Page 25 of Love Unlocked

Al knocks on the glass behind her and she turns around.

‘Don’t pull it,’ he says.

The security guard presses the emergency panic button. The door budges for a brief moment then shudders to a halt.

At this failed attempt to free them, her heart starts pounding wildly. Her breaths are shallow and she’s feeling dizzy in the small space. Fight or flight has kicked in. She pulls the scooter and twists it again.

‘No, no, no!’ the security guard shouts at her. He doesn’t want her to smash the glass.

The scooter comes free and whacks against her shins, before hitting the glass between her and Al Collins. It does some damage to her skin but she grits her teeth and keeps the pain to herself because the embarrassment is too great. The glass panel between her and Al cracks, one long crack from the bottom corner halfway up.

She gasps.

Al looks down and sees it. He grins, then bites down on his noticeably juicy lip to stop himself from smiling. The contained smile causes dimples to form on both cheeks, an absolutely adorable revelation. She wants to poke her finger in those dimples. The doors suddenly move again but Al’s not ready and it bumps him, almost spitting him out of the doors.

By the time she follows him out, he’s laughing, unstoppable laughter.

The security guard is grumbling at her, telling her she wasn’t supposed to move.

‘Sorry,’ Melody says, mortified. Everyone is staring at her as though she’s walking into a Western saloon, though the tinkly piano reception music keeps playing. ‘Sorry,’ she says to them all with a grin. ‘My bad.’ She folds the scooter up and carries it.

Seeing her do this, Al laughs even harder, quite hysterically. Between laughs he says, ‘You probably should have done that first.’

‘Yeah probably,’ she laughs, as everybody resumes their business, and the security guard inspects the damage to the window and the edge of the doorframe. ‘I was in a rush to follow you. I was hoping to catch you outside.’

‘Melody Yates,’ he says suddenly, to her absolute surprise. Her name from his voice. His deep delicious voice.

‘Yes! How did you know … you’re Al Collins?’

He looks just as surprised. ‘I recognise your voice, from the …’ he pauses. ‘From the radio. And I was at one of your gigs in Cyclone in Moate with a … friend who’s not a friend anymore.’ He frowns as though his words are going in a direction he doesn’t approve of.

‘Cyclone. Now there’s a bonkers place. I remember a guy getting into a fight with himself in the mirror. Took him fracturing the mirror and his fist to realise it was his own reflection that wouldn’t get out of the way. Friend of yours?’

Al doubles over laughing. ‘It didn’t happen the night I was there. It was for my thirtieth birthday, eight years ago.’

He’s the same age as her. How wonderfully coincidental.

Suddenly his beautifully lit-up face darkens, as if remembering something.

‘Whatever happened to Cyclone? I wonder why it closed down.’

‘It’s still open but they lost their drinks licence. They serve warm tap water all night.’

‘Nice.’

They smile and look at each other. He has a very strong jaw, and beautiful eyes with long lashes. His eyes are tired at this early hour, little bags beneath them that are cute, like he’s a little creature that has emerged from hibernation and is slowly waking up.

‘How can I help you?’

‘Oh yes, sorry.’ She’s startled from her pervy study of him. ‘So the reason I’m here …’

‘Is because of the Grace Plunkett Bridge.’

‘Yes! How did you know?’

‘Yesterday we were inundated with calls and emails from the media and the public asking about the love locks that Melody Yates had gone viral talking about. I’ve also received about a dozen letters from people asking for their love locks, telling me you instructed them to do so.’

‘Ah yes, that. I’m sorry about that. I didn’t expect it to spiral like that. It’s been a crazy twenty-four hours. I mentioned my theory on the podcast and it has exploded. I thought the letters would be a nice personal touch. Emails are so …’