No Filter Page 6

  Glancing under my lashes at the man opposite me, I realised that even having a passing thought of dating Charlie Richmond was like a lactose intolerant wanting cheesecake. Sometimes things just weren’t good together. At least not for very long. As delicious as it might initially be, I knew this particular dessert was off the menu.

  I read the text from Amy one more time.

  ✉︎ You’re going to be great!

  I hoped so. I knew this meeting could lead to great things for the blog, so I really wanted it to go well. Only, I wasn’t used to meeting people on a more formal, businesslike basis and I was, quite frankly, terrified.

  I’d caught an earlier train than I needed to. Much earlier, just in case. I sat in the carriage, staring out at the platform, not seeing anything of the Victorian architecture of the station. In my head, I was running over figures – subscriber numbers, amount of views, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter statistics, even though I already had them memorised. All of this was information that the cosmetics company would already have. If they hadn’t been happy with those, I knew I wouldn’t even be on this train worrying about it all, but I wanted to be prepared in case they asked me anything about them. I wanted to present myself as businesslike and competent, which I knew I was. But I was also wary of blowing it thanks to nerves. It almost didn’t feel like me sitting there. I was wearing a suit, for a start. I’d never worn a suit in my life. The offices I’d worked in had all had smart dress codes but never formal to this extent. Obviously the company I was going to see – Gorgeous & Glam – already knew what my everyday aesthetic was and clearly felt that it was something they could work with. But my day-to-day look of a Boho dress and loose-flowing hair didn’t seem right. Not for this.

  So, I had turned to Amy, who knew about these things, and we went shopping. I’d had doubts as to whether we’d ever find something that didn’t feel as if I was entirely selling out but I should have trusted Amy – she had super styling skills when it came to the more formal side of things. I’d even jotted down some notes on doing a post about our trip because it had been far more fun than I’d thought. We’d found a gorgeous suit – all nipped-in waist and flippy skirt, my fears of boxy and rigid banished. My hair was tucked neatly into a chignon with some wispy bits at the front, for softness. All in all, I knew I looked the part and, although it was pretty different from my usual style, I might be able to get used to it for the odd occasion.

  ‘Libby?’ The deep voice broke into my thoughts, and I jumped.

  Charlie’s hand automatically reached out to my shoulder. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.’

  ‘Hi! Oh, don’t worry! I was miles away.’ I smiled up at him.

  ‘Is this seat taken?’ he asked, pointing at the one next to me.

  I shook my head. Charlie shoved his briefcase up onto the luggage rack and sat down next to me. He shifted position to get comfy and bumped shoulders with me.

  ‘Sorry.’

  He folded his legs in tightly against the seat, allowing room for the well-dressed woman now opposite him to sit comfortably. I was happy to notice that he wasn’t one of those male leg-spreaders that took up every available bit of space, irrespective of whether someone else needed it or not. Although, to be fair, there was a seat opposite me that she could have shifted across to, which would have given her more room, what with my legs being somewhat shorter than Charlie’s and my entire bulk being a lot less. She, however, seemed disinclined to move. I’d noticed her run her gaze over Charlie as he’d reached up to put his bag away earlier, so it wasn’t a vast stretch to guess that she might have made strategic plans to sit opposite him rather than me. I could hardly blame her. He smiled at her briefly when they made eye contact as he settled in but, in general, seemed as oblivious to her attentions as he had done to the waiter’s in the restaurant the first day we’d met.

  ‘I—’ He started to speak and was immediately interrupted by his phone beginning to ring. He rolled his eyes and pulled a face.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said again.

  I took a sneaky peek as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered it, his voice low as he spoke. I smiled to myself. That made sense. Charlie was definitely not one of those types who would declare his business to everyone on the train, as so many others seemed happy to do. I turned my attention back to the platform and watched two seagulls fighting over a piece of dropped sandwich.

  ‘So, where are you off to?’ Charlie started again, returning his phone to his pocket as he did so.

  I took a deep breath. ‘London. I have a meeting with a cosmetics company today.’

  Only my brother and Amy knew about the meeting. I’d been wary of telling too many people in case it all came to nothing, but it seemed right to tell Charlie now.

  ‘Wow. That could be big, right?’

  ‘Maybe. If it goes well, it could be great.’

  Charlie tilted his head at me. ‘Forgive me, but you don’t seem as excited as I thought you would be for something like this. Which, bearing in mind your bouncy personality, is really saying something.’

  ‘Oh, no, I am!’ I said, turning in my seat to face him a bit more. ‘I’m just really nervous. I’m worried I’m going to mess it up and, like you said, it could be great for the business. I don’t want to let Tilly down.’

  ‘Libby. You’re not going to let anyone down. Just relax. Do what you do normally, and it’ll be fine.’

  ‘What I do normally is talk to a camera and when I muck up, I edit that bit out. That’s the trouble with actually meeting people face to face – there’s no chance to edit. If I trip over my words today, that’s it!’

  He smiled and I felt a warmth wash over me like a gentle sunbeam.

  ‘What?’ I said, unable to stop a smile forming on my face.

  His hands reached out and covered the knot of mine as they gripped together in a tight little ball on my lap. His touch was cool, and the gesture calming. ‘You’re going to do great, Libby. If they didn’t already know most of what they need to, you wouldn’t even be going up there, so just relax and be yourself. That’s what they want.’

  ‘I suppose.’

  ‘I know.’

  I gave him a look under my lashes. ‘All right, Mr Smarty Pants.’

  He laughed and gave my hands a quick squeeze, just as his phone began to ring once more.

  Rolling his eyes, he removed his hands from mine and reached for his phone. I smiled and glanced up, catching the visual daggers of the woman opposite him as I did so.

  ‘What time is your meeting?’ Charlie asked after he’d finished the call.

  ‘Eleven thirty.’

  ‘You know you’re going to be up there way before then, don’t you?’ he said, glancing at the Patek Philippe watch on his wrist. I was hoping the woman opposite hadn’t seen its brand. She was already burying me six feet under for just talking to Charlie. He was movie-star gorgeous, and built for strength. Add to that the Savile Row bespoke suit and a watch worth tens of thousands of pounds on his wrist, and I was seriously beginning to doubt my safe exit off this train.

  ‘I know. I thought it better safe than sorry. Just in case they cancelled a train or something silly.’

  ‘Good plan.’

  ‘What about you? Don’t you normally get a much earlier one than this?’

  ‘Yeah. I’m heading off on a business trip first thing tomorrow so I wanted to get some packing done before I left this morning.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said, feeling an odd tingle of disappointment knowing that Charlie wouldn’t be around at the weekend. ‘Off anywhere exciting?’

  ‘No, just back to New York again.’

  I laughed. ‘How tiresome for you.’

  He chuckled back. ‘That came out way more pompous than I was aiming for.’

  ‘No, not at all.’

  Charlie looked doubtful.

  ‘OK, a little, but I know you didn’t mean it like that.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  ‘Will you get to see any sigh
ts whilst you are there? Or have you seen everything already as you’ve been so many times?’ I said, playing off his earlier comment.

  He caught the meaning and gave me a little turn of his head. ‘No, mostly it’ll be work. I have a bit of shopping to do – Mum and Marcus give me lists each time! There seem to be a few more things on there this time so I’m thinking Amy might be getting in on the action now too.’ He smiled.

  ‘Do you mind?’

  ‘No, of course not. Gives me something to do during any downtime.’

  Under my lashes, I glanced at the woman opposite Charlie. She was looking at him in a way that told me she had plenty of ideas for ways to keep him occupied during his downtime.

  ‘Is there anything I can get you?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘Huh?’ My mind had drifted unbidden, and very unexpectedly, in the same direction as the woman’s opposite.

  ‘From New York? Can I get you anything?’

  I fanned myself. ‘It’s quite warm in here, isn’t it?’

  Charlie looked at me. ‘It’s all right. It’s probably just you being a bit nervous.’ He waved his paper at me a couple of times. ‘Better?’

  Now I’d pulled my mind away from where it had been drifting, yes, it was definitely cooling down again. I nodded.

  Charlie returned to our conversation. ‘So, is there?’

  I looked at him blankly.

  ‘Anything I can get you?’

  ‘Oh! No, I’m fine. I don’t think there’s anything I need, but thank you.’

  ‘I don’t think there’s a single item on my list that anyone actually needs. Is there anything you want?’

  I smiled. ‘No, honestly. But thank you for asking. And if I think of anything, I’ll let you know.’

  ‘OK.’

  ‘Unless of course Tiffany are having a 90-per-cent-off sale. In which case…’ I laughed and he grinned.

  ‘I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for any sale banners and let you know.’

  ‘That would be lovely. Thank you.’

  We rode in silence for a little while, or at least as much silence as a train carriage allowed. Charlie’s arm was against mine and I could feel hard muscle through the expensive cotton of his shirt. Subtle hints of his aftershave teased my senses. I looked across to see that his eyes had closed and his head was now tilted back on the seat. Returning my gaze to the passing landscape outside the slightly grubby window of the train, I focused on my meeting, feeling the nerves rush immediately back in.

  7

  The train shunted on one of the sharper bends and Charlie’s bulk squished into mine. Asleep and relaxed, he didn’t have a chance to brace himself.

  I let out an ‘oof’ of surprise and he blinked a couple of times as he woke suddenly from the jolt and got his bearings.

  ‘God, sorry, Libby! Are you all right?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ I said, waving off his concern.

  ‘Nodded off.’

  ‘That’s all right. You obviously needed it.’

  He pulled a face in return, before glancing out of the window. The sky-reaching towers of Canary Wharf were coming into view to the side as we got closer to the terminus.

  ‘How are you feeling now?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘OK. I think.’

  ‘You’ll be great, don’t worry.’ His gaze flicked over me. ‘I forgot to say, I like this look on you. I nearly didn’t recognise you when I got on.’

  ‘Thanks. It’s a bit of a departure for me, but I thought I needed to try a bit more of a business look for this meeting.’

  ‘Looks good.’

  I returned his smile. From what his brother had said about Charlie’s type, it was obvious that Charlie’s tastes in women ran to the more polished end of the style range, rather than my more casual aesthetic.

  As the train pulled in, eager passengers gathered their belongings and made their way to stand at the door, waiting for that magical moment when the beeping sound began and they could press the button and release the doors. Personally I always preferred to wait until the train had actually stopped, which reduced the opportunity for me to bump or fall, a situation always best avoided. I’d discovered this from past – and painful – experience. Charlie was clearly of the same mind as he had remained in his seat and was frowning at a message on his phone.

  The woman opposite was now standing and making a point of smoothing her very gorgeous, clearly designer, dress, which clung to every perfect curve as if it had been moulded on her. She bent slightly, ostensibly checking the heel of her shoe, but in fact giving Charlie, and several other males who were by now paying full attention, a tantalising view of yet more perfection, this time in the form of curvaceous cleavage. Charlie glanced up from his phone just in time to get a full eyeful. I saw the blush hit his neck and travel full speed to his cheeks as he quickly pulled his gaze up, only for it to lock onto hers. An arc of a smile formed on her perfectly shaped, burgundy-red lips. Charlie responded with a brief, awkward smile of his own before the sound of the beeping doors seemed to release him and he shot up out of his seat and grabbed his briefcase, pulling it down from the rack.

  Unfortunately, between his embarrassment and my nerves, neither of us judged the timing of this manoeuvre very well and as he yanked the case down, it swung and caught me on the temple. I staggered briefly and sat back down in my seat. From the corner of my eye, I saw the vixen opposite smile again, this time in amusement. Two teenagers passing behind Charlie giggled and moved towards the door. Charlie just stared. I stood up again, and it jolted him back into action.

  ‘Libby, I’m so sorry. Are you all right? I wasn’t looking what I was doing. I didn’t…’

  ‘It’s all right, Charlie. It was just a tap. I was surprised more than hurt. Honestly,’ I reassured him.

  He shook his head. ‘I can’t believe I just did that.’ He appeared to be speaking more to himself than to me. I thought I’d answer anyway.

  ‘Really. I’m OK. Look.’ I pointed to my head. ‘No blood. No lump. Besides, I don’t blame you.’ I couldn’t resist the tease, and lowered my voice. ‘A flash of cleavage that impressive is bound to throw your attention a little.’

  Charlie looked straight at me, those startling blue eyes wide, contrasting with the cute pink blush that now tinted his skin. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again.

  Laughing, I touched his arm briefly. ‘I’m only pulling your leg. It was pretty hard not to see it to be honest, and, to be fair, she’s been mentally undressing you for the whole journey so don’t feel too bad.’

  He frowned. ‘I don’t think—’

  ‘Yep. She was. No question.’ I gave him a wink and smiled at how even more adorable Charlie looked as he took in this information. ‘You’re definitely in there.’

  ‘OK, you can stop now.’ He pulled a face at me, laughter dancing in his eyes. ‘You’re enjoying watching me squirm far too much. I thought you were a nice person.’

  ‘I am a nice person,’ I said, accepting his unspoken indication to go before him off the train. ‘I am so nice, in fact, that I point out potential dates for you!’

  Charlie gave me a look. ‘I don’t think so. She’d eat me alive.’

  Of that, I had no doubt.

  We walked together along the platform, Charlie slowing his pace a little to allow me to keep up in the five-inch-heeled sandals I’d paired with my suit. As we headed into the main concourse, my gaze caught on the voluptuous goddess from the train. She was standing to the side, frantically wiping a magnificently aimed pigeon poop from her cleavage. I rolled my lips together and tipped my head down.

  ‘Clearly one of those birds is the Lionel Messi of the avian world,’ Charlie commented, his eyes facing forward.

  I glanced across at him, trying to hide my smile.

  ‘I feel bad laughing.’

  ‘She felt no such compunction when I clonked you on the head, so I wouldn’t let it bother your conscience.’ He glanced over at me, a smile flickering at the corners of
his mouth, making it look even more tempting than normal.

  ‘I’m this way.’ He stopped, nodding towards the Tooley Street exit. ‘Which way are you going?’

  ‘Hmm?’ I yanked myself back to the moment, ‘Oh. Underground.’

  ‘OK. Well, I hope everything goes well. Not that I have any doubts about that, but, you know. Seemed the right thing to say.’ He did his little chuckle thing.

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Honestly though. You’re going to be great. I know you are.’ He leant in and gave me a hug. He really was one of the best huggers I’d ever met. A part of me didn’t want to let go as I breathed in his smell and felt the strength of his arms around me and his body close.

  Bloody hell, Libby, get a grip!

  Charlie pulled back and released me.

  I nodded. I’ve no idea why. Nerves were getting the better of me, causing everything to go a little haywire, it would seem.

  He looked at me for a moment, his brow creasing a little. ‘Do you want me to come with you to the offices? I can wait for you.’

  I smiled and touched his arm. ‘No. I’m fine. Really. But thank you so much for the offer. It’s really sweet of you.’

  Charlie wrinkled his nose.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Sweet,’ he repeated.

  ‘What’s wrong with sweet?’ I asked.

  ‘It’s kind of on a par with being called nice.’

  ‘Well, you are nice. And you are sweet.’

  ‘Oh, God. Nice and sweet. I’m bloody doomed.’ He placed his hands on my upper arms, turned me bodily in the direction of the escalators to the Underground and leant around, giving me a peck on the cheek. ‘Good luck. Now, please go to your meeting, before you depress me any more.’