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“You ready to concede?” he shouted over the road

People setting up in the high street looked up at therinned Kirsty blushed He’d said those words to her in the ht, but under very different circumstances

“To the English?” she called back with her own naughty grin “Never”

He shook his head

“You’re only going to be embarrassed when I win,” he told her “Think about it now—a lingerie expert beaten by an aruy”

Kirsty giggled

“It’s not going to happen You ht as well pack up and retreat over the border”

For once, she really believed her words She knew that she wasn’t going to lose her shop In fact, she felt crazy for ever worrying about that in the first place She’s even go as far as to say that she was excited about the future and for the first ti fun

“I was trained never to retreat,” Lake called over to her “The special forces don’t retreat They regroup and pop up where you least expect them”

“Well, pop up in London,” she shouted back

They shared a look that was so hot, Kirsty half expected the snoeen their shops to melt

“I’ll deal with you later,” Lake prorin before he went in out of the cold

Kirsty actually felt a little lightheaded at the thought Since their first night together, Lake had strolled over the road each evening as though he had every right to be in her house She let hih they spent their nights in the dark, Kirsty never asked hiht He did that all on his own Not once had he pushed her to put on the light Her heart pounded at the thought of a man with sohione only a couple of hours and her feminine flat seemed far too empty without him

Kirsty looked at her watch It was early The shop was shut for the day so they could get on with last-minute preparations, but no one was due to arrive for another hour The clothes were ready Magenta was in charge of makeup and had sworn an oath to keep it normal The local hairdresser had provided a stylist each for Lake and Kirsty The accessory shop had lent them a heap of jewellery to use on the runway, and Donald’s shoe shop had provided the shoes Everything was ready Especially since Caroline was in charge

Caroline had decided that it was too cold for an outdoor show, so she’d put up a marquee There were heaters installed and chairs laid out around a loay that soe tent was decorated beautifully The local high school had spent hours stringing up thousands of fairy lights on the ceiling When they’d checked out the lights the evening before, it was stunning Like a sparkling sky over the catwalk