Baby Be Mine

face heats up.
    ‘Seriously,’ she adds. ‘Don’t rush home. Get back on—’
    ‘Do not mention the hoofed animal again,’ I interrupt.
    ‘Whatever.’ She laughs and climbs into the limo. Barney is already fast asleep in his car seat.
    ‘Call me if you need me.’ I nod at Barney. ‘I’ll come straight home.’
    ‘We’ll be fine,’ she assures me. ‘Have fun!’
    That’s exactly my intention . . .

 
  Chapter 39  
    I feel nervy as I walk back through the crowded mansion in search of the Karate Kid. I find him at the bar, chatting to a beautiful blonde princess, and my heart sinks, but he turns and smiles and introduces us.
    ‘Meg, this is Penny. She shares the same agent as me,’ he explains.
    ‘Hi,’ I say. ‘Are you an actress?’
    ‘And a waitress,’ she replies with a grin. ‘Gotta make a living somehow, right?’ She smiles at Joseph and gives him a meaningful look. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’
    ‘Nice to meet you,’ I say to her departing back. I turn back to Joseph and take a sip of my drink. I have no idea what’s in this tasty orange punch, but it’s making me feel warm and tipsy, so it’s doing something right.
    I lean up against the bar and look at him, in his white cotton outfit with a bandanna tied around his forehead. I can’t help but smile. ‘You know, you do look remarkably like Ralph . . . what’s his name? Macho or something.’
    ‘Macchio,’ he replies with a grin. ‘I hope my hair is better than his.’
    ‘Oh, it is,’ I assure him. ‘And your muscles are an improvement, too.’ Unable to help myself, and certainly aided by that cheeky little punch, I reach over and squeeze one of his biceps. He flexes it for a joke before laughing.
    ‘Whoa,’ I say, removing my hand and not for the first time wondering what his chest looks like. I have a mad urge to slip my hands inside his costume. Down, girl. I take a large gulp of my drink and force myself to look away from his dark eyes, which still manage to twinkle even though they’re as black as night.
    White light on the other side of the room rouses my attention and I look around to see Dana and Johnny standing there. Johnny is chatting animatedly to a guy I recognise from somewhere or other and Dana has just thrown her head back and laughed, while clutching onto the arm of another man. She buries her face in his shoulder, still laughing. That’s a bit flirty, I think to myself. I look at Johnny to see if he’s reacting. He’s not. He must be used to it. Maybe that’s why he likes her: she’s not clingy. That’s one way of putting it, in any case.
    I glance back at Joseph. He’s watching me intently.
    Glow White starts to move so I turn to see Dana as she’s led, laughing, out of the room. More people begin to follow.
    ‘What’s going on?’ I ask Joseph.
    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘Fancy-dress time!’ someone shouts behind us.
    ‘The competition,’ I say to Joseph.
    ‘Shall we go and see?’ he asks.
    ‘Sure.’
    He leads the way, and because I’m walking so closely behind Joseph, I don’t see the person who grabs my hand and turns me round until I’m face to face with him.
    ‘Where’s Barney?’ Johnny demands to know.
    I turn to call after Joseph, but he’s already left the room.
    ‘He’ll wait for you outside,’ Johnny tells me firmly. ‘Where’s Barney?’
    ‘Bess took him home,’ I reply, removing my hand from his grip. He hooks his thumbs through his belt loops and regards me unhappily.
    ‘How can you have a problem with that?’ I ask him with annoyance.
    He shrugs and turns his back on me. I hurry after Joseph and for a split second think that I see bitchy Charlie out of the corner of my eye, but when I turn around she’s nowhere to be seen. Joseph is craning his head to look back into the room.
    ‘Sorry,’ I tell him. ‘Let’s go.’
    He gives me an inquisitive look, but says nothing.
    By the time Dana is announced as the winner of the fancy-dress competition, Johnny has joined her in the garden. She squeals with irrational delight and leaps off the platform into his arms. Even he looks taken aback by her actions, but somehow manages to keep his cool. She gives him a passionate kiss on his lips as the crowd whoops and cheers. I feel a warm hand take mine and turn to look into Joseph’s dark eyes.
    ‘Let’s go for a walk,’ he suggests, squeezing my hand briefly before letting it go.
    I nod and follow him, my hand now feeling a chill despite the outdoor