Snow Way in Hell

When I opened the door, I didn’t expect to find Tarquin standing there in an old Star Wars t-shirt, hair all askew with a pretty blush decorating his nose. I’d actually been expecting to find Alice, coming to grumble to Max about how unfortunate it was that her boyfriend turned out to be a colossal buttmunch and asking why she always ended up with such terrible men.

I could give her three reasons off the bat, but she wouldn’t like any of them.

“Um, is Max around?” Tarquin asked, not quite meeting my eyes.

“He’s on the phone.” I twisted my head around to double-check, but Max was still chatting away into his phone, talking about something to do with accounts and business. Considering he’d told Tarquin he wasn’t allowed to work this weekend, I thought it was pretty hypocritical for Max to, but Max had sworn it was just one tiny phone call with some investors that he couldn’t miss. He’d sworn me to secrecy and promised to buy me the largest burger, fries, and slab of chocolate cake he could find in return for my silence.

I’d been easily bought.

“Bugger,” Tarquin said as I noticed goose pimples blooming on his arms. Why wasn’t he wearing the navy hoodie he’d had on earlier? It wasn’t that warm in the hotel. “I came to ask if I could borrow a hoodie… I, er, I spilt something on mine.” The blush on his nose darkened as he looked at the floor. I grinned.

Clearly whatever Tarquin had been doing during the last twenty minutes had been fun. I almost wished I’d been able to watch.

No. Fuck. I wasn’t supposed to be thinking things like that. He was Max’s little brother, and that meant he was firmly off-limits from now until forever, to be kept in a locked box labelled ‘no touching’. Even if I did think he was cute.