didn't get a clue from the fact the price was so cheap and he was selling it out of the back of a van."

"Oh God! You make it sound like I bought it off Del Boy or something, he said he was a butcher and I believed him. It's done and I've learnt my lesson since."

Imogen smiled at the sound of Charlie laughing in her ear and watched Jess walk away in another huff, she would definitely pay for that later, if there was one thing her friend couldn't stand it was being humiliated.

" _Hmm, I don't know if I want to go if I'm going to be poisoned_." The smile shone through in his voice and she wished she could have seen it light up his face.

"It'll be fine, she's a really good cook usually. It was just that one night that let her down. What do you say you come to mine at six tonight."

" _Okay, sounds good. I'll see you later, looking forward to it."_ She tried not to get excited about seeing him again later but the following eight hours dragged on. She found herself daydreaming about last night's dinner and what might happen tonight as she dealt with Jess' evil stares and Christmas shoppers – lots now they were into December – asking hundreds of questions and wanting the books they bought gift-wrapped. Five o'clock couldn't come soon enough.

Imogen locked up as Jess hurried off to start cooking, she changed and flicked on the television to see the football scores as she waited in anticipation for Charlie to arrive. Good news, Arsenal had won 3-0 and before she knew it the doorbell rang. Forcing her heart to slow down along with her feet she reached the bottom of the stairs without having an accident and ending up in A&E.

"You ready?" Charlie's smiled faltered when Imogen held out a helmet towards him. "Is Jess' cooking so bad I need protection?" He took the helmet looking at it disbelievingly and examined it in detail. He put it on his head and pulled a model pose making Imogen laugh so hard she doubled over. "What do you think? Does it suit me?" He pouted and moved his head from side to side.

"You look better than me in it." She walked past him and straddled her pale blue Vespa. Tightening her own helmet she looked back at Charlie to see what he was doing and found him with his eyebrows raised and his arms crossed over his chest.

"You really expect me to get on that thing?" His voice shook slightly with nerves and the confidence ebbed slowly away.

"Yes unless you want to walk? No? Then get on you big baby!" She smiled as he ambled towards the moped with clear trepidation. Tentatively he lifted his leg over the bike and settled down behind her, his arms encircled her waist and she closed her eyes as his warmth spread over her back. "Ready?" She felt Charlie nod behind her and revved up the throttle feeling his arms pull more tightly against her stomach.

"Can we stop on the way and pick up some wine, I feel a little awkward turning up with nothing!" Charlie shouted over the sound of the little engine ripping along the street and the wind rushing in both their ears. Pulling up after the next junction, he clambered off the bike slowly and almost fell over from the vibrations still resonating up his legs from the ride. Imogen bit back a laugh and smiled as he walked into the shop.

She watched as Charlie picked up a bottle of white wine, read the label and put it back down to pick up a bottle of red and headed to the till. Craning her neck, she saw him place the bottle down and pull out his wallet; then her heart stopped. He was flirting with the girl behind the counter and horror beyond horror, she was jealous. _Oh God! Jess is right, I'm falling for him and when we split up he's going to go off with some other woman and leave me alone._

She sat back on the leather bike seat confused and unsure whether to try and see Charlie less to soften the inevitable blow when they split up or whether to make the most of her time with him. As he walked towards her grinning in his moped helmet she made up her mind. She couldn't stop seeing him, she'd just have to take the pain when they "broke up", she'd get over it.

He climbed onto the bike a little more confidently and once again put his arms around her, holding the bottle of wine in clasped hands. She kicked off and drove to Jess' flat.

***

Charlie sat talking to Matt about the Arsenal match earlier that day and watched Imogen chatting with Jess, she was beautiful when she was smiling and joking. He'd played his nervousness on a bit before getting on the bike just to see her smile and laugh at him and was happy when she hadn't argued about him holding onto her when they were riding along. He could have held onto the seat but he'd rather have his hands on her, he couldn't get enough of touching her.

"Charlie could you help take these dishes through with me?" He looked up at Jess in surprise, she was piling the empty plates up and taking them through to the next room. He did the same but squeezed Imogen's shoulder on his way through and grinned as she smiled at him and took a sip of the red wine he'd bought at the off-licence.

Jess was running water as he placed the plates down next to the ones she had left. "That paella was beautiful, I've never had one that good outside of Spain." He smiled as he grabbed a tea towel from the oven door and stood next to her at the sink. She turned off the water before the bowl was half full and turned towards him with a deadly look on her face, he took a step back instinctively and gulped.

"Look Imogen's special, don't you dare make some joke. I've known her forever and never seen her with a guy like she is with you, she says it's just an act but I'm not so sure. Either way I don't want you to think you can take advantage and end up hurting her. She is amazing and tough and strong – she had to endure a huge amount with her mother – but inside she's just a hopeless romantic and if you break her heart, I will kill you. You can be sure of that!" He took another step back and hit the wall, flinching as the mad woman in front of him brandished a carving knife in his face.

"Is everything alright in there?" Imogen called from the dining room next door.

"Fine, we're just talking about you." Jess gave Charlie one last meaningful glance and turned the hot tap back on.

"I thought my ears were burning. What's she been saying about me?" Imogen walked into the room smiling, she crossed the room and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Only good things, obviously." He picked up the dish Jess had placed on the draining board catching the sideways glance she had sneaked him while he answered Imogen's question. Her hand left his shoulder and he felt the cold there again. It was amazing how when she touched him he felt so much more comfortable and warmer. He wished she could touch him like that all the time, if only they weren't breaking up soon.

However Jess' words had given him a little hope, if Imogen's best friend could see she had feelings for him maybe she did. He turned to look at her and found her staring at him, well at his arse; he raised one eyebrow at her. Her cheeks flushed and she mouthed the word 'what?' at him, he grinned at her and shook his head. He desperately wanted to kiss her in that moment but with Jess in the room and being in the vicinity of numerous weapons, he decided it probably wasn't the best idea and saved it for later.

They finished the washing up and the bottle of wine, luckily Imogen had only had one glass with dinner because he was feeling a little tipsy himself; there was no way he could have driven and he was fairly sure he'd struggle to walk properly. Disappointment settled over him as he saw his street passing slowly, Imogen pulled the moped up outside his house and cut the engine.

He staggered off the bike almost taking her with him and stumbled up the pavement. "You're drunk!" Imogen smiled at him and he stepped towards her shaking his head.

"Just a little bit." He leant down and kissed her, sure she would be put off by the alcohol on his breath but she wasn't. She pulled away but he had gotten his helmet caught up in hers, as he tried to pull away he felt her breath fan across his face from her laughter. Finally free he pulled back and took the helmet off and handed it to her. She smiled and put it into the seat he'd been sat on. He didn't know why but he found this amazing, probably to do with the amount of wine he'd consumed.

She started the engine and made her way up the road, he waved and watched her ride up the road until he could no longer see her. He smiled to himself, _well that was an interesting night!_
Chapter Seventeen

"I can't believe it's only three days till Daisy's wedding! It's gone so quickly, I can't wait for the hen do tomorrow. What's Daisy got planned?" Imogen looked away from the book she was reading and glanced at her best friend, Jess was a lot more excited than she was about the wedding and particularly the hen party two days before.

"I don't know, she won't tell anyone, all I know is that part of it, if not all of it, is joint with Sam's stag do."

"Really and it's going on all day as well. It's got to be good surely, she's an event's organiser. Although as long as there's booze I'm not fussed about the rest of it." They both chuckled but Imogen felt a sense of sadness creep up on her again, it had been there in the background for the last week and nothing could seem to shake it.

Jess went off to help a customer in the children's section leaving Imogen with her thoughts. She couldn't pinpoint why she felt the way she did; she considered the fact that Daisy was getting married before her even though she was four years younger but she wasn't really that bothered, she'd never been ready to marry and there'd never been anybody she'd considered spending the rest of her life with, not until now anyway. At that moment Charlie flashed into her brain and she smiled to herself.

Then she considered the fact that this was just another sleight against her for her mother, however quashed this thought immediately; her mother's opinion had never been that important and it certainly wouldn't affect her now. Then she thought about how everyone around her was in a happy, loving relationship while she was messing around with a fake boyfriend; Jess was living with Matt, Daisy was getting married and even her mum and dad seemed happier together since they'd moved down to Kent.

However it wasn't a jealous feeling she had, it was more sadness and none of the above fitted as a reason for it. She looked back at the cover of her book and felt the depression weigh heavier on her. Charlie had given it to her, it was another copy of Pride and Prejudice, to add to her collection he'd said. It was a beautiful book, the cover made of embroidered material with flowers covering the whole of the binding; she'd been reluctant to handle it, not wanting to cause any damage to it, but he'd insisted and it was about time she read the story again.

She'd just reached the part where Lydia runs away with Wickham and Lizzie believes she will never see Mr Darcy again just when she has fallen for him; that's when it suddenly hit her, Charlie. She was in the same boat as Lizzie, Daisy's wedding meant the end for her and Charlie's relationship and she didn't want to let him go. She'd finally accepted that she had feelings for him, she had fallen for him like Jess said and she was miserable at the prospect of giving him up and not seeing him again.

They'd both decided they would stay friends but she wasn't sure she was able to do it, it would be too painful seeing him all the time without being able to touch him or kiss him or tell him she loved him. No she had to sever all ties with him once they'd split up, but only once they'd split, up she planned to enjoy these last few days with him. Starting from this moment, she thought as he walked through the door to the shop on his way home from work.

Before he could say a word, she bolted round the counter and put her arms around his neck and took his lips and breath away, she savoured every touch and feel of him as if it were her last and promised she would do this from now until they split. He pulled away and smiled down at her keeping his arms tight around her back. "Hi." His smile widened and his face dropped to hers again, she loved the way his lips brushed hers gently at first then grew stronger as the kiss went on. She sighed into the kiss and leant into his warmth.

"Imogen dear, I don't think that's how you're supposed to greet customers." Imogen froze with her lips still attached to Charlie's as she thought she heard her mother's voice, her blood ran cold and opened her eyes glancing to her right hoping she'd be mistaken. Unfortunately her mother was standing with her arms crossed in an 'I'm really disappointed in you' stance that was usually reserved for lateness or when her set-ups had gone awry.

Instantly Imogen pulled away from Charlie and the smack of their lips parting was audible in the near silence of the shop floor. Charlie tried to reach for her again but she stepped back and coughed to gain his attention, she watched his eyes flicker open and glance at her mother; he promptly put his arms down and looked at the floor, suddenly very interested in his own feet.

"What are you doing here mother?" She could feel the redness and heat still in her cheeks as she began to speak.

"Can't a mother visit her daughter?" Imogen raised her eyebrows in surprise, her mother never wanted to visit her and whenever she did it was only to complain about something. As her mother pulled a haughty face, she noticed her father lifting suitcases out of the boot of their car in front of the shop. Her mother noticed this and turned to look out the window at her husband.

"Don't just leave them on the street dear, anybody can steal them. I'm not having anybody steal my best luggage!" She shouted out loud, stopping people in the street who were looking at all the windows and doorways for the source of the shouting. Imogen had almost forgotten her mother was the reincarnation of Hyacinth Bucket, she didn't know how her father coped with it every day of his life.

"Why is dad taking suitcases out of that taxi?" Charlie excused himself to go and help her father who was struggling with five bags, her heart clenched a little as she watched him take three of the bags and carry them towards the door.

"Well I thought we could spend some quality time with you darling by staying with you before the wedding." Imogen's mouth literally dropped open, she thought she was going to have to shove it closed with her hand it hung that low. "Don't stand with your mouth open like that darling, it isn't at all attractive." Imogen's mouth snapped shut and her anger boiled up.

"What? . . . Why? . . . What? Why didn't you call and ask me if you could stay over? For all you know I might have a lodger in my spare bedroom, or Jess might have had an argument with Matt and moved back in!"

"Has she?"

"No, but that isn't the point mother. You should have called at least to give me chance to clean the room for you. Luckily it's fairly clean and the bed's made but, why aren't you staying at The Dorchester like usual?" Imogen sighed resigned to the fact she was going to be living under the same roof as her mother again, even if it was only for a few days.

"Your mother doesn't like the new concierge and we couldn't get in at The Hilton or The Ritz at such short notice. Hello darling!" Imogen smiled and walked over to her father giving him a quick hug and peck on the cheek. "I told her to call you but she said you wouldn't mind and you know what she's like when she's got an idea in her mind; she just can't let it go." He whispered the last part in her ear so his wife wouldn't overhear him.

"Go on up then, I'll follow you in a minute after I've told Jess what's happening." She waved her mother and father through the door, rueing the fact she now had a spare bedroom. Charlie followed behind them pausing next to her and leaning down to whisper in her ear: "I thought you standing with your mouth open was very attractive." She flushed as he continued through the door, grinning back at her before disappearing out of view.

"What's going on?" Jess walked through from the back of the shop.

"My mother just turned up and is moving into your old bedroom for the wedding." Imogen groaned and sank against the counter, Jess began laughing as she pointed upstairs.

"Your mother . . . and you . . . under the same roof . . . for three days. Oh that is brilliant! Call me if you need help moving her body because I can only see this ending badly." She continued laughing and Imogen could do nothing but scowl.

"Imogen, when did you last dust in this room?" Her mother was shouting down the stairs and the torture had already begun, it could only get worse.

"Ugh. I don't know how I'm going to survive this wedding. I may hold you to the moving the dead body promise though. I think I may have to strangle her before Daisy walks down the aisle; then again she'd probably come back and haunt me about not killing her properly or something." Imogen sloped off upstairs leaving Jess to look after the shop. She gradually got slower with each step of ascent, not wanting to see her mother and dreading having to sleep under the same roof as her for the first time in eleven years.

She met Charlie in the living room and pulled him to one side before going up to see her mother. "Please stay for dinner tonight, I don't think I can face my mother alone. My father yes, but not my mother." He placed his hand on her waist and it felt completely natural as he nodded down at her and reassured her he would stay as long as she needed him. After a minute basking in his warmth she trudged up to the spare bedroom on the next floor up to check on her parents.

Chapter Eighteen

Oh God! Please leave me alone! Imogen wanted to scream as her mother was suddenly invading every aspect of her personal life and there was no escape. It had only been one night and she was already tearing her hair out, Charlie had stayed for dinner and until nine o'clock but he had marking to do for the next day and she didn't want to keep him hostage with her mother; she'd just been so grateful he'd stayed for as long as he had.

They were sat at the breakfast bar in Imogen's kitchen that 'really wasn't good enough for eating at', drinking filter coffee that was 'too strong' for her mother's taste. She was waiting for Jess to arrive so they could go and meet Daisy for the hen do, but Jess had chosen to be late on the worst possible day leaving her to babysit her mother while her father went for lunch with an old friend. Her mother was supposed to be going for lunch as well but not until later on. Leaving the morning free to torment Imogen.

"Sorry I'm late." Jess bustled through the door and stopped short when she saw Carole sat on a stool holding a china mug.

"Tardiness was always a problem for you Jessica, I see it hasn't improved much since you were sixteen." Jess scowled and opened her mouth to reply but Imogen jumped up and pushed her friend out of the door saying a hurried goodbye to her mother before anything unscrupulous came out of her friend's mouth.

"Hey, I was just about to tell her where she could shove her tardiness." Jess whined as they stomped down the stairs.

"Exactly. You're not the one who has to live with her and deal with the aftermath of a comment like that."

"Where are we going anyway?" They walked onto the street and were met with a freezing gust of wind and a threatening grey sky, they would definitely be getting snow at some point.

"Daisy texted to meet her at Regent's Park but didn't say anything else." They walked up the road towards the park as Imogen detailed what had happened the night before when her mother had made herself at home in the spare bedroom.

Approaching the park, they heard the sounds of lots of people chatting and laughing, along with whooshes and bangs and music blasting out of speakers. When they got through the treeline they were met by the sights and sounds of a funfair and hundreds of people enjoying the rides. Daisy was in the middle of a large group and ran over to the two of them when she saw them.

"Hey! You made it! No Charlie?" She was bubbling with excitement, bouncing around on her heels as her hair and dress were caught in a gust of wind swirling around her.

"He had to work."

"Of course, the schools haven't broken up yet! He's coming later isn't he?" Imogen nodded as Daisy dragged the two of them over towards the rest of the group, she recognised some of her sister's friends from school and waved at Sam who was chatting to his own friends.

"Okay guys, now we can go on the rides, remember just show your wrist band and you'll get on the rides for free, but you still have to pay for food and the smaller games. We're here until about six unless it gets too cold then we'll tell you what we're moving on to." Daisy handed Imogen and Jess a bright orange wristband each and spares for Charlie and Matt for when they showed up and grabbed Sam's hand to pull him towards the Ferris wheel.

Jess looked at Imogen and grinned. "This is fucking awesome. Daisy seriously knows how to organise a do, what do you think first? Dodgems?" Imogen smiled back and walked in the direction of the dodgems, she hadn't been to a funfair since she was a teenager. The two of them enjoyed the dodgems, the ghost train, the Ferris wheel and the waltz as if they were teenagers once again, all their worries and cares were forgotten for the few hours they enjoyed at the fair.

***

Charlie turned up at Regent's Park at half past four amazed at the spectacle before him, in the 29 years he'd lived in North London he'd never seen a funfair on the fields in the park and it was absolutely amazing. He smiled when he saw Imogen, she was stood at the candyfloss stall laughing at something Jess said, looking carefree and happy. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist, she froze in fear then relaxed when she realised it was him.

"Hey, how was school?"

"Not too bad. I see you're having fun at the fair." He moved his right hand and pulled a piece of candyfloss from the stick Imogen was cradling from the wind and let it melt on his tongue; he hadn't had candyfloss since he was a little kid, he'd forgotten how good it tasted.

"Hey, that's mine! Get your own!" Her voice started out annoyed but the smile that spread across her lips said she really didn't mind. "Here you need this wristband on so you can go on the rides. I've got my eye on one of those minions from Despicable Me on the ring toss game but I can't get it right. I've won five identical dolphin key-rings so far."

"Well I guess we'll have to do something about that then." He grudgingly pulled his arms from Imogen's midriff and took her hand in his instead as she pulled him towards the ring toss game; he glanced at Jess on her other side, she didn't look happy but he couldn't care less. They stopped at a stall with a red and white striped canopy, there were a couple of kids throwing the plastic rings at empty glass Coca-Cola bottles but none of them were hitting their target.

Charlie stopped in the middle and looked at the tiers of shelves holding the bottles, the one that was needed to win a minion was on the top shelf and was the furthest away. The man brought him three rings over in exchange for his pound coin. He sized up the ring, the distance and the projection angle he thought he would need, this was where his maths degree would come in to use. Throwing the first ring, he was too soft and it fell well short onto the shelf below his target. His second was too hard and hit the material covering the back of the wall, his final one was the right power and length but the ring hit the bottle top and fell to the side.

Annoyed at how close he had come he dug in his pocket for a second pound and took the three new rings the man offered. This shit just got real! He readied his action stance, really taking the game seriously ignoring the giggles that came from the two women standing next to him. The first ring bounced off the top of the bottle again and he began to think it might be a con and the stall holder had made it impossible to win anything from the top tier. However the next ring found it's target and Imogen cheered as the man pulled down a yellow cuddly toy about a foot tall and passed it to him.

Turning round he offered it to Imogen, who threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you! That was awesome, I thought you might have to spend a few more pounds before you won." She grabbed hold of his hand as the three of them walked away from the stall and back towards some of the other rides.

"Hey babe." Matt crept up behind Jess and put his hands over her eyes, she smiled and turned around in his arms to kiss him on the lips. Charlie and Imogen left the two of them to try out the waltz again before heading to the Ferris wheel. Charlie closed his eyes and gulped down his fear as they joined the small queue, he didn't really do heights – he'd avoided any school trips to the Eye or anything that involved buildings higher than three storeys - but Imogen really wanted to go to the top and see across the city.

He tried to hide the shaking in his body as the two of them climbed into the next available seat, when the bar was put into place he grabbed onto it and held on for dear life. His eyes shot closed as they gradually moved upwards, all he could was listen to the oohs and aahs Imogen made as she looked at the view. Each time the wheel stopped he thought it had broken down with the two of them nowhere near the ground.

"Hey, why have you got your eyes closed? You're missing out on an amazing view!" He felt Imogen turn towards him and their carriage rocked slightly, he grabbed the handrail tighter sure his knuckles were already shocking white.

"I don't do heights." He squeezed the words out of the tiniest hole in the side of his mouth, sure he would be sick if he opened it any more.

"Why didn't you say anything before we got on?" He couldn't get the words out so ended up shrugging, how could he tell her he didn't want to ruin her evening or that he would do anything, face any of his fears for her; he wouldn't be able to do it even if he was on flat ground and able to speak. "Well we just need to take your mind off of it." He felt her hand on the side of his face pulling it round towards hers, he opened his eyes slightly and took in her smile and the look of concern and caring in her eyes before she moved her lips to his.

She kissed him gently, her hands holding both sides of his face. He managed to release the cold metal bar with one hand and cupped her cheek with it, her skin was warm where he thought it would be cold from the winter wind. She deepened the kiss and moved one of her arms around the back of his neck and into his hair, he sighed at the way she stroked the back of his head and the tingles she left in her wake.

After a few minutes their carriage came to a stop and the bar was yanked out of his hand, pulling away from Imogen he floundered for the metal protection before realising they were back at ground level. Relief spread warm through his body as his feet struck the grass again, Imogen's hand found its way into his again and he looked down at her smiling, almost giddy with the fact he was safe again.

"See, it wasn't that bad was it." He scowled at her but the smile broke through when she giggled at him.

"Are you guys ready to go?" Daisy rounded the two of them up and they joined the rest of the group which was now about fifty people large, she moved to the front of the group to stand by Sam. "Okay, well I think everybody's had fun here, so now we are going to move onto the more adult section of the evening. And yes there'll be alcohol involved!" There was cheering and whooping from half the members of the group and peals of laughter from the other half.

The two of them led the way with everyone else following, they made their way from the park into Camden Town and ended up at Chinese Elvis' Karaoke Bar; normally a place he wouldn't be seen dead in and judging by Imogen's reaction next to him, she'd rather be anywhere else as well. "Oh God! I had this horrible feeling Daisy would fit karaoke in somewhere but hoped I was wrong." He looked down at her smiling, she shook her head back. "She used to drag me to these places because she loved it but I refused to get up and sing."

They followed everyone through the door and sat at a table towards the back with Jess and Matt, before they could go and get a drink Daisy was up on stage with a microphone. The feedback cut through the noise of the bar and chatter from the hen/stag do guests. "We've hired out the whole place so make sure you buy lots of drink, I've also been told the foods pretty good. The place also has a rule that everybody has to get on stage and sing a song, which means you as well Sis, there's no escape!" She burst out laughing and jumped off the stage to look through the song book.

He and Matt went to the bar to get the girls a drink, on the way back he wrote his and Imogen's name down for a duet; hoping she'd be grateful to be singing with him rather than by herself, besides he didn't want to do it by himself either. They sat at the back enjoying their drinks and a basket of French Fries, passing comments on all the singers as they performed; Jess got up and did an incredible version of Katy Perry's firework that led to a standing ovation and lots of drunken cheering.

Charlie sat in silence knowing their names would be called any moment and waited for Imogen's reaction, hoping she wouldn't hate him too much and wouldn't hate the song he'd chosen. "Next up we have Charlie and Imogen." He cautioned a glance at her and saw her sat frozen and in shock, he stood up and took her hand, but all she did was shake her head and open and close her mouth like a goldfish. "Go on Immie, it's your turn!" Jess was pushing her up off the seat while she tried not to laugh too hard.

"Charlie and Imogen, oh here they come. They are singing one of THE classic duets of all time and one of my favourite songs: Islands in the Stream!" As he neared the brightly lit stage the announcer – who was Chinese and dressed in a perfect Elvis Presley costume - handed him two microphones, he then handed one to Imogen. She looked annoyed and he caught her whispering under her breath: "Big Dolly fan are you?" He smiled and stopped in the middle of the stage.

"Who isn't? Besides everyone should be treated your voice before the wedding, it really is beautiful." Even under the bright, hot lights he could tell she was blushing from his comment rather than from the heat of the lamps.

The music started and the two of them began singing, they took it in turns following the autocue off the screen at the front of the stage. When they finished everybody in the room were on their feet clapping and cheering, Charlie bowed and watched as Imogen laughed at him. They went back to their table at the rear of the room, collecting complements and high-fives on their way through. "That was amazing Im! I didn't know you could sing like that, I'd have dragged you to karaoke to sing with me as well if I'd have known." Jess gave Imogen a hug and they laughed and joked about the song while the next act began to sing. The rest of night was filled with off-key singing, plenty of laughing and Elvis-themed cocktails including Jailhouse on the Rocks, All Shook Up and Blue Suede Shooter.

When they got outside of the dark room they were surprised to find it was snowing heavily and there was a healthy white coating on the roads and pavements. Charlie walked Imogen home and the two soon found themselves in a snowy flurry and struggling to see two foot in front of themselves, let alone see where they were supposed to be going. Eventually they made it to the shop, where Imogen invited him in while they waited for it to abate a little.

It was well after midnight when they were drinking coffee and listening to the soft snores of her parents in the bedroom above, when they both decided it wouldn't be safe for Charlie to leave. "I could sleep on the sofa." Imogen looked at the sofa then at the ceiling before taking another sip of coffee.

"That's not going to work, if my parents find you on the sofa tomorrow they'll think we got into a fight or something. We could always share my bed, it's only for one night until the snow has stopped." He looked at her and his heart started racing, he'd only ever shared a bed with a woman when he was actually dating them and although this made sense for their fake relationship, he was still a little tentative at the thought. He'd love nothing more than to sleep in the same bed as her but he didn't want to do something stupid in his sleep and ruin their friendship, especially not now they had grown so close.

"That is, if you don't snore!" She grinned at him and put her empty coffee cup down on the table.

"No, I may talk a little though. I don't mind sleeping on your floor if you're not comfortable sharing a bed." He was secretly hoping she wouldn't leave him to the floor but understood if she did. Imogen smiled and chuckled as she looked at her floors.

"I wouldn't want you to sleep on the floor, for your sake. I wouldn't want my worst enemy to sleep on my floors, they're incredibly dirty honestly it's worse than those sticky ones in pubs and night clubs." She stood up and led the way to her bedroom, where he would now be spending the night.

Chapter Nineteen

There's no better feeling than waking up in somebody else's arms, Imogen thought to herself as she snuggled into the warmth of the quilt and the body spooning her. Then it dawned on her, there were arms wrapped around her; alarm tensed her body as she tried to remember what had happened the night before, she hoped the alcohol hadn't blotted out all her memory. I didn't drink that much, I remember the karaoke, then the snow and Charlie! Charlie slept over here! Charlie has his arms around me!

Her eyes opened and she tried to look at the person behind her without moving but it was impossible, instead she looked down at her own hand that was intertwined with another hand that wasn't hers. Yep, that was definitely Charlie's hand; she had it bad if she knew exactly what his hands looked like. She smiled as she moved her fingers slightly in his and began tracing patterns on his skin with her thumb, they looked almost perfect together.

Behind her Charlie began to stir and pulled her tighter to him, she'd forgotten how nice it was just to be held and the thought of staying like this forever crossed her mind. Cold air hit the back of her neck and her shoulders as Charlie pulled away from her, she turned her head to see what was wrong and met his eyes with hers. They bored into her with such intensity she wanted to look away but couldn't bear to, they shared the same longing look as hers and in that moment she thought maybe just maybe he felt the same way as her.

It seemed like forever that they simply stared at each other but in reality it was only seconds before his face dropped down to hers and his lips found hers. This time there was no hesitation he pulled her body close to his and pushed her into the pillows leaving her hot and breathless. Imogen moved her arms around his neck and let them wander down his back, playing with creases in his t-shirt. His right hand moved down her back to cradle her hip and sneaked under her t-shirt to touch the bare skin of her waist; making her gasp.

"Imogen, Imogen are you up yet? . . . Oh Sorry!" She pulled back from Charlie as she heard her mother's panicky tones, she was panting slightly as she looked to the opening at the top of the stairs and saw her mother looking embarrassed and flushed. "I didn't mean to disturb the two of you, when you're ready Imogen I need your help with Daisy." Her mother began to creep back down the stairs.

"What's wrong with Daisy?" Imogen asked trying to clear the lust and longing from her head, Charlie was no longer touching her and she felt at a loss without his arms around her. When they had both seen her mother standing there they had broken apart instantly like two lusty teenagers when one of their parents walked in. Her mother stopped on the third step and looked back at her.

"She and Sam got into a big argument last night and she's saying that the wedding's off and she no longer wants to marry him. I'm going to meet her for breakfast and was hoping you'd come with me."

"They were fine last night, I'll get up now." Reluctantly she pulled the duvet from her body and instantly felt cold; it wasn't just the fact she was leaving the warmth of the bed, it was losing the warmth of Charlie and the moment they'd just had. She looked up at him and gave him an apologetic glance before searching for a pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt to put on. "Sorry, it'll probably be just some huge overreaction to something Sam's said while he's been drunk, Daisy's one hell of a drama queen."

"Don't worry about it, family's family. I'd do the same if it was Catherine or Molly." He smiled but it never reached his eyes where disappointment settled in the deep pools of blue, matching her own feelings exactly. There had been something different about the kiss, neither of them were playing around or waiting for the other to respond, both of them just let their feelings and passion flow.

She trudged over to the stairs and looked back at Charlie sitting on her bed, thinking how wonderful he looked just lounging there in a t-shirt and his boxer shorts. "I don't know how long this will take, knowing Daisy probably all day. If I don't see you before then, I'll see you at the rehearsal dinner." He nodded and smiled before she crept downstairs to the bathroom, secretly wanting to strangle her sister for disturbing the best moment with Charlie.

Showered and dressed she made her way to the kitchen where her mother was waiting for her, her father was reading the paper over his coffee and nodded an exasperated good morning to her. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a mug from the cupboard and was about to pour herself some coffee when her mother rushed over and grabbed her wrist preventing her from getting any out.

"We haven't got time for that, your sister's just been on the phone again in tears. We need to go right now!" Imogen looked longingly between her empty cup and the coffee pot before reluctantly putting both down and following her mother down the stairs. Outside a taxi was waiting to whisk them away to meet Daisy, both got into the idling black cab and it took off.

"So what exactly happened? The two of them were loved up all of last night, it must have some big argument for her to call off the wedding." Imogen watched as the streets of North London passed by in a white and grey blur, the roads had been cleared of snow but the pavements and gardens were still covered in a white blanket.

"I don't know for sure, from what I can gather through the sobs and crying they got into an argument about the hen and stag dos last night and how extravagant the wedding is going to be." She huffed and crossed her arms, leaning back in the seat. "He always knew what Daisy's plans were and even agreed with everything, I don't know why he's suddenly not very happy. I mean he got his way over the swan ice sculptures for Christ's sake."

"Mother, they were two grand and wouldn't have lasted two hours, there would have been two giant puddles on the dancefloor and I don't think Daisy wants a Singin' in the Rain themed wedding." Imogen laughed to herself at the thought of Daisy and Sam splashing around the dancefloor singing and waving umbrellas.

"Well I think they would have looked beautiful!" Imogen rolled her eyes at her mother as the taxi pulled up at some traffic lights and thought back to Charlie being in her bed.

***

Charlie climbed down the stairs wondering what he was going to do all day to stop himself from thinking about Imogen and the way she'd just kissed him. He walked into the kitchen and found Imogen's father sat at the breakfast bar and suddenly he was nervous. Fathers were always protective of their daughters particularly Ian of Imogen and now he had to face the father of the daughter he'd just been caught practically dry-humping.

"Good morning Sir." Charlie went to the counter and picked up an empty cup Imogen must have left for him and poured a cup of coffee. He then went and sat at the breakfast bar as well waiting for the onslaught of threats and violence from his neighbour.

"Morning Charlie, the girls just left." The man put down his copy of the times and swigged the last dregs from his coffee cup, Charlie swallowed the lump in his throat and took a sip of his own drink. "Have you got any plans today? No, how would you like to come and see Sam with me and get his side of the story. Personally I think it's most likely just a huge misunderstanding. We'll go when you've finished your coffee."

Charlie drained his mug and sat back in mild surprise, Ian hadn't mentioned anything about his escapades with Imogen and he'd invited him along to help with a family crisis like he was one of their own. Behind him Ian was shrugging on a coat, Charlie stood and pulled on his own coat and scarf and followed the man down to the street. "I thought we could walk over to Sam's place it's not too far from here, there's something I want to talk to you about on the way."

Oh here it goes. Charlie readied himself for what was coming and looked at Imogen's father out of the corner of his eye, he didn't look angry or annoyed so that was a good start; however the nerves still crept up on him.

"Don't worry there's no need to look nervous, Carole told me how she found the two of you. I believe flagrant and outrageous were her choice of words, she still thinks both our daughters are virgins and will be until they get married. Me, I'm more of a realist and I know when two young people are in love they can't keep their hands off of each other; Carole and I were the same at your age, although she won't admit it. All I want to know is that you're treating her with respect and not messing her around."

Ian kept looking straight ahead only glancing at Charlie every so often to make sure he was listening. "Imogen had a tough time at school and she's finally got to where she wants to be, I've never seen her so happy to be honest. And I believe you've got something to do with that, I trust your intentions for my daughter are honorary because you seem like a really nice bloke." Ian stopped in the path and forced Charlie to look him straight in the eye. "Because if not, I will hunt you down and kill you. I will pluck every hair from your body, coat you in petrol and set you on fire. Comprende?"

It wasn't the comment so much as the look that scared Charlie to death, as he described how he would torture and kill Charlie a wide smile spread across his face and evil danced in his eyes. Nobody would want to go against this man's wishes, nobody in their right mind anyway. "I promise sir all my intentions are honorary, I have no plans to hurt your daughter." Guilt and fear made his throat tighten and the sentence came out a little more hoarse and quieter than he would have wanted it to, but Ian didn't really seem to notice.

"Good! Now for the bloke in my other daughter's life." Ian strode two houses further up then cut into the right into the front garden of an Edwardian terraced house. Charlie followed and stood at the back as Ian pressed the buzzer for Sam and Daisy's flat.

""Daisy? Is that you?" Sam's tired and fraught voice came through the intercom at them.

"No it's Ian and Charlie." He put the phone down and buzzed them up. When they had gotten into the second floor flat they found a complete mess, Sam looked tired and red-eyed like he'd been up all night crying. There were clothes and papers strewn over the floor and the TV was on silent on one of those daytime shows where people look round three or four houses and don't end up buying any of them.

"Have you heard from Daisy? I've been trying to call her all night but she's not picking up. We got in a fight last night and now she's called off the wedding and I don't know what to do." He was on the verge of tears as his voice broke, Ian walked over to him and put an arm around his shoulder, pulling him down onto the sofa. Charlie made himself useful and put the kettle on for a cup of tea; tea always seemed tomake even the worst situations that little bit better.

"What was the argument about Sam?" Ian was still comforting him when Charlie carried three mugs over the sitting area.

"I was a little drunk from the cocktails at the karaoke bar and said something about those stupid swan ice sculptures again and she just blew up at me about the wedding and how much it meant to her. Then she said it wasn't important to me, that we should call the wedding off and stormed out without taking anything with her. Now she won't answer any of my calls." Sam looked down at the floor between his legs, tear rimming the bottom of his eyes.

Charlie pulled out his mobile phone and went over to the window to call Imogen and see how Daisy was holding up. "Hi, what's going on?" He smiled down the end of the phone when he heard her voice, he didn't know about tea but Imogen definitely made him feel better.

"Hi, I'm just at Sam's place with your dad, he's a total mess. I just wondered how Daisy was getting on."

"Not great. They've got into an argument over some stupid ice sculptures that they aren't even having at the wedding. It's just been blown way out of proportion."

"Can you put Daisy on the phone, there's something I want to tell her." There was a pause before Daisy's tired, sorrow-filled voice came on to the other end of the phone. "Charlie? . . ."

"Hi Daisy, I've got someone here who wants to speak to you. Look he's devastated and lost without you, you and Sam are meant to be together and you clearly love each other. Don't just call off the wedding over some frozen water," He smiled into the phone and turned towards the window before whispering: "besides, make-up sex is the best sex ever!"

He turned back to the room hoping Ian didn't hear his last comment and passed his phone to Sam who looked confused but so elated when he put it to his ear. Charlie picked up his mug of tea and went to sit in the chair opposite, satisfied with his mornings work. It wasn't long before the wedding was back on and the two young lovebirds were whispering sweet nothings down the phone line to each other.

When they finally hung up Charlie took his phone and made to exit, he still had some marking to finish off for next week before the rehearsal dinner tonight. However he didn't think he was going to get much done, the memory of Imogen in his arms and in her bed pinged into his head as he saw his own bed at home and he couldn't help but relive the moment from this morning.

***

Imogen was standing in the foyer to the restaurant where the wedding party had gathered for one last dinner before the big day tomorrow. She was hopping from one foot to the other impatiently waiting for Charlie to arrive; the receptionist and all the waiting staff that had passed through must have thought she looked like some demented kangaroo that needed the loo.

Every time the door opened and a gust of cold air blew across the marble floor she got her hopes up that it would be him but they were dashed by the time the heavy door clicked shut again. Once more the door swung open and this time she was ecstatic to see Charlie standing there in his black coat, stripy scarf and woolly bobble hat. She smiled as he took the garments off and handed them to the receptionist.

"I like the hat." He smiled as she took him through to the dining room where everybody else was seated already, all the disappointment of not seeing him when they'd dropped Daisy off at Sam's had completely evaporated now he was sat next to her again. "How was my dad this morning when you came down for breakfast?"

He smiled as he looked at her father then back to her. "We had a nice little chat about my intentions towards you; I felt so guilty when I was telling him I wouldn't hurt you, knowing we're going to split up in a few days anyway." Her heart sank at his words, she tried to keep the smile on her face however it was hard not to feel devastated. They were definitely splitting up then, he wasn't interested in her or having a proper relationship with her; the look she thought she'd seen this morning couldn't have been real just her mind playing tricks on her in love heart.

She shook the disappointment from her body and set out to enjoy the rest of the night in spite of all her hopes being dashed. "Yeah, that reminds me Jack should be back in the city now. He went to China for the museum." She watched as a flicker of disappointment or sadness danced across his eyes, but it was gone before she could really evaluate what it really was. They chatted about everything else but themselves for the rest of the night, both unwilling to discuss their relationship now that it was coming to an end.

Daisy stood at the front with a champagne bottle in her hand and called for silence as the speeches were about to begin. Without any warning the cork popped out and headed with speed in their direction, hitting Charlie square on his left cheek. Everyone cheered oblivious to the fact he'd been hit and grabbed a flute of champagne ready to toast the happy couple. Imogen's hand flew to Charlie's cheek where there was now a huge red bruise and the swelling was forcing his eye shut.

She grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the kitchen where she gathered some ice from one of the chefs and pressed it in a tea towel the side of his face. For a long moment they looked at each other the same way they had that morning, both longing to say something to the other but not finding the right words. Instead their faces leant towards each other ready for another kiss.

"Are you alright? I saw the cork fly across the room towards you and the next thing I knew the two of you had disappeared." Jess stood in front of them as they sat on the marble steps in the front foyer again. She looked concerned and a little annoyed that the two of them were alone again. Imogen removed the ice pack from his face and noticed the swelling had slowed a little but the red mark was turning purple.

"Shit! That looks painful." Jess' hand flew to her mouth as she saw Charlie's face.

"Yep! It's lethal being around you two. I've been punched multiple times, fallen off a moped, nearly fallen from the top of a Ferris wheel, been threatened with having all my hairs plucked out, being doused with petrol and then set alight and now I've been knocked out by a champagne cork. It's not safe being anywhere near you, maybe I should stay away for a while." He was laughing as best he could while grimacing at the pain but his comments had cut her like a knife, she knew they didn't have long together and that soon they wouldn't be together anymore. That's what hurt her the most.

Chapter Twenty

The longer the ceremony went on the more nervous Imogen became and now they were settling in for the reception they were out of control. Her heart was pounding, her palms were sweating and her mouth was dry; looking Charlie wasn't helping either, he was wearing a grey suit, white shirt and skinny tie combo that made him look amazing. Whenever he smiled at her it almost took her breath away, it was not going to be easy letting him out of her life; she couldn't believe how quickly he'd gone from being on her public enemy list to being one of the most important people in her life.

The ceremony had been beautiful, all fresh flowers and white cleanness and of the church looked wonderful; Daisy had always known she'd get married in the same church as their parents and of course her mum had lapped it up. Even the weather was behaving itself, two weeks before Christmas London was normally dismal: cold, grey, dull, damp; but today it was bright, still and the thin layer of snow was picture perfect.

There had been no last minute problems like there usually was on these occasions and Daisy and Sam were all loved up again after their pre-wedding spat. Charlie squeezed her hand as he helped her out of the car, they had pulled up outside the hall where the reception was being held and her legs felt like jelly. As soon as she was stood on the pavement she could begin to feel them weaken and leant on Charlie for support, he took her hand in his and looked her in the eyes giving her an encouraging smile that really wasn't helping keep her upright.

A red carpet had been laid out leading them to the main hall, bouquets of white roses lined the walk matching the ones that had been presented in the church. "I haven't had chance to say this yet, but you look breath-taking!" Charlie whispered in her ear so only she could hear and she shivered at his words and the feel of him so close to her.

When they got into the hall it had been draped in white material and looked like a winter wonderland, more white roses decorated each table and thousands of silver and white snowflakes hung from the ceiling above them. The tables had been set up around the outside leaving space for a dance-floor in the centre of the room; along the top wall a stage had been set up with a band's equipment including a drum kit and a keyboard; her own guitar was leant up against the wall behind ready for later. On the left of the stage was a rectangular table set up for the wedding party.

Imogen looked round in awe, other people were beginning to enter the hall, most of them congregating around the seating chart to see where they should sit. Her Aunt Sally pulled away from the group and came over to see her. "You look beautiful Imogen, as did Daisy her dress was gorgeous. At least she didn't have any bloody birds like Michelle, you don't know how hard it is to get bird shit out of a white wedding dress. Hello again Charlie." Imogen laughed nervously unable to speak, luckily Charlie was good at talking to people.

Guests were beginning to take their places and her parents arrived trying to get everyone seated before Daisy and Sam walked in. Imogen reluctantly left Charlie at his table and went to the head of the room, frantically trying to remember the words to her speech and the song she and Charlie had to perform later. The happy couple arrived to cheers and whoops and took their place at the head table so the dinner could begin. Salmon, cheesecake and what seemed like half a cow later it was finally time for the moment Imogen was dreading.

She sat through the hilarious best man's speech and her nerves only increased, how the hell was she meant to follow something like that? When her name was introduced she stood shaking and took the microphone in a trembling hand and turned towards the audience gathered before her. She took one last deep breath and spotted Charlie at his table looking straight at her and smiling. Well here goes.

"Daisy and I have always been close, we're completely different people but we accept each other and love each other for that. Ever since we were children our wedding plans have been like that too, Daisy always wanted the big white wedding and Prince Charming Husband whereas I was never really interested in anything big as long as I had a man who loved me for who I am." She glanced at Charlie and saw his smile widen slightly and a little wink that sent her heart racing again.

"However with today and with Sam, Daisy has definitely gotten both our dream weddings, she's found her Prince Charming who loves her for who she is. Someone once told me that the Greeks believe that humans were created with four arms, four legs and two faces; however Zeus thought that they would be too powerful and split them in half, condemning them to search for their partner who completed them. And I believe that that is what Daisy and Sam have found in each other."

"Within each other they have found their soulmate, their best friend, their partner in crime. Both have found that one special person who accepts their faults and loves them in spite of their faults and because of their faults. That one person who makes them feel special even when they feel awful, who says they're beautiful even when they look their worst and who would give up anything to be with the other." She looked around the room at the tear-rimmed faces of the guests, finishing on Charlie who also seemed to have shiny eyes as he grinned at her.

"I think true love is rare in the world we live in, but Sam and Daisy have definitely found it with each other. So I ask you to raise a toast to the happy couple and wish them good luck in marriage and long may their love continue. To Sam and Daisy!" She raised her champagne flute and listened as her words echoed around the room, Daisy stood and hugged her, tears running down her face.

"Thanks Immie, that was beautiful. Really beautiful." Daisy looked at her and Imogen found tears beginning to form in her own eyes. Daisy returned to her seat and kissed Sam. Imogen placed her glass down on the table and turned back to the room.

"I would now like to welcome Sam and Daisy to the floor for their first dance." Charlie discreetly left his table and met her at the staging area, grabbing both their guitars from the wall at the back. Daisy gave her a questioning look as she got into position with Sam, she and Charlie took their seats on the stage and looked at each other as they counted in to start the song. As she sang she kept her eyes firmly on Charlie's, never daring to look away at the crowd or at the couple dancing in the middle.

When they had finished applause resounded around the room, both managed to tear their eyes away from each other to take it in. Daisy and Sam had stopped in the dance-floor to applaud the rest of the guests were on their feet clapping as well. Imogen flushed at all the attention, she stood and changed the height of the microphone as Charlie removed their guitars back to the wall again.

"Let me introduce your wedding band for the rest of the night: The Lilacs!" She moved from the stage as the actual band made their way on and took up their positions with their instruments and instantly lurched into an upbeat version of "How sweet it is". When she'd got down to the dancefloor, Daisy, Sam and her parents were there to congratulate her, all saying how beautiful it was and that they didn't know she could sing like that.

She shyly took their congratulations and entered onto the floor when Charlie offered her his hand, they hadn't danced together since the lesson with Sam and Daisy; so much had changed since then. She delighted in the touch of his hand on her waist and the warmth of his body against hers; dancing had never been her thing, but she stay in Charlie's arms like this forever. If only they weren't going to split up soon.
Chapter Twenty One

Why are we doing this? Charlie couldn't help but think as he stared into Imogen's eyes, he'd been trying to find a way of telling her his thoughts for the last few days since the wedding but he couldn't find the right words. He didn't know how to tell her he had fallen in love with her and that he didn't want to split up with her, however Imogen had brought up Jack again, meaning she was still going to call him when their "relationship" was over. That was what hurt the most, the fact she was already thinking about another man, he could have taken it it if she had just said she hated him but he was sure she had feelings for him too.

Now they were stood in the kitchen of his sister's house working out the last few details of how they were going to convince everyone they were going to split up and not get back together. They had tried to create tension between them when they arrived and both had said a few comments pointedly to the other, but now it was time for the big finale.

"So we're going out there shouting about how we've both been flirting with other people?" She sounded unsure as she repeated the plan they'd come up with last night, both had sneaked into the kitchen so no one could hear their discussion. Catherine's baby shower would not have been his first choice for a screaming match with his girlfriend but they needed something a bit more public so their family and friends would know about it.

"Yep! I'll apologise now if I say anything that offends you. I don't really mean it. It's been great being your fake boyfriend for the last few weeks and I, I . . ." She looked expectantly at him but he couldn't form the words in his mouth, he'd told a woman he'd loved her before and truly meant it. He sighed and closed his eyes before continuing. "I had a really great time, thank you. Ready?" he took a deep breath and tried to smile as she nodded tentatively at him.

Pressing his hand to the door he readied his first comment, pushing the door open he cursed at the number of people crowding around his sister and the look of joy on her face as she opened gifts of baby toys and clothes ready for the arrival in a week's time. "Why do you still have his number? I bet you've been calling him since you met him at that damn exhibition haven't you? Flirting and smiling at him, I should have known something was going on!" He was shouting as he stormed out of the kitchen with her following, he pulled all his anger from the fact she probably would be calling him this time tomorrow.

"Oh yeah! Because I've had time to call him when I've been with you all the time. You've been smothering me for the last few weeks then get on at me for flirting with someone else. Well what about you, I saw you flirting with that girl in the off-license, how dare you shout at me about flirting?" Imogen stormed past him as he stopped so that everyone could hear their argument.

He glanced quickly to the group at their side and saw the talking had stopped and that they were all staring at the two of them. He flushed as he saw the concern on both his sisters' faces, he hated doing things like this, they'd wonder what was going on and he didn't really want to explain. "I wasn't flirting with her, I was being friendly! I didn't have my hands all over her like you did with him, you couldn't get enough of him could you?" He shuddered at the memory of the two of them stood there together.

"I did not have my hands all over him. You weren't even there, you only came at the end and strode in all jealous and masculine claiming me as yours. I didn't have time to flirt with him, your bloody ego got in the way; just like it did at school. You haven't changed you're still that same heartless bastard!" That hurt! Did she really mean that? He thought she'd forgiven him for everything he did at school, they'd become close over the last few weeks and had definitely become friends.

Imogen stormed out of the room into the entrance hall, he followed and hoped this would be over soon, he didn't want to be here anymore, in fact he'd rather be anywhere else than here. "If you think that why are you dating me?" He watched as she grabbed her coat and pulled it on inside out, he bit his lip to stop the laughter working its way up. She shrugged it off and righted it before wrapping her scarf round her neck, almost strangling herself.

"Well it seems I'm not anymore! It's over, Charlie, it's over!" With that she stormed out the front door slamming it so hard the glass rattled and threatened to fall crashing to the ground. He stood speechless as he stared at the space she'd just left, now replaced by silence and emptiness. He felt a presence appear behind his left shoulder, turning he saw both his sisters frowning at the front door.

"What did you do?" Molly was scowling at him and her voice was filled with anger as she sized him up. God, he hated Molly when she was angry, she was like the incredible hulk; you literally see the violent thoughts racing through her head and she was clenching her fists at her sides.

"Oh that's it take her side over your own brother. I didn't' do anything, she was the one flirting with someone else. It doesn't matter now, it's over!" He grabbed his own coat and pulled it on, he couldn't stay there and keep getting questioned by Molly and Catherine; he needed some air and something to drink.

"Don't say that Charlie, you two love each other you just need to work this out. All relationships go through bad patches."

"Stop it! It's over. Okay!" He stormed out the door hearing it slam behind him and strode up the road to find the nearest pub. After a hundred metres his phone buzzed with a text, he pulled it out and stopped in his tracks, his anger immediately extinguished. It was from Imogen and said just one word.

Sorry. x

He tried to find the right response, some way of telling her how he felt but nothing came to him and he ended up replying in a similar way.

I know. Me too. x

Chapter Twenty Two

Imogen rested her forehead on the cold wooden counter of the shop, she'd just finished wrapping six books in Christmas paper and now just wished the festive season was over so she could go back to having a nearly empty shop to herself. It had been two days since her break-up with Charlie and she was missing him like crazy, everything she did, every song she heard even her fish reminded her of him. She felt like a lovesick teenager again and it was driving Jess nuts. She hadn't been as pleased as Imogen thought she would have been about the break-up.

Her phone rang, she thought about ignoring it thinking it was probably Daisy checking up on her again from her honeymoon in Greece, however it was someone even worse. "Hello mother." God she sounded depressed. She really didn't need her mother screeching down the phone at her right now.

"Why did you date that Charlie boy Imogen? Daisy's just told us he was one of the boys who bullied you at school, people like that don't change dear. Besides I've found this really nice man Nick who would be perfect for you, he's –"

"No mother, you are not setting me up with any more men. I don't want to date anyone else right now. He has changed by the way."

"Who's changed dear?"

"Charlie, he's different. You probably don't believe me but he has changed. I'll call you later mum." She hung up before her mother could interrupt her and set her up with the whole of Kent. She didn't want to talk about Charlie either, she just wanted to forget him now and move on. Placing her head back on the counter top she closed her eyes. The light from the window was blocked out by a dark shadow, when Imogen opened her eyes she saw Jess standing with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Call him!" Jess said in an exasperated tone as she leant against the counter.

"Call who?" Imogen sat back and looked into her friends eyes, knowing full well who she meant but not wanting to say it out loud.

"Charlie or Jack, whoever. I just wish you'd stop moping around, it's nearly Christmas for Christ's sake." She waved her hands in the air and shrugged her shoulders getting her point across, but Imogen didn't want to talk to either of them. She wasn't interested in Jack at all and Charlie was most likely off flirting with other women like that one in the booze shop.

"I don't want to talk to any of them. Especially if Charlie's found some other woman. Not that I care, I just want to be by myself." She knew it was a total lie as it came out of her mouth,, there was only one person she wanted to be with and it wasn't herself.

"Give me your phone!" Jess held her hand out waiting, but Imogen didn't move unsure what her friend was going to do. Jess waved her hand emphasising the fact that it was empty and waiting. Reluctantly Imogen pulled the phone from her pocket and placed it in her friend's hand, whom immediately starting searching through her contacts and put the phone to her ear.

"What the fuck are doing?" Imogen whispered in a panic and tried to reach for the phone but Jess held her back with her free hand.

"Hi Jack, its Imogen, Imogen Jones from the British Museum exhibition. . . Yes it was a great night." Jess laughed as she looked straight into Imogen's eyes. "Well I just called to say I'm free for that date if you're still interested . . . Yes Charlie is long gone. . . Tonight at six o'clock, yes that would be great!" Jess smiled as Imogen shook her head, tonight at six would not be great, she didn't want to meet him. "Regent's Park Road, there's a shop called The Bookcase, I'll be there. . . Bye see you later. . . Done"

She handed the phone back to Imogen who stared at it in silence trying to figure out how to respond to what Jess had just done, however there was no response.

***

Daytime television is shit! Charlie thought as he flicked through the channels, all he found were shows about house-hunting, auctions or re-runs of programmes from ten years ago. He probably should have been marking mock exam papers and preparing his lessons for next term now that the school had broken up for the Christmas holidays, but he wasn't in the mood. All he could think about was Imogen and all the time they'd spent together.

"I wish you'd stop moping around, either call her or move on." Molly plonked down on the sofa next to him, she was staying over with Adam while their flat was redecorated. He glanced at her next to him and shook his head.

"I can't, she's probably out with Jack already." He sighed the thought and tried to block the picture of the two of them together out of his mind, he really didn't need to see it.

"I can't believe you two are throwing away a perfectly good relationship over some flirting, you're both idiots." Molly turned the television off with the remote control Charlie had placed on the sofa between them and crossed her arms staring at him.

"It was never a relationship." Charlie said as he turned to look at her.

"What are you talking about? Six weeks or however long you were together is definitely a relationship in my book." Molly looked stunned almost laughing at his comment, he just turned away and looked at the wall in front of him.

"It was all fake, we agreed to pretend to date each other so she could get her mother to stop setting her up on dates and so I could escape from Sarah and get you, mum and Catherine off my back about commitment issues. We were never really together, it was just a big fake!" His voice rose from barely a whisper as the truth finally came out, he cautioned a glance over at his sister and was surprised when she wasn't angry with him.

"Everything was fake? So every look, every kiss, every moment I saw the two of you together was fake? I don't think so! I know you Charlie and I know when you're in love, so don't pretend you haven't fallen for her and that every look you gave her was made up, you're not that good of an actor." His mouth opened in surprise, was it really that obvious how he felt about her? Then why couldn't she see it, or maybe she had and ignored his feelings anyway. That's a depressing thought.

"She couldn't tell they were real feelings."

"That's because you're as blind as each other. You're both willing to throw true love away because you think the other doesn't feel the same way. Well I can tell you she loves you as much as you love her. I don't know why you don't just tell her how you feel and get together again. You know life is short, you've got to make the most of love; look at mum and dad they were devoted to each other but things happen and people get taken away. If you asked mum would she not have married dad if she'd known what would happen to him, what would she have said?"

Molly looked at him and Charlie knew she was right, he couldn't give up on Imogen. He had to tell her he loved and if his sister was wrong and she didn't feel the same way, well at least he would know and could move on with his life.

Chapter Twenty Three

Imogen stood in front of her shop feeling like an idiot, she was shivering in her coat in the slush waiting for Jack Livesey to arrive. Jess was huddled next to her in a coat, scarf, gloves and hat; Imogen loved the snow when it first came down but as soon as it turned to ice and slush the city turned into a standstill and it wasn't so pretty anymore. It had taken a lot of persuading from Jess to get her out here, she really didn't want to go on this date with Jack, when Jess had rung she didn't think he'd want to go out on the same day but one of his business clients had cancelled and he had a restaurant reservation booked.

"Why did we decide to wait outside again? It's bloody freezing!" She shivered as she looked at Jess leaning against their shop front window, she scowled and pulled her coat around her tighter. A flashy sports car pulled up at the curb beside them, as the driver's window went down she saw Jack looking at her smiling. She'd forgotten how handsome he was since she'd last seen him, however as she looked at his carefully placed hair and clean shaven chin she couldn't help comparing him to Charlie and his rugged sexiness that she had grown to love.

"Good Evening Imogen. I'm glad you called me earlier." Jess moved up next to her and peeked inside the car at her date for the night. "Who's this beautiful woman you're with?" He smiled at Jess with a twinkle in his eye and she could hear her friend gag next to her, he was too charming and smarmy. She was looking forward to this date even less now than she had been earlier.

"This is my friend Jess." Jess stuck her hand through the open window and shook his, quickly pulling it back like she would get covered in oil and grease if she left it in his for too long. "She's just going home." Imogen gave her a meaningful look as she walked around the back of the car to the passenger side. "Call me later Im." She motioned a phone with her fingers and walked off up the road.

Imogen watched her until she went around the corner before climbing into the car, the interior was made up entirely of leather; leather seats, leather control panel, leather steering wheel. It all felt too ugh, sticky and sliding, not what she would choose for the inside of a car. "You're friend seems nice, how long have you known each other?" Jack looked at her before moving the car away from the pavement smoothly.

"22 years, we met at primary school and have been friends ever since." Imogen looked around the car feeling completely uncomfortable, she didn't belong in a car like this. It was for middle aged men going through a mid-life crisis or someone trying to make up for his lack in the trouser department, definitely not a car for a first date. Who the hell drives a car like this if they don't want to show off?

"Wow that's a really long time, I don't think I can even remember anybody I went to school with, university buddies yes but school no." He smiled at her glancing quickly in the direction of her legs before turning back to the road.

"So where are we headed?" Imogen asked to fill the awkward silence that descended in the car as they made their way through the centre of London.

"Sauterelle, in the city. I was supposed to be having dinner with a collector but his flight from New York was delayed. It's lucky you called otherwise I'd be having dinner on my lonesome." She felt like shuddering at his smarminess, this is not how she remembered him from the exhibition; then he'd been easy to talk to and kind, mildly flirtatious. Now he was just over the top and cheesy, exactly the type of guy that turned her off. "He's flying in tomorrow instead, he's – "

She sat back in the seat, staring out the window and switched off as he continued to talk about himself for the rest of the journey, the city at night always amazed her. There were so many lights and so many things happening, in the summer she would go and sit on her roof terrace with a glass of wine and just watch the city go by. It was a lot more interesting than learning about business meetings, that was for sure.

***

Charlie had been trying to figure what to say to Imogen for the last two hours, he wanted to tell her all the things he loved about her and make sure she knew how he felt, but everything came out cheesy or sounded false. He looked at the clock on his wall, it was already six o'clock Imogen would be closing the shop so he had to get going; who knows if she would answer the door to him. He crumpled the last bit of paper with the speech he'd been working on and grabbed his coat on the way out, halfway up the street before he had it on properly.

When he reached the bookshop it was dark, all the lights were off and the closed sign was showing. He tried the doorbell and banging on the door but there was no answer. "Shit!" He moved back out into the street and looked up at Imogen's windows they were dark as well. "Double shit!" He pulled out his mobile phone and tried calling her number but there was no answer. "Bollocks!" Where the hell is she? Think Charlie, think. Jess, she might be at Jess'!

He ran around the corner to Jess' flat where he'd had dinner a few weeks before, pressing the bell continuously until the door began to open. Jess' face appeared through the gap looking annoyed as hell. "Charlie what the hell do you want?"

"Is Imogen here?" He tried to peer behind Jess into the house but she stepped forward and pulled the door almost closed behind her. She crossed her arms and scowled at him, he was used to the look and at this point he didn't care, he just needed to find Imogen.

"No, she's on a date with Jack, that bloke she met at the museum event you took her to." He noticed the slight grimace as she said his name but ignored it along with the disappointed clench in his heart, he only needed to know where they were, he just needed to tell her how he felt.

"Where are they? There's something I need to tell her."

"Something so important you need to interrupt her date?" She almost sounded hopeful, he looked into her eyes and saw expectance there. He sighed and looked at his feet then back to her.

"Yes, I need to tell her that I . . . I love her. I love Imogen. So yeah it's kind of important." Jess broke into a smile that completely surprised him, this woman had hated him for the past few weeks when he had been 'dating' her best friend and for the thirteen years since they'd been at school together, but now she was happy he loved Imogen.

"Thank God! That Jack Livesey is an absolute twat! He took her to a dinner reservation that he was supposed to be at with someone else when they cancelled. He didn't even get out of the car to say hello. They're at that French place Sauterelle in the city." His heart lifted he knew exactly where they were, he turned to go but Jess called him back. "Charlie! I'm sorry I've been kind of a bitch. You really have changed and I'm happy that you love Imogen, I think that you're good together; she's happy when she's with, happier than I've seen her in a long time. Good Luck!"

He smiled and headed towards Regent's Park tube station.

***

Imogen sat at the table in the posh French restaurant more bored than she'd ever been in her life; all he could talk about was business meetings or boast about the places he'd been or the people he'd met. She'd hardly got a word in edgeways, an odd comment here and the start of an anecdote there but that was it. She picked up her wine glass and drank the last dribble, she was going to need all the alcohol she could get to make it through the night; it was already dragging on and they hadn't even had the main course yet.

She nodded as he looked at her for some sort of reaction, not having taken anything he'd said in and hoping her choice of gesture was the one he was looking for; it seemed it was as he continued with his story. Something behind him caught her attention, people were shouting and there was a huge crash of crockery as a waiter had a tray knocked from his hands. Then from out of all the chaos stepped Charlie, looking as sexy and gorgeous as ever.

"Charlie..." She gasped as he strode confidently over to her table followed by an angry-looking maitre'd and a flustered waiter. Jack stopped talking and frowned at her.

"Would you stop talking about Charlie, I've had enough of that bastard! He's all you've talked about all night!" Jack looked angry and Imogen tried to shrink into her seat as all the tables around them stopped their own conversations and focussed on Jack. She looked at Charlie who had stopped behind Jack and was staring at him with his eyebrows raised, she cleared her throat and looked back at Jack.

"Um, Charlie's standing behind you . . ." Before she could say anything else, Jack was up and out of his chair standing in front of Charlie.

"What the fuck are you doing here? I'm trying to have dinner with this woman." He waved his hand in her direction not paying any attention to her as she stood to break them up if they got into a fight.

"Yes, with the woman I'm in love with." She gasped as he walked around Jack to get to her, he's in love with me. She grabbed the back of her seat for support as her legs felt weak from hearing how he felt about her. "I love you Imogen and I should have told you before, I was an idiot. I knew I'd fallen in love with you but I didn't think you felt the same. I've been miserable over the last few days, all I've wanted to do is call you. Then I remembered someone wise once telling me that if a man loves a woman, he will do anything to be with her."

He took her hand in his and smiled that slow, sexy smile at her, her heart was racing and her stomach was flip-flopping all over the place. He'd remembered the quote she'd told him from the night they'd written her maid of honour speech together. "I've missed you so much, all the little things that made me fall for you. I've missed just hanging out and chatting; I've missed just being able to call you or drop by the shop to see you; I've missed your laugh and the way your eyes sparkle; I've missed the fact you care about my pupils and my family; I've missed Ian, Dennis and Thierry; I've just missed you. I should have told you I loved you before, sorry! I'm just going to keep saying it now, I love you!"

She wanted to tell him not to waste all the times he was saying the L-word but she loved the way he said it and meant it about her, Imogen Jones. She smiled as he looked down at his feet and back at her through his eyelashes, she bit her lip as he continued to say all the things he loved about her. "I know you've had a rough childhood and I was part of that, but you've come out of the other side more confident and sexy and beautiful and an even more amazing person. I admire everything you've done and feel honoured to call you one of my best friends because that's what you are; you're my best friend, my partner in crime, my soulmate and I don't ever want to lose you again. I love you Imogen."

They stared into each other's eyes for a few intense seconds before she broke out into a huge grin. "I love you too, I can't remember a time when I didn't love you." He smiled in relief as he leaned down to her, just as she felt his lips brush hers, Jack pulled Charlie away from her.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! No this is not happening, she's here with me, she's my date, mine! You can't just waltz in here and take my woman!" He punctuated every word with a harsh poke into Charlie's chest with his right index finger, getting right into Charlie's face. Tiny flecks of saliva flew from his mouth as his anger grew and grew. Charlie looked back at me smiling and threw a surprise punch at Jack knocking him into the table behind.

"Imogen is not your possession Jack, She's nobody's possession. She has her own mind and can decide who she loves and who she wants to be with." The tables around them broke into applause as Charlie turned back to her and pulled her into him taking both her lips and breath away. She moved her hands up his sides to snake around his neck and play in the hair at the back of his head. She pulled away in disbelief and looked at him in happy shock, he mirrored her look.

Somewhere near her hip she felt his phone buzz in his pocket, he reached for it while keeping his other hand around her. "What? Catherine's gone into labour!"

"Wait, she's not due for another week is she?"

"Ten days, Harry's just taken her to the hospital and my mum and Molly have just arrived there. Do you mind if we skip dinner and go over there. I'm going to be an uncle, me, an uncle." He looked at her expectantly, how could she deny him something like that?

"I didn't like the food anyway." She followed him through the maze of tables and revelled in the fact that she was touching him again, holding his hand again and this time she didn't have to stop. They walked into the cold winter night where it had begun to snow again and got into the black cab that pulled up at the kerb to let two people out. As they made their way to the hospital she watched the light from street lamps and signs play across his face and couldn't help but smile and feel like all her Christmases had come at once. Then it suddenly dawned on her how had he even found her?

"How did you know where I was?"

"I went to the shop to speak to you, but you weren't there. So I ran to Jess' place and she told me where to find you." He smiled shyly at her and put his hand to her cheek stroking a piece of hair out of her eyes. They pulled up outside the hospital, paying the taxi driver and running into reception to find where his sister was. He took her hand and followed the direction the receptionist had given to them, a lift ride and three corridors later they finally found the waiting room where Molly, Adam and Marie were all pacing around frantically.

"Thank God you're here! Wait are you two back together?" Charlie looked down at their hands and fingers intertwined and then into her face before turning back to his sister and nodding. Molly ran over to the two of them and hugged them a little too roughly. She pulled back as a nurse came into the room, everyone turned expectantly waiting for any news.

"Catherine's had a baby girl, both mother, father and baby are all happy and healthy. You can go and see them but only one at a time we don't want to overwhelm them all. So who's first? . . . Grandma?" Molly and Charlie let their mum go first as this was her first grandchild, Charlie and Imogen sat down in the plastic seats still holding hands. She rested her head on his shoulder going through all that had happened tonight, she closed her eyes replaying the way Charlie had strode over to her in the restaurant and told her he loved her and before she knew it she was falling asleep.
Chapter Twenty Four

Christmas Eve

Imogen stirred the pan of hot mulled wine and cinnamon sticks with a wooden spoon smiling contentedly to herself, she hadn't felt this happy in a long time, maybe even forever. Arsenal were top of the league, her family and friends were all round at her flat for a pre-Christmas get together, the shop had had its best festive season yet and Charlie loved her. She sighed and lifted the wooden spoon to her mouth to taste her concoction, it was ready so she poured glasses for her parents, Daisy, Sam, Jess and Matt.

"I still don't get this, you're saying you and Charlie weren't really dating before, but you are now?" Her mother still couldn't come to terms with the fact that she and Charlie had been faking before, she handed out the glasses of hot drink and took a sip from her own, letting the warmth slide down her throat.

"Yes, we made a deal with each other to pretend we were dating, but then we fell in love with each other. He's completely changed since school, he's kind and funny and loving and I'm happy, okay. So just accept it for what it is now, please mother." She looked at her mother who opened her mouth to say something but thought about it and closed it again forcing a smile.

"Well I like Charlie and he does seem to really love you." Her father moved to stand next to her and put his arm around her shoulder, she smiled up at him.

"Well you'll have beautiful children, he is very handsome." Imogen cringed at her mother, why were parents always embarrassing and her mother was one of the worst culprits.

"Oh God, Mother! Do not mention Charlie and Imarrying or having children you'll scare him off and I want to keep him forever." Behind her she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and turned to see Charlie coming through the door followed by his mum, Molly and Adam. Catherine and Harry were at home with baby Lucy, it had only been a week since she was born and the two of them were still getting used to being new parents.

Releasing her father, she wandered over to Charlie and kissed him gently on the lips not caring that everyone was probably staring at the two of them. When it came to Charlie she no longer cared what anybody thought, it was just the two of them; everybody else paled into insignificance when he was around. "Jeez, get a room!" Daisy shouted from her seat on the sofa and everyone laughed, she pulled back and looked into Charlie's eyes.

"Hi."

"Hi." If there hadn't been anybody around she'd have kissed him again and told him how much she missed him. Instead she pulled away from him and greeted Molly, Adam and Marie; asking if they wanted a mulled wine with everyone else. Charlie went to pour the drinks from the pan that was warming on her stove. Imogen walked back into the living room followed by the new guests who were now holding mugs of steaming wine.

"Mum, this is Marie, Charlie's mum; Molly his younger sister and her boyfriend Adam. Marie, Molly, Adam, this is my mum Carole, dad Ian and my sister Daisy and her husband Sam." She pointed each out as she said their names allowing all of them to say hello to each other. Molly stepped up next to her and smiled coyly.

"He's not my boyfriend anymore," She pulled her left hand up cradling a diamond ring on her ring finger. "He proposed two days ago." Imogen gasped as she looked at the ring, it was beautiful with a large heart shaped diamond attached to a thin gold band.

"No way, oh I'm so happy for you." She smiled as Adam came over and kissed his fiancé on the lips, looking at her like she was the only thing in the world. Charlie came and stood next to her pulling her into his warmth, she snuggled against his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Well it might not be long until these two get engaged as well." Both Charlie and Imogen froze as everyone turned to look at them, Marie who had made the comment smiled at them both. "Mother!" Everybody laughed as Charlie shook his head at his mum, but soon he was laughing too. Imogen looked around the room at all her family and friends, laughing and smiling and chatting to each other; she was definitely the happiest she'd ever been.

Finally her eyes rested on Charlie who was looking at her as well. "You okay?" He asked a little concerned, she gave one last glance to everybody else in the room and replied: "Never been better." Smiling she raised her face to his and kissed him like she would be doing from now on.

The End

###

Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, won't you please take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer?

Thanks!

Helen Barrowcliffe

About the Author:

Helen Barrowcliffe lives in the United Kingdom in a small village with nothing but a pub. She enjoys crossword puzzles and Sudoku alongside her writing. She graduated the University of Leicester with a degree in mathematics but enjoys writing when she can. She lives with her Jack Russell terrier cross, Toby; who's a little bit crazy.

Connect with me:

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/hrb29

Favorite me at Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hrb29

