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in the back. ‘Er, didn’t you want to go shotgun this time, Tegan?’ I asked, not sure ifI’d be able to hide my reaction to Shaq if I was sitting so close to him again.
    Tegan smirked from the back seat. ‘Nope, I’m just fine right here, thanks, Jess.’ Great. She knew.
    I scowled at her and turned back to get in the front, but as I reached for the handle so did Shaq. His broad, masculine hand grazed mine and an electric tingle went down my arm. I gasped. Shaq was looking at me with wide green eyes and from his expression I’m pretty sure he’d felt the same thing.
    ‘Um, let me get that for you,’ he said, his voice gravelly.
    I managed a breathy, ‘Thank you.’
    As I got in, Tegan let out a fake cough from the back.
    ‘Shut up,’ I mumbled quietly so that Shaq wouldn’t be able to hear from outside the car.
    She held her hands up in defence and chuckled. Shaq got in the car and I deliberately turned away from her, steadfastly facing the front.
    ‘Ready to go?’ Shaq smiled. I nodded and he started up the engine.
    After that, I was surprised to find that for other people, those not struggling with a fluttering heart, Shaq was really easy to talk to. His conversation with Tegan was charming, clever and funny and I could see that she got on well with him. The banter between those two really made me laugh.
    The radio was on quietly in the background and suddenly I noticed my favourite song had come on. It was by a small indie band that I knew Tegan wasn’t a massivefan of and I presumed it probably wasn’t Shaq’s thing either, but then he surprised me.
    ‘Do you mind if I turn this up?’ he asked. ‘I love this song.’
    I shook my head – of course I didn’t mind. He reached forward, turning it up slightly, but not too loud so that Tegan and I could still speak. But he didn’t need to. As he sang along to all the words, his voice left me breathless. It was deep but soft and rich – and not to mention totally mesmerizing. I was blown away and felt almost guilty for having said that I didn’t like their music. But I’d never heard Shaq’s voice come through any The Only Truth songs in this way before.
    I could have listened to him sing all evening, but then the song finished and so did he. I sighed much louder than I intended.
    ‘Oh God, sorry. Was that really bad?’ Shaq turned to look at me.
    ‘Oh no! No, not at all!’ I stumbled over my words. Oh, brilliant. What could I say? I was just drooling over you and your voice? I could feel Tegan cringing for me in the back as I struggled to form sentences.
    I gave up and just decided to be honest. ‘You have a beautiful voice.’
    He looked at me, his face flushed. ‘Really? That means a lot. Thanks, Jess.’
    I felt Tegan kick the back of the chair as we pulled up to my dad’s house. The easy conversation that we’d enjoyed on the journey faded away and I could feel the tensionbetween Shaq and me.
    Tegan needed no prompting at all and scrambled out of the car before Shaq could get the door for her. ‘Well, I’ll be off, then. I’m pretty tired and want to go to bed. Thank you so much for taking me out for dinner, and for the ride home.’
    ‘You’re welcome. It was the least I could do.’ Shaq smiled at her.
    Tegan gave me a cheeky wink through the window and then skipped up the drive, letting herself into the house.
    Shaq and I looked at each other with nervous smiles. I felt my cheeks go hot.
    ‘You looked really beautiful tonight, Jess.’
    I blushed. ‘Don’t say that – I know that I didn’t. Especially when I think about all the stunning girls you must see every day in your job.’
    ‘Hey, what made you so unconfident? You must see other boys looking at you all the time. I know
I
see them,’ he frowned.
    I gave a small laugh at Shaq’s protectiveness. He had definitely figured me out quickly. What had happened with Jacob and Lucy in Scotland had left me feeling low and doubting myself all the time.
    ‘You’re right, I