Kolby turned to look at his date. ‘What do you think?’ he asked.

  ‘Sounds lovely,’ Rosie replied.

  He looked back at Breanna. ‘So, I guess this is when we should get a group photo to post later?’ he asked, feeling a smidgen of guilt. After all, he’d told Rosie he wouldn’t let anything interfere with the date, and yet here he was, already taking his second photo opportunity in ten minutes. ‘If I schedule this one now, then I won’t have to worry about interrupting our meal,’ he said to her. ‘Not until dessert, at least. We’ll have a couple of uninterrupted hours, as promised.’

  She let out a long humming sound, as if she was genuinely considering her reply, before she grinned. ‘Sounds like a deal.’

  Kolby shifted around so that he was in the centre, with Breanna and Rosie on either side, the restaurant’s name clearly visible above his head. The lighting wasn’t the best, but he’d been there enough times to know how to work it to get something postable. As they separated, Rosie turned to Breanna.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘Can you tell me where the bathroom is?’

  ‘It’s just straight past the bar and on the right,’ Breanna said. ‘Next to the cloakroom. Come, I’ll show you.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I’ll wait here for you,’ Kolby said, realising he could use the opportunity to schedule the picture without intruding on their time.

  Rosie had barely turned around before the app was open on his phone.

  The earlier photo of the two of them meeting in the park had already garnered over a thousand likes and dozens of comments. As much as Kolby wanted to forget about it for the evening and focus on getting to know Rosie, it was also important to at least like some of the comments. Keeping up engagement on social media was key to ensuring his followers didn’t lose interest.

  With a familiar sense of satisfaction, he scrolled through the series of comments, liking them as he went. They basically all said variations of the same two things: either commenting on what a cute couple they made or expressing disappointment that they weren’t the ones picked. When he had more time, he’d try to reply to a few, saying something like ‘Maybe next time’. But even as he attempted to catch up, more comments kept pinging through.

  Such a gorgeous pair.

  You look so sweet together.

  You would have had more fun with me.

  As he continued to move down, his throat tightened.

  She’ll pay for taking you away from me.

  Bitch. Ugly too.

  Pity date. That much is obvious.

  A pang of guilt struck behind his ribs. Maybe he should have warned Rosie about this side of things more, before agreeing to use her name. He’d assumed he’d be the target of any jealous potential dates that didn’t get picked, but maybe he was wrong.

  It was hard to stop scrolling, but as he pressed his thumb against one of the newest comments, a throat cleared in front of him. Looking up, he found Rosie standing there. She had shed her leather jacket, revealing a plain black top accessorised with a single silver locket. Her now bare arms revealed a scar along her bicep. Kolby tried not to stare, but it wasn’t the type of scar you could pretend not to see; it had to be close to eight inches long.

  ‘Shall we go to our table,’ she asked, ‘unless you need a little longer with the adoring fans?’

  Kolby crinkled his nose. ‘No, it’s all done. I’m fine.’

  He glanced down at his phone one last time as a new comment appeared, though he didn’t bother to read it. Instead, he shoved the phone into his pocket, plunging the screen into darkness.

  The message, unread, lingered in bold text. Enjoy tonight. It’s going to be your last.

  7

  A bottle of champagne was waiting for them on the table, sitting in its wine cooler. Kolby pulled out the chair for Rosie to sit down.

  Breanna had put them at a table in the corner, which was mostly hidden from view. Not that his presence here was a secret. After all, he’d posted where he was only a couple of minutes prior. But the last thing he wanted was the evening constantly interrupted by people wanting selfies.

  ‘You don’t have to put on the perfect gentleman act for me, you know,’ she said as she took her seat. ‘There’s no one recording this. You can just be yourself.’

  ‘Being a gentleman is myself,’ he said. ‘Most of the time, anyway. Gentlemen like kebabs when they’re drunk, right?’

  She laughed lightly, though her smile stayed fixed, holding those dimples in place. There was something incredibly alluring about them, he thought. The way she smiled with more than just her lips and eyes, the way most people did.

  ‘So, my turn now,’ he said as he sat. ‘I told you why I picked you⁠—’

  ‘Well, why your sister picked me?’ she interrupted.

  ‘Okay, fair enough,’ he said. ‘But what made you do this? I mean, from what I can tell, you’re not a big social media fan. You don’t follow many pages or anything.’

  ‘You’ve been online stalking me?’ she asked.

  ‘I call it doing my research,’ he said. ‘But I’m interested – why?’

  ‘Peer pressure.’

  ‘Peer pressure?’

  ‘My friends have been trying to get me to date again. I’ve kind of been out of the scene for a bit. They promised if I messaged you, they wouldn’t nag me for at least a month. I didn’t think there was any chance you would actually pick me. Honestly, I thought my message would be suitably off-putting.’

  Kolby leant back in his chair, the champagne still unpoured as he held the bottle in his hand. ‘So that was it. You just did it because friends told you to?’

  ‘Mostly. I mean, I had a quick look at your profile, just to make sure you weren’t totally repulsive.’

  ‘Oh, wow.’ Kolby let out a long sigh as he shook his head. ‘This is just getting better and better.’

  ‘You wanted the truth.’

  ‘And the truth is that I wasn’t utterly repulsive?’

  Rosie’s smile twisted tightly. A hint of coyness played on the corner of her lips. There was no doubt she was actually flirting with him now. And it was even more enjoyable because he was having to work for it.

  ‘I will admit I liked some of the things I saw,’ she said.

  ‘What kind of things did you like?’

  He knew he sounded like he was fishing for compliments. Either that or totally egotistical, but social media had a way of heightening insecurities. As a guy, there were no filters to hide behind; even on bad days, you had to look your best. He tried to ignore comments pointing out flaws, but they were hard to forget. Besides, there was another reason to ask; if he knew what side of him it was that Rosie had liked, then maybe he could show her more of that.

  ‘Sorry to interrupt, but these were a gift from another diner.’

  Kolby looked up to find a waitress standing beside them. On her tray she held two martini glasses, filled with raspberry-coloured cocktails.

  ‘Kir Royales,’ she said.

  ‘That’s ever so kind,’ Kolby said, shifting back slightly so that she had room to place the glasses down. ‘You have to tell me who, so I can thank them.’

  The waitress smiled. ‘They wanted to remain anonymous. But enjoy.’

  With another flash of a smile, she disappeared.

  ‘Well, I could definitely get used to free drinks,’ Rosie said, picking up her glass. ‘Does this happen to you often?’

  ‘A fair bit,’ Kolby admitted, before clinking his glass against hers. ‘Cheers.’ He took a sip of his drink. ‘So, going back to the conversation we were just having, are you going to tell me which things you liked or not?’

  Rosie took a long draw of her cocktail before rolling her eyes in mock annoyance.

  ‘Okay, if I was honest, it was probably the photo of you and your dad.’

  ‘Me and my dad?’ He shook his head firmly. ‘No, I think you’ve got it wrong. I haven’t posted any photos of us.’

  ‘That’s definitely what my friend sent me. A photo of you when you were about six, I guess. You were sitting next to Father Christmas and holding a baby and your dad was watching over, like he was worried you were about to drop it. Her. Your sister, I guess. I really liked that – it showed a different side to you. Assuming it was you. I mean, it looked like you – crazy hair and everything.’

  A knot twisted in his stomach. He knew what photo she meant, but he couldn’t remember posting it. Maybe he’d shared it one night when he was drunk. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d made the mistake of drunken posting, though he’d tended not to do it now that his audience was so big. He’d seen too many people cancelled for things they’d shared after a few drinks. So maybe it was something that Val had posted. That was more likely. She probably posted it as a story. The type of photo that disappeared after a couple of hours, meaning that he could have easily missed it. It was something that he would mention to her in the future. The fact that they had such different memories of their childhoods meant that she often didn’t get why some things were off limits to him.

  ‘Have I said something wrong?’ Rosie asked. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you. I can show you the photo on my phone. My friend sent it to me. That’s why she thought we’d connect – because we both get what it’s like to lose someone.’

  ‘You’ve lost someone too?’ he asked.

  She nodded. Her cheeks pinched inwards, and for the first time, her relaxed demeanour shifted. This wasn’t how he’d expected the date to go. He’d imagined conversations about holidays and favourite foods, but this felt different. Maybe better.

  ‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘My little sister. She was killed.’ She drew in a long breath, as if she was going to say more, but instead sniffed and shook away her tears.

  ‘I’m so sorry.’

  ‘Yeah, it was shit. Very shit. I kinda lost myself for a bit. Like I didn’t know how to be without her.’

  ‘God, I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine what that would be like.’ He wanted to add more words. He needed to. But it just felt too hollow.

  Suddenly, the space across the table felt too damn big. Kolby wanted to be there beside her. Holding her. Letting her know it was okay if she didn’t want to speak or carry on with the evening. He would do whatever she needed.

  ‘Your appetisers,’ a voice said.

  Within a heartbeat, the pain that had shrouded Rosie’s expression was gone, and she was looking up at the waiter with that same flawless smile on her face. And yet, Kolby could see it now. He could see just how much effort went into keeping that smile in place.

  ‘Thank you ever so much. It looks delicious,’ Rosie said as the waiter placed the plates down, and yet Kolby didn’t say a word, and it wasn’t to do with the pain he knew Rosie was masking. Something wasn’t right.

  8

  ‘Kolby,’ Rosie said, reaching across the table. ‘Kolby, what’s wrong?’

  He coughed to clear his throat, but all he could focus on was the way his mouth was itching. It wasn’t his imagination, was it? No, it wasn’t. The sensation was spreading, too. It wasn’t just the roof of his mouth; it was his lips, his gums, the back of his throat.

  ‘I just… I think I must have drunk something…’

  He saw the panic register on her face, and he wanted to tell her it was nothing to worry about, but as he opened up his wallet and searched for the antihistamine tablets he kept in one of the card pockets, he couldn’t find one. He always kept them in there, so where the hell were they?

  ‘Kolby, what is it?’ Rosie said again. ‘Are you having a reaction to something? Oh God, do you need an EpiPen? Do you have one on you?’

  ‘No, no, it’s not… It’s not that bad.’ He tried to assure her, though he continued to make a chewing motion with his mouth, interspersing it with pressing and pursing his lips. Was it his imagination or was his tongue swelling too? ‘I normally have antihistamines. They work fast, but I don’t know… I can’t…’

  Rosie didn’t respond. Instead, she had plucked her handbag from the ground and emptied the contents onto her chair. He couldn’t help but notice how much stuff she had in there, and had he been able to focus, he would have probably tried to get a decent nose in. Instead, he was reaching for his water glass, wanting to rinse whatever the hell it was out of his mouth. But all he’d had was a cocktail and champagne.

  ‘Here!’ Rosie shoved a blister packet into his hand. ‘Piriton. Will that work?’

  ‘Yes. Thank you. Thank you.’

  He popped two out onto his hand and swallowed them with water. Not quite ready to speak, he downed the rest of his glass, then topped it up and drank that too. A thin film of sweat had beaded on his head, which he wiped away with his napkin. The panic that had risen from not being able to find the tablets had caused him almost as much stress as the reaction, and now that was over, his heart rate had notably dropped, though the itchiness hadn’t gone down at all, but then he knew that wasn’t the way it worked. It would take a while to stop entirely.

  ‘Are you okay?’ It wasn’t the first time Rosie had asked him, and he knew she deserved a proper answer, but given that he was still feeling a little shaky, Kolby took a moment to collect himself.

  ‘Sorry. Yeah, let’s not post that anywhere, okay?’ He let out a slight chuckle, but there was no hint of amusement in her eyes.

  ‘Do you need to get to the hospital?’ she said instead. ‘We should cut this short. Do it another time.’

  He shook his head. ‘It’s not that bad, honestly. It’s not. My mouth just gets itchy. It can swell a bit too, but it’s never been worse than that. I’m glad you had those on you, though. What are you allergic to?’

  ‘Fur. Cats and dogs mainly. I just keep them in there for when I visit friends’ places. What about you? Nuts?’

  He shook his head.

  ‘Kiwi fruit, actually.’

  A frowned formed on her face.

  ‘I couldn’t taste any kiwi in that,’ she said, before taking another sip of her drink. ‘It’s a Kir Royale. There shouldn’t be any kiwi.’

  ‘I guess they mustn’t have cleaned out the glasses properly.’

  Her eyes widened.

  ‘That little and you can have a reaction? That sounds pretty serious.’

  He nodded. ‘Yeah. Well, I’ve never actually had any more than a mouthful before I’ve realised. It’s got a pretty distinctive taste, so I’m lucky like that.’

  He tried smiling again, but she wasn’t having any of it. Her expression was deadly serious.

  ‘You need to complain,’ she said. ‘If you’d had a serious allergic reaction, you might have been in real trouble.’

  ‘It’s fine. I’ll talk to Breanna about it.’

  ‘I think you should talk to her now.’

  It was sweet. How genuinely concerned she still looked, and it was a bloody big relief that she had the antihistamines in her bag. There was no denying his meal wasn’t going to taste as good with all those little bumps on the inside of his mouth. But hopefully the company would make up for it.

  Flashing what he hoped was his most comforting smile, he reached across and placed his hand on hers. ‘Honestly, I’m fine. Come on. Let’s not let it ruin the evening.’

  9

  ‘Wow, this is amazing,’ Rosie said as she took her first mouthful of food. Still ignoring the itching, Kolby topped up their champagne glasses before picking up his cutlery. He wasn’t going to touch the cocktail again. He had already spoken to Breanna, who was devastated by what had happened and he was pretty sure the bar staff had some serious warnings coming their way after tonight.

  ‘I’ve never had a bad meal here,’ he said. ‘The last drink excluded. Have you been here before?’

  ‘No, it’s a bit out of my price range.’

  He nodded, unsure what to say. He was always aware of just how much money he earned when he went on dates. It had been different with Sylvie. She had loved him from the start, penniless and struggling. But these other women? Well, he never knew if it was him they liked or the size of his bank balance. Maybe that was why nothing had gone past the one-date mark.

  But Rosie was clearly different. Until she had needed to empty her bag to find him some antihistamines. The vibe had felt like they were bouncing off one another. He was excited about imagining where their conversation was going to go, rather than thinking about how she would look naked, like he did with most of his dates. Not that he didn’t think Rosie wouldn’t look amazing in the buff.

  ‘Okay, so you’re a veterinary nurse, right? That’s not the same as a vet.’

  ‘I don’t have the same amount of student loans,’ she said, adding that easy laugh at the end of her words again. ‘No, I would have liked to have been a vet, and I went to uni to study veterinary science and everything, but in my second year… that’s when the accident happened.’

  ‘Sorry.’ There he was with that same word again. Like it actually made any difference.

  ‘I’ve thought about going back and finishing things off, but honestly, it felt wrong, going back to my old plans, when all Caz’s had been taken from her. And when I finally ended up in this job – well, I love it. I don’t see the need to put myself through all the debt and stress of a degree when I already love what I get to do.’

  ‘Wow, that’s amazing,’ Kolby said, trying to focus on the positives she was sharing. ‘It must be really rewarding, then?’

  Rosie opened her mouth, as if about to respond, when her watch buzzed. He hadn’t even noticed that it was a smartwatch until that point, but as she looked down and glanced at the screen, her brow furrowed.

  ‘Is everything all right?’ Kolby asked.

  ‘What?’ Her head snapped back up from her device, but she looked at him blankly. ‘Sorry, yes. Yes. Just friends checking up on me, that’s all.’

  ‘Do you need to message them? Tell them you’re perfectly safe with me? It’s the least I can do.’

  She shook her head, but she didn’t even manage to speak before it buzzed again.

 

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