"And then he drove me back and that was it."

"That was it? That's all. No biggie."

I lift my hands over my eyes, trying to shield them from the sun as I squint at Sosa. She is sitting cross-legged on her Playboy Bunny beach towel, mouth hanging open, sunglasses resting low over her nose. Her lips are blue from the slush puppy that is quickly melting in her hand.

It's Sunday afternoon and we're at the beach, trying to get some natural tan before the cruel, summer scorch hits the Maltese Islands. Sosa is an envious shade of russet but I can already feel my face and arms burning despite the copious amount of sunblock I applied earlier. The pale skin I inherited from my British father doesn't take to basking in the sun very well. I sit up and spray more cream on my face and shoulders, then throw my sarong over my back to protect myself from the UV.

"You went on a date with The Boss, Ally. That is not just it!"

Sosa slurps noisily through her straw and pushes her sunglasses up her nose. I look over my shoulders anxiously, hoping that nobody heard. Well, at least she's not focusing on the part where The Boss saw her regurgitate her feelings and stomach contents all over the dancefloor.

"It wasn't a date!" I object for the third time as I turn face down on my towel and introduce the back of my legs to the sun. "I have no idea what it was, but it wasn't a date."

She stretches down next to me resting her upper body on her elbows. "He came to your house and asked you to join him for lunch..."

"Demanded," I correct her. "He demanded that I join him for lunch."

"He didn't drag you from your horsetail, Ally."

"He may as well have," I scoff, but my blushed cheeks suggest otherwise.

Sosa shakes her head and goes on. "He picked you up, he bought you food and cake! He drove you back. That was a date."

I bite my lower lip as I vividly remember his searing gaze on my lips just before I panicked and bolted out of the car. 

"It wasn't a date!" I repeat stubbornly.

Sosa sits up suddenly. "What did you wear?"

I scowl at her. "What does it matter?"

"It matters!" she grins mischievously.

"Shirt. Skirt. Sneakers."

"What about your hair?"

"I washed it."

She narrows her eyes at my response. "Did you tie it back or leave it down?"

"Sosa!"

"Up or down, Ally?"

"Down," I answer guiltily.

"It. Was. A. Date!" She claps her hands with each word and l roll my eyes at her before I grab the book that lay forgotten in the sand and hit her with it.

She shields herself from my swinging arms and then takes another noisy swig from her puppy.

"You know you can't like him, right?" she questions, her voice taking a more serious tone. "Because we both know where that road goes."

"Sosa, please stop!" I beg, covering my ears with my hands and trying desperately to disappear into the sand.

"I'm just looking out for you. Look, I've known The Boss for ages. I know how he is with women. You have to be careful around him. He's trouble."

"Of course, he is," I exclaim. "He's a hot, loaded, arrogant prick with killer blue eyes and a Porsche!"

"Wow, you're quick! Girls don't usually realise he's an arrogant prick until after they sleep with him," Sosa laughs. Then her brows come together and her eyes grow wide with panic. "You didn't sleep with him, did you?"

"Of course not!" I respond indignantly.

A teasing smile brightens up her face as she raises her hands defensively. "How am I supposed to know? You never tell me anything."

"There's nothing to tell and you know I never tell anyone anything."

My words come out with confidence, but the savage beating in my chest returns as I think of how gentle his hand was as he tucked my hair behind my ear. How we bumped into each other constantly as we walked back to his car. It felt comfortable, easy.

It was nothing. Nothing.

But still, this is The Boss we're talking about. Sosa is right. The Boss is not nothing.

I sigh resignedly and sit up too so that I'm looking directly into her face. "I don't like him. I won't. I can't because he's my boss and he's creepy. And you know I'm not a fan of the whole God Complex type. Besides, he's eleven years older than me and he hates me."

"He doesn't hate you."

"We have nothing in common. He comes from a completely different world! I mean, you should have seen the people that were at this place. It was like an A-list party. And he's so weird."

"How so?" she asks, looking back at me curiously. Sosa loves to gossip. I can tell she's enjoying this way more than she should be.

"Well, one minute he's all huffy and curt and... I don't know... bossy. I used to think it was just me but, God, you should have heard him on the phone! I don't know who he was talking to, but what a grade-A pain! Then the next second he's cracking jokes. I'm not sure if he's being playful or making fun of me. Honestly, I couldn't keep up. And he has this insatiable need for everything to be done just the way he wants it. He's such a control freak and, trust me, it does not do anything for me. Nothing good anyway. So, stop worrying. The chances of me liking him are pretty much below zero."

Sosa considers me for a moment, then she cocks her head to the side. "Sounds like you're in love."

I narrow my eyes dangerously at her, reaching for my book again.

"Okay, okay relax, I'm just messing with you. But I still think you need to be careful. Just because it wasn't a date for you-"

"It wasn't a date! Period!"

She stops and eyes me shrewdly for a second. "Fine. Then let me set you up on a real date," she blurts out, chewing on her straw.

Oh no! Sosa's set-ups are usually a disaster. "No, no, Sosa, please! We've tried this a million times and it never works."

"It always works! You just never call them back," she argues poking me in the shoulder.

"That's because the guys you set me up with are all wrong for me."

I don't want to be mean. Sosa has made it her mission to find me a suitor and admittedly, the candidates she puts forward are always outrageously good-looking. The problem with outrageously good-looking boys is that they tend to be pig-headed or cocky or dull or just not nice.

She rests her hand on her hips and growls at me. "You never give them a chance! Have you ever been on a second date with any of them? Or answered when they called? Have you ever given any of them your number?"

I look back at her guiltily without saying a word. The answer to all three questions is 'no.'

"I'll make you a deal," she says, squaring herself into bargaining pose. "Give me one week to find someone. We can go on a double date. You, me, your future husband and Derek. But this time," she pauses for dramatic effect before naming her terms, "if he asks for your number, you must give it to him. Your real one! And if he calls or texts, you have to answer and you can't break things off before three weeks. If after three weeks you're sure you don't like him, then I will break up with him for you and give you a week off work. How's that?"

"A week off work? And how exactly do you plan to do that?" I ask sceptically, imagining Jeremy's face if he were listening to this.

"Uuu, għax I'm amazing, hux!" she replies, batting her eyelashes.

I laugh at her but deep down I know she's right. I don't want lunch with my boss to be the most exciting thing that's happened to me this year. And besides, my heart is still acting funny when I think about it. Or about steak. Or wine. Or whiskey, water, cows...

"Are you okay?" Sosa interrupts, peering at me closely. "You've gone all red in two seconds."

I clear my throat and shake the memory of Mr Cordina's fingers brushing against my skin, my hip bumping into him. Bump. Bump. Eyes on mine. Blue. "Yes, I'm fine. Okay, I'm in."

Sosa claps her hands and grins excitedly at me before laying back down on her back, eyes closed happily against the sun. I adjust my sarong and lay back face-down into the sand.

#

Six uneventful days later, my tongue is almost bleeding from biting it to stop myself from snapping at Sosa. She has been reminding me every seven and a half minutes that my life as I know it will be changing forever in less than eight hours.

Three days ago, she found the love of my life. Three days ago, I had my last moment of peace.

"You are going to fall madly in love with him!" she claims once again clasping her hands together dreamily as a group of overly excited teenagers make their way out of the store. "Shaun is tall and dark and handsome and, according to Derek, very smart. He's an engineer. You should be able to latch on to him all night if you know what I mean."

I smile uncomfortably as she waggles her eyebrows up and down. If only I were half as enthusiastic about my date with Shaun as she is.

The phone rings interrupting her excitement. She reaches over the counter to answer and her face instantly becomes serious. My heart drops into my suddenly hollow abdomen. Only one person can bring about that face that fast.

"Yes, of course," she fires into the receiver looking at me, her brown eyes wide. She hands me the phone and mouths, "It's for you."

"Who is it?" I ask apprehensively. Unnecessarily.

"The Boss," she whispers covering the mouthpiece.

"What does he want?" I groan irritably. We've been run off our feet all morning. If he's calling to complain, I doubt I will be able to keep my place without popping a vein. Especially since I haven't heard a peep from him after our 'non-date' last week. Not that I was expecting him to call. Of course.

Sosa shrugs, still looking anxious. I take the phone from her and sigh heavily. "Yes?"

"There's an event tonight," he announces without preamble. "Business drinks at the Dragonara. It's usually black tie, but-" He stops abruptly and clears his throat. Then he adds, "Would you like to come with me?"

His softer tone takes me back to last weekend. I am right back in his car, pretending not to notice how white his knuckles are on the steering wheel and how his eyes occasionally flicker sideways at me, as though waiting for me to blow up again.

What is going on? First lunch, now business drinks? I don't know anything about business. What the hell is he asking me for?

I can feel his icy glare burning through the phone as he waits for a reply. "I can't. I have plans tonight," I say slowly.

Nothing. Silence.

Just as I'm about to ask if he is still there, he says, "Fine. Have fun," and he hangs up leaving me open-mouthed and staring at the phone in my hand.

Sosa doesn't even have time to ask what the hell happened when it rings again.

"Hello?" I answer irritably. Honestly, the only reason I don't burst out swearing is because I worry it might be someone else on the other end.

"How about lunch tomorrow? Same time, same place. I'll pick you up at one."

"Did you seriously just hang up on me?" I fire back.

"Are you available or not?"

His impatient tone does nothing to calm me down. "Yes, but that doesn't mean I'm interested," I huff.

His silence makes my heart pound. Why must I always one-up him?

"You're going to make me beg, aren't you?"

I feel my mouth curl into a smile and remember the cameras. My eyes automatically dart towards the nearest one and I turn away so he can't see.

"Will you?" I find myself saying.

I hear him sigh and my smile broadens. This time, I want him to see.

"Alison Lewis, are you interested in having lunch with me tomorrow?"

"Maybe," I tease. It isn't exactly begging so I'm not really sure who's one-upping who now.

"See you tomorrow, Sparky," he says at last, and again he hangs up.

What the... How the hell did he do that?

"Did he just ask you out?" Sosa appears behind my shoulder startling me out of my bewildered state.

"No," I say quickly slamming the phone on the counter and rushing over to the back room. "Something about business drinks."

"When?"

"Tonight."

"Tonight? Ally, our date is tonight!" She charges behind me and blocks the door so that I can't get away.

"Did you not hear me tell him that I have plans?" I pick up a box of moisturising creams and turn towards the door expectantly, waiting for her to budge.

Sosa's eyes grow wider and her eyebrows get lost in her curls. "You turned him down?"

"Yes," I stutter. I did turn him down for tonight so I guess I'm not lying. Right? But Sosa's reaction is still not what I expect.

"Are you crazy?" she practically screams. "Nobody turns down Jeremy James Cordina!"

I roll my eyes at her infallible reverence for him. "Well, they should. It's not a big deal. Now, will you move, please? This is heavy."

Sosa lets me pass but comes marching behind me up to the display window. "You're smiling."

"I am?" I say as my mouth stretches into an ear-to-ear grin.

Sosa glares at me accusingly and I burst out laughing at my friend's unamused face. "This isn't funny. I told you to stay away from him. You're on his radar!"

"What radar?"

"You know what radar! Mr Cordina is notorious with women. He never calls a girl back. Never! But first you didn't sleep with him and now you turned him down. You just made yourself his mission. You're breaking his system. Now he has to have you!"

I shake my head dismissively. "There is no system. He's not trying to sleep with me and for the last time, it wasn't a date! And even if it was, this doesn't count as calling back. It's been a week. I was almost beginning to wonder whether last Saturday even happened."

Sosa sulks a little but soon after, she starts to help me with the display. I take it as a sign of peace and give her a small smile. Then, as though she can't hold it in any longer, she mumbles, "Well, now you know how the guys I set you up with feel."