Alicia Martinez is determined to keep a low profile. After a tough year, she deletes all of her social media and retreats to the small coastal town of St Andrews in the hopes of starting over - and avoiding her tumultuous past.
Oliver Hogarth is a...
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Admittedly, Oliver hadn't been planning to add "committing arson" and "manhandling a young teenage girl" to his list of activities this evening, but hey — life was full of surprises.
He dragged Tess away from the blaze, guiding her to a more secluded part of the restaurant. Thankfully, she didn't put up much of a fight. In fact, Oliver was beginning to grow increasingly concerned by the glazed look in her eyes; in his experience, it usually came right before the tears or the shouting.
"Look," Oliver said, lowering his voice. "I know you must have a lot of questions—"
"Oliver Hogarth." Tess's eyes were shiny. "Oh, my god. I can't believe it." She stared at the hand on her shoulder. "Oliver Hogarth is touching me!"
"Yes. Right. Good. Anyway—"
"You're a lot taller than I thought you'd be."
"Cheers," he muttered. "But what I'm trying to say is—"
"And you look great brunette."
"Tess!" he hissed, exasperated.
To her credit, Tess fell silent immediately. She seemed to be in shock. Oliver glanced at where his bodyguard Charles had joined the fray, dumping glasses of water over the blaze. Next to him, Alicia was trying desperately to beat out the flames with a cloth napkin, and Oliver's heartbeat sped up.
"Sorry," he said quietly. "It's just that Alicia doesn't know who I am, and I'd like to keep it that way. For now, at least."
Tess stared at him. "She doesn't?"
"No."
"She thinks you're just a regular person?"
"Correct."
Tess had the audacity to snort. "That sounds like Leese, actually." She shook her head. "God, she can be such a fu—" She caught herself, glancing at Oliver nervously. "Er, a muppet. A real muppet, sometimes."
He smirked. "Agreed."
Tess tilted her head slightly to the left, in an almost uncanny imitation of her sister. Oliver swallowed nervously. He had seen that look in Alicia's eyes, too; it usually came right before she stole a chip off his plate.
"And what's in it for me?"
He blinked. "Pardon?"
"Well, I'm not keeping quiet for free," Tess said, as if this should be obvious. "So what are you offering?" She crossed her arms. "Autographed merchandise? Free CDs?"
Oliver stared at her. "Good lord, you're serious."
"Dead serious."
"Fine," he grunted. "Both."
"And I want to be backstage at your next concert."
"Done."
"And I want Rory's right shoe," Tess added. "The white pair of trainers that he was wearing around London." She scrunched up her nose. "I'm sick of Rachel banging on about the left one; it's the talk of the school."
