Dolphin-san: Hey everyone. It's me with another chapter. Will Hiro be found out, or will he be spared?

Chapter 23

'You'll really do it?' Florence was delighted. 'You'll be Orlando's for an evening?'

'Why not? I've always wanted to be a gigolo.'

Kai grinned; the idea appealed to his journalistic instincts. Human reactions were what interested him more than anything. Particularly the meaner ones.

'You won't be able to wear those clothes,' Ray pointed out.

'Look, who's the master of disguise here,' said Kai, 'you or me?'

'Couple of gold chains around your neck,' Florence prompted.

'Shiny shirt,' said Max.

'Skin-tight trousers, pointy patent-leather shoes. With heels,' Ray added with relish.

'This isn't Saturday Night Fever,' said Kai.

'He's right, he mustn't be cheap and slimy,' Max told Ray. 'Bruce and Verity wouldn't fall for it. They know Florence would never go for someone like that.'



'Okay, good clothes.' Reluctantly, because cheap and slimy would have been more fun, Ray began ticking each item off on his fingers. 'You'll have to borrow an Armani suit or something.'

'Thanks.' Kai exchanged a look with Florence.

'One gold chain,' said Max. 'One's enough.'

'Bit of fake tan,' said Ray. 'Ooh, and a diamond ring on your little finger! You can tell them it was a gift from your last friend.'

'Go on then,' Kai gave Ray an encouraging nod, 'lend us twenty grand.'

'Cubic zirconium,' Max said promptly. 'Argos catalogue. Let me know your size,' he told Kai, 'and I'll pick one up.'

Ray wrinkled his nose.

'They still cost money.'

'You take it back to the shop and get a refund,' Max explained. He was loving every minute of this. 'When are you going to do it?'

Next weekend?' Florence looked at Kai. 'Is that okay with you?'

'Fine. You sort out the details and I'll speak to you when I get back from the States.' Kai looked up. 'And now, I'd better make a move.'

When Tony Vale had left earlier, he had shaken hands – somewhat sweatily – with each of them in turn. Now, Ray watched Kai bend and give Florence a kiss on the cheek, before moving around the table and doing the same to Max. Having mentally prepared himself – after all, he was next in line – Ray was miffed when he left it at that. All he received was a wink and a broad smile.

Ray's toes clenched with irritation. What had the wink been, some kind of consolation prize? Even more embarrassing, he'd been tilting his head at an about-to-be-kissed angle, and now he had to pretend he'd simply been streaching his neck.

Men! Honestly, how pathetic were they? Kai Hiwatari was happy enough to bestow meaningless kisses on wrinkled old women – sorry, Florence – and guys who were pregnant, but when it came to real guys, guys like himself, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was intimidated by the fact that Ray had a boyfriend. Scared, probably, that Hiro – who was due to arrive at any minute – would burst through the door and challenge him to a duel.

'Is your neck okay?' said Kai.

Wimp.

'Just pulled a muscle.' Ray carried on massaging vigorously, to prove that he hadn't been expecting any kind of kiss in the first place.

As he hoisted the camera case over his shoulder, Kai turned back to Max.

'I can give you a lift home if you like.'

'Are you sure? Oh no,' Max protested, 'I'm miles out of your way.'

'No problem.' Kai glanced with amusement in Ray's direction. 'I don't have someone at home, you see. So plenty of free time.'

Kai was making fun of him again, Ray realised, and bloody annoying it was too. Anyway, why was he offering Max a lift home? He didn't fancy him, did he? Okay, so Max was a pretty guy, you couldn't argue with that, but oh dear, a pretty guy who was three months pregnant . . . ?

'I enjoyed that,' said Florence, watching from the window as Kai held open the passenger door of the green BMW.

With an odd sense of unease, Ray saw him say something that made Max laugh. Ray tried to remember whether Kai had held the passenger door open like a gentleman when he had given him a lift home that time from the salon, or if he had simply jumped into the driver's seat and shouted, 'It's open.' Which, let's face it, was pretty much par for course these days in his experience. When men clapped eyes on him, Ray realised sadly, their initial reaction wasn't to come over all exquisitely mannered, start tipping their hats and calling him Sir.

Maybe it was something to do with him having odd coloured hair.

I could dye it, thought Ray, and stop being accident-prone –

'They get on well together,' Florence declared with satisfaction as the car pulled away.

Max had swivelled round to wave up at them. Automatically Ray waved back. Then he turned and frowned at Florence.

'Yes, but it's hardly ideal, is it?'

'What?'

'You, matchmaking! Why would Kai want to be lumbered with somebody else's baby?' Ray began to hyperventilate; he flapped his hand indignantly out of the window. 'And why would Max want to get involved with anyone at all? Its not fair on either of them, in fact it's –'

He stopped abruptly. Florence was spluttering with laughter.



'Come on! Did I just offer to pay for their honeymoon? They get on well together, that's all I said. Where's the matchmaking in that?'

Oh dear, he'd overreacted. Biting his lip, Ray paid elaborate attention to the BMW as it disappeared from view.

'It was more the look in your eye,' he said defensively. 'I know what you're like when you hit on an idea.'

'Hit on a great one this evening, didn't I?' Florence gave him a nudge. 'Asking Kai to go gigolo for a night. Roll on next weekend,' she chuckled. 'I can't wait.'

Ray spirits lifted at the sight of Hiro's car drawing up outside. As Kai and Max had been disappearing around one corner, Hiro had been making his approach from the other end of the street. Like a relay race, Ray thought, only without a baton.

Or synchronised swimming minus the nose-clips.

'I'll just get my stuff,' he told Florence, jumping down from the window seat.

'Staying over at his place tonight?'

'Is that okay?' Ray hesitated. 'If there's anything you need me to do before I go . . .'

Florence looked at him, so eager to get away. It was stupid, she knew, but she felt like a mother bird watching her chick prepare to launch itself from the nest. In the year she and Ray had lived together they had grown so close, it was hard to come to terms with the possibility that, for Ray, the time had come to move on.

I should be thrilled for him, thought Florence. He's falling in love, maybe for the first time in his life. I should be happier than this.

Oh, but if only Ray could have chosen someone else to fall in love with.

'I'll be fine,' she announced robustly. This was ridiculous, a severe case of empty nest syndrome and she wasn't even the boy's mother.

I'm not going to have an empty nest either, Florence reminded herself. Ray hasn't left yet. And when he does, I'll still have Max.

'Party over?' asked Hiro when Ray greeted him at the front door with his overnight bag – otherwise known as an Asda carrier – clutched to his chest.

'I thought we'd have another one, back at your place.'

'Was that Kai Hiwatari's car I saw leaving just now? Are you sure he isn't a bit keen on you?'

'If he's keen on anyone, it's Florence's new lodger.' Ray wondered why the idea still rankled. Determinedly he pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

'I thought he wasn't moving in for another week or so.'

Reaching up on his toes, Ray kissed Hiro full on the mouth. The last people he felt like talking about right now were Kai Hiwatari and pretty blonde pregnant Max.

'He isn't.'

'So why was he here today?'



Hiro didn't really want to know, he was just being polite.

'Came to lend a hand with the painting, that's all. Now, can I ask you something personal?'

They reached the car. Hiro leaned Ray backwards across the still-warm bonnet and ran his fingers across Ray's exposed midriff.

'How personal?'

'Extremely, deeply and outrageously personal.'

Hiro hesitated for a fraction of a second.

'Go on then.'

'Do you ache as much as I do after last night.'

Up close, with the last of the evening sunlight on Ray's face, Hiro could see the tiny, barely visible freckles scattered over his nose.

Ray's amber eye's sparkled, his mouth curved up at the corners and his complexion was flawless.

Most people looked better from a distance, thought Hiro. Ray was even more gorgeous close up.

'You're beautiful.' He couldn't help himself, he had to say it.

'And you're a salesman.' Ray raised a sceptical eyebrow. Anyway, you haven't answered my question.'



'I love you,' said Hiro.

'You're still a salesman.'

Outwardly, Ray was still joking, but inwardly Hiro knew he believed him. Which was just as well, Hiro thought. Because it was true.

'You want me to be completely honest with you?'He was smiling as he spoke, his mouth inches away from Ray's. 'Okay, I do, I ache just as much as you do. I ache like mad. And you know something else?'

'What?' Ray wondered if all the neighbours were watching. Spread-eagled across the bonnet of a car in the middle of dear Notting Hill . . . well, it was hardly discreet.

'I don't care that I ache,' said Hiro. 'It's not going to stop me. So if you want a good night's sleep, you'd better turn around now and head back into that house.'

As if I could, Ray thought joyfully. He flung his arms around Hiro. So what if he couldn't walk tomorrow, or push a broom, or wash hair. Who cared?

Apart fro Takao, his stroppy employer, who could get quite funny about salon juniors who staggered into work incapable of carrying out the simplest tasks.

Then again, what did Takao know about love? All he ever went out with were models with minds as blank as their faces and Press Here buttons in their backs for when you wanted them to speak. And they never lasted longer than a few weeks; with his low boredom threshold, Takao freely admitted that he didn't know why he bothered.

It was, all in all, a bit of a sad existence, Ray felt. As if being photographed and appearing in as many magazines as possible was more important than being with someone you actually liked. Poor Takao, he didn't know what he was missing.



'If it takes you this long to make up your mind,' said Hiro, 'I must be loosing my touch. Maybe I'd better just go home after all.'

He was doing his best to sound offended. Ray ran his fingernails down his back.

'I was thinking about my boss.'

'Oh, great. Don't think about your boss, think about me!'

'Okay, let's go.' Blissfully, Ray breathed in the scent of Hiro's aftershave. 'Who needs sleep anyway?'

'I love you.'

Ray knew why he was saying it again. It was his turn now; Hiro was waiting for him to return the favour. Ray shivered with happiness.

'I love you too.'

Above them, Florence's living room window was flung open.

'Any more of that malarkey in a public parking bay,' Florence yelled down at them, 'and you'll get clamped.'

Dolphin-san: Oh, wasn't that really close? Hiro even recognised Kai's car, lucky for him he didn't see the passenger. Sorry, but I don't think the inevitable meeting will happen for another few chapters. You'll just have to be patient.