Kate yawned as she dragged herself to the apartment. She’d stayed behind to be introduced to hair and make-up. She didn’t know why she needed to curl her eyelashes, and mascara made her itchy. She sighed. Perhaps Bennie had been right and she wasn’t girly enough.
“Mum, Kate’s home,” Susannah chimed out, head in her tablet on the sofa.
Kate stopped. Oh, that sounded way too good.
Mikey galloped from the direction of her bedroom and waved. “We’re doing jumps.” He flashed a goofy grin.
Darcy galloped in behind him. How much that picture would make her fans giggle? Style Surgeon and imaginary show jumper. “Did I hit the water?”
Mikey turned over his shoulder. “Nope. Perfect.”
Darcy beamed at him. The warmth curled up through Kate and squeezed at her heart. Darcy was so beautiful. Kate leaned against the door, wanting somehow to just take a picture or film it. Mikey clearly had a hero thing going with Darcy, and who could blame him?
“Kate-oh, you look sleepy.” He galloped over and threw himself into her arms. “Your hair looks funny.”
She nodded, and it bounced about. “They thought I needed feathers.”
He frowned. “You a duck?”
Darcy chuckled and strolled over. She reached out and fluffed up Kate’s hair. “Feathering is when you chop two inches from the tips.” She took a strand of hair and made a scissor action. “Then it brings out Kate’s eyes and sculpts her cheekbones.” She eased the hair back and stroked the pad of her thumb over Kate’s cheek.
Because that didn’t make a tickle run the length of her spine and plummet somewhere really not appropriate. “Went with perming my lashes.” She widened her eyes with a scrunched-up mouth, and Mikey chuckled.
“Perm?” He leaned in and head-butted her nose.
Ow. She rubbed it and his forehead. His spatial awareness had been rubbish before he fell. “Yeah.”
Darcy tutted and lifted her face up by the chin, peering at her like a doctor. “Wonderful job.” She ran her thumb over Kate’s eyebrows. “Excellent shape.”
“Luigi did it.” She so wanted to lean in and kiss her.
“That’s his name!” Darcy grinned and turned over her shoulder to Susannah, eying them with some deep thought, if the crinkled brow was anything to go by.
“Why don’t I take Mikey and your mum to the shop?” Susannah blurted out like Mikey had never seen a shop before.
“We have shops in Wales,” Kate said with a smirk.
There was Darcy’s full-bodied laugh. “Best I say nothing.”
“I bet.” Cheeky, huh? Kate slid her hand to Darcy’s ribcage and tickled. “Oi, you’ll get Sproutman on his soapbox.”
Darcy howled with laughter again. Not just a wriggle away or a squirm, but a full, girly shriek of laughter while slapping her hands. Oh, that was priceless.
“Tickle?” Mikey grabbed his own ribs. “Again.”
“You got it.” She snuck another tickle in. Darcy shriek-laughed again and added hopping about to the slapping.
“Stop it.” Darcy held her finger up, smirk on her face, challenge in her eyes.
“Yes, let’s go and get some milk,” Susannah said like she wasn’t covering her mouth to hide her snigger.
“We have milk.” Darcy raised an eyebrow at her. Yeah, Kate didn’t need to be her mother to know Susannah was being shifty.
“Rice milk,” Susannah said like she’d just thought of it. “You want to come for a walk, Mikey?”
He barked at her.
Susannah and Darcy stared at him.
“That’s what my stepdad says when he’s off to the pub and takes the dog.” Kate ruffled his hair. “He teases Mikey with it too.” Why he thought it was funny, she didn’t know, but then he’d thought having an affair with a married mother of two was a good idea.
“You can’t go anyway,” Darcy said, her tone all mother’s orders.
Susannah responded with the classic teenage scowl and slunk onto one hip. “Why?”
“There’s cameras outside.” Darcy furrowed her brow like she’d get snappy, then relaxed her face and smiled. “You may have guessed I’m on their spot-and-snap list at the moment.”
“Aren’t you always?” Kate asked, then shrugged as both McGregors scowled at her in perfect unison. “They love you.”
“I love you.” Mikey gazed up at Darcy, awe in his eyes.
Darcy cleared her throat. Aqua eyes misted, and she splayed her hand over her chest. “My dear Sproutman, I am very fond of you too.”
“And me.” Susannah bumped Darcy’s hip. “Let’s go tell your mum that.”
Darcy put her hands on her hips. “What are you up to?”
“I think you need to break Kate in about rehab,” Susannah said, but it was a lie, if the averted gaze counted for anything.
Darcy narrowed her eyes.
“Let’s go.” Susannah flashed a smile and galloped off. Mikey galloped after her.
Kate stared at her feet. Could tension in a room throb? Felt like it. Felt like the space between them thrummed. “Rehab?”
“Yes,” Darcy mumbled, staring after Susannah and Mikey. She sighed and straightened her shoulders. “It’s a segment on how to attract men.”
Why would she need that? Kate rolled her eyes. “Open another button on my shirt?”
“That’s incredibly shallow.” Darcy eyed her. “You’re worth a lot more than that.” She dropped her gaze to Kate’s lips. “A woman can attract a man with her intelligence and beauty.”
“Right. Pop another button on my shirt.” She winked at her. Worked for the bloke in the gym. He’d given her a whole month’s membership free once.
Darcy tapped her on the nose. “No. I don’t want them offering payment, just a date.”
“How does that help me again?” She got the fact it was a show, but if a guy liked her, he liked her, and she still wouldn’t be interested.
“Because it’s part of the show.” Darcy sighed at her like she was being difficult, then held her gaze, full stun-look on. “Just try?”
“My eyelashes got a perm, doesn’t that count?” She batted them and fixed on Darcy’s lips. The gloss shimmered in the overhead lights. Looked…delicious. “What if I—?”
Darcy kissed her. Fruity gloss-covered lips captured her own, followed by a slender hand that threaded through her hair. The other hand eased her back against the door. Okay, conversation over. She was good with that. She pulled Darcy closer.
“Are we getting milk?” Mikey asked from somewhere down the hall. “I’ll get Kate-oh.”
Darcy pulled away, put her fingers to her lips.
Was it her or did they kiss…a lot? Darcy wouldn’t kiss her if she was having an affair with Zoë, right? Why had Darcy kissed her? She shuddered out a breath. Why did it feel so…wow? “You like the eyelashes or the button?”
Darcy pursed her lips as Mikey galloped in.
“Kate-oh.” He grinned. “We’re not getting milk. Snap scum outside.” He booed at the window.
“Yes.” Darcy’s smile was flustered. “Yes, they are.” She turned and booed at the window too.
Susannah strolled in and raised her eyebrows. “You heckling the curtains, Mum?”
Mikey giggled, then looked up at Kate. “You make-up messy.” He tutted, paused. His eyes went blank, and he wandered off.
Susannah and Darcy looked at her. Oh shit. Lipstick again. She shoved her hand over her mouth, but Susannah raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Should tell Luigi about that.” She was focused on Darcy, eyebrow raised.
“Yes. He…needs to be less sloppy,” Darcy mumbled, her cheeks as flushed as her neck. She strode into the kitchen and yanked open the fridge. “Oh look, we’re out of milk. I’ll go get some.”
Darcy strode at her, and Kate shuffled out of the way. “What about the cameras?”
“I’ll…I’ll jog.” Darcy hurried out of the door.
Susannah flashed a cheeky smile, then glanced Kate up and down. “Seriously, if you’re going to snog, you need to carry a hanky.”
Kate shrugged. “I wasn’t expecting it. I’m not sure why we were.”
“I do.” Susannah grinned. “She never snogged Marshall.”
“I doubt she would have done it around you if she did.” Kate cleared her throat. How did she have these conversations?
“Didn’t need to. I’ve never seen her that flustered before.” She glanced her up and down again, then grinned and strolled off down the hall.
“Ever?” Surely Zoë had her blushing?
Susannah stopped outside her door. “Ever.”
Kate leaned against the counter with a groan and touched her fingers to the greasy remnants of lipstick. Now, why did that make her grin from ear to ear?