It was time for a radical change in policy. She wasn’t going to let Steve vacuuming up his food ruin the evening. It wasn’t that he wasn’t listening, he just wasn’t talking and that was something she could work with. And so, for the rest of the meal she regaled him with her life story. She spoke, uninterrupted, about how she’d become an actor. About her first job, an horrific show called C-Section! The Musical. She even told him about her fateful audition with Antonia De Silva. And, credit where it was due, though he wasn’t a great talker, largely due to his mouth never being empty, he was a good listener. He nodded and laughed, with a full mouth, in all the right places, seeming genuinely interested. Not as interested as he was in his plate of food but Simi was no longer expecting miracles. Maybe this night wasn’t a write-off after all. What was the point of having two chatterboxes in a relationship? She needed to stop looking for perfection and start living in the moment, just being with what was right in front of her. Sure, he was no Keanu Reeves but all you needed was a spark to start a fire. She tilted her head and smiled. He smiled back, burped into his cupped hand and licked his knife.

‘Finished.’ He grinned.

Chapter 20

Meagan

Good luck with Bruno. Eeeek! Steve’s not here. Panic stallions! Sim xox

Meagan stared at Simi’s text. What the hell were panic stallions?

Bloody autocorrect! *stations!

Oh, he’s here!!!! Wooooo! Sim xox

‘’Scuse me,’ said the barman holding the card reader out for Meagan.

‘Right, sorry,’ she said tapping her card.

She grabbed her cocktails then sashayed through the hotel lobby to re-join Bruno. Hotels were a real turn-on for Meagan so in choosing this as their meeting place, Bruno had made an excellent start. Hotel sex was one of Meagan’s favourite things. In fact, she would suggest it to Todd next time they sexted. But then she groaned, remembered Simi’s stupid rule. No Todd allowed. Oh, how things had changed. It wasn’t easy to find a lover that fitted like he did, a lock and key. Her only hope was that her absence would calm his affections sufficiently that, once this game was over, they could get back to what they did best, straight-up shagging. In the meantime, Bruno was easy on the eye even if he was a little grating on the ear.

‘Nice hotel. You stay here often?’ Meagan asked as she set down their drinks.

‘Hmmf,’ sniffed Bruno leaning back in his leather single seater. ‘No, it’s just near my gym.’

They were only two rounds into the date and as delectable as Bruno was, Meagan’s patience with that grunt of his was thinning. Since they’d arrived, she’d given a good account of herself. She’d been witty, intelligent and looked incredible, opting, tonight, for a low-cut top, tailored slacks and of course, a fabulous, black heel. Her look said, I’m a professional woman who happens to have a great rack. And on arrival his opening play had been strong, just the right dose of chivalry and compliments but what Meagan couldn’t stand was how he punctuated almost every sentence with a sniff. How had Jemima not spotted this?