if i had all the money in the world

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"You're being annoying." she huffed, no malice in her tone as she let herself lean into him, leeching his warmth through his suit jacket. Suddenly, it seemed like the most brilliant idea in the world to stay curled up under Davey's dining room table until all the fuss died down - with Davey in tow. He was fun to talk to, and besides, she wasn't expecting the grape's magic to work that fast. They hadn't enforced some kind of curfew. Better get up and out from that table, Cora - your chances to be kissed are slipping away by the minute!

"Stop eating my - your - grapes!" she chastised him, batting at his hand so he let go, the grape rolling away and out from under the safe haven of the table. She scoffed, one eyebrow cocked as she watched him manoeuvre in the tiny space, the weight of his arm still around her shoulders. Up close, Cora could practically count every single long, delicate eyelash. She felt bright and warm all over.

"Thank you." she breathed, returning his smile. See? He could be nice when he wanted to, a downright gentlema-

Or not.

"Davey!" she whined, planting a hand on his chest and giving him a firm, if noncommittal, shove. Her other hand tangled in the lapel of his jacket, keeping him upright as she gave him a firm stare.

"You are very... very smug and far too aware of your own prettiness." she scolded him, her eyebrows knitted together as she scowled. "You should be the one asking me nicely."

Letting him go, she busied herself with popping another grape between her lips, hearing her presumptuous little words back.

"You have to give the grapes time to work."

“Cora Bailey!” Davey gasped dramatically, clutching his chest as she batted his hand away. “If you’d wanted to hold my hand, love, you could have just said so. I would be more than happy to oblige.” 

There was something very fun about teasing a girl like Cora. She was absolutely nothing like the girls he usually flirted with, who had no reservations about flirting right back – and when they did, they had no qualms about shutting him down. Cora seemed to genuinely fluster under his words, blushing a rather gorgeous shade of pink as she averted her gaze from his, or scolded him in a manner that wasn’t quite convincing. He wondered if boys flirted with her often, or if she was a novice to such things? Luca was too much of a gentleman, he was sure.  

He pondered over what he might say to her next and how he could shock her when he felt her hand settle against his chest, the feeble shove giving way to nothing but her palm flat against the lapel of his jacket, holding steady as she rested it there. His eyes flashed with a hint of... something. Surprise? Adrenaline? Arousal? He wouldn’t lie and say there wasn’t something extraordinarily sexy about being teased and taunted by a girl like Cora. It was quite exhilarating, to think of her gaining the upper hand and putting him in his place. Maybe that was where she excelled in the bedroom, and Christ wouldn’t he love to know? 

“You think I’m pretty, do you?” Davey laughed, though the sound came out a little dazed, breathless even as he lost himself in his daydream momentarily. 

He cleared his throat, suddenly remembering himself. With a swift shake of his head, he cleared his thoughts and gave her a very stern nod, as though he was taking her grape theory very seriously. 

“You’re absolutely right, of course,” he said, shaking his head as if to say silly me! He decided to drag the action out a little, playfully allowing his hair to flop around, strands spilling free from whatever hairspray Eva had coated it in, framing his face. It was altogether too scruffy for Davey, but he quietly hoped it might make Cora laugh. 

As she busied herself with another grape, he peered curiously at her, mildly amused at the way her lips puckered so prettily around the fruit. He wondered just what else she’d like to wrap those luscious little lips around? Of course, Cora wasn’t that sort of girl. She was delicate and sweet, somebody who should be treated with great care. He bumped her shoulder gently before wrapping his arm around it, tugging her in with no ulterior motives. 

“I quite agree with you, though. A girl as lovely as you should be asked nicely, love. And someday soon, you’ll certainly find the right person to turn your world upside down.” 

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The bubbles hit the back of her throat all too quickly, and she felt her nose fizz up, her face screwing up as she swallowed around the uncomfortable sensation.

"Oh no, I don't like that at all." she said, sticking out her tongue. "That tastes like TV static."

She handed the bottle back, torn between wanting to laugh and trying to wrestle the grape back. She'd need as many as she could for the New Year, after all. And she was going to have to waste one more to get the horrible champagne taste out of her mouth.

She tugged a grape free of it's stem and popped it between her lips, watching Davey's face all the while for signs of judgement. It was merely open, and questioning, his usual smirk softened.

"Fine." she sighed, bumping his shoulder back. She turned her head to the side, so that she went cross-eyed and funny trying to look at Davey, and settled for simply staring into the depths of the fruit bowl.

She teased her bottom lip between her teeth, playing for time as she thought about a way to word it that didn't sound horribly sad. The champagne sat in her stomach uncomfortably, and she attributed the fizzing sensation she felt to that.

"I read online that if you eat twelve grapes under a table at Midnight, it means you'll find love in the New Year." she admitted, fingers tangling in the tulle of her skirt. "Or just good luck. Or some places say it means you'll be kissed at some point next year."

She felt her cheeks heat up, not daring to look at Davey.

"Seemed worth a try."

“You know, both of our lips touched that bottle,” Davey noted, eyeing Cora with a mischievous smirk. He shot her a playful wink, immediately predicting the pretty way her cheeks would flush in response. “So technically we just kissed. By proxy.” 

He waited as patiently as David McGrath knew how to as she explained the bowl of grapes and her bizarre little tradition. It was a first for him, and he eyes her curiously as he tried to determine whether she was pulling his leg or not. She seemed quite serious about the whole thing as that telltale blush rose to her cheeks and she averted her gaze, staring at the carpet below rather than at him.  

Their shoulders were still pressed together, and Davey wondered if it bothered Cora. She seemed like a bit of a hugger, always entangled with Luca one way or another, but she seemed to squirm under any sort of attention from Davey. He couldn’t quite tell if that was due to a particular aversion to him, or if Luca was simply the exception to her rule. Still, he used their close proximity as leverage as he carefully snaked an arm around her shoulder, distracting her as his hand playfully danced down her arm before pinching another grape. He knew she was trying to savour them, but he was quietly hoping she might tell him off for stealing her alleged luck. 

“Right. Well, I can’t account for the whole love thing, but who says you need twelve grapes for the rest?” Davey mused, his tone turning serious. 

Twisting his body as best he could with the minimal space they had, and with one arm still draped around her, Davey cocked his head to the side to meet Cora’s gaze. He offered the redhead a soft smile, deciding in that moment that she deserved a genuine answer rather than a teasing one. Davey genuinely found Cora to be quite sweet, truth be told. 

“You’re an exceptionally pretty girl, Cora. Stunning, in fact. Any man would be lucky to get to kiss you,” he told her, a gentle smile lifting the corners of his mouth. “I’m sure that whoever he is, he’s out there waiting for you as we speak.” 

And then, because he couldn’t quite help himself... 

“And if all else fails, I’ll give you a big wet one if you ask me nicely.” 

She'd always gotten along with Luca's brothers, who seemed to treat her as a weird, fun, if not somewhat exhausting extension of Luca. At least, that was how she saw it. Kian was... well, gruff... but that was just his way, and she figured he was secretly fond of her. But Davey was nice and funny - even if he often made jokes that tended to fly right over her head - and was now peering under the table with a slightly bemused smile, as if that was exactly where he'd expected to find her.

She let her hand drop into her lap, as though she could hide the evidence of her injury, nearly upsetting the dozen or so green grapes balanced in the folds of her skirt.

"Sorry I was just - oh whoa, what are you doing?"

She wrinkled her nose in amusement as she watched Davey slide under the table beside her, clutching a bucket of champagne that made her dizzy just to look at. She sometimes wondered how someone as posh, and well, conventionally handsome (not that Cora thought so, but she'd been told as much) as Davey could get away with being so odd. On him, it seemed charming. On her... well, it was just weird.

"I wasn't hiding." she insisted, cheeks as red as her hair. "I was just - gorgeous?"

She bit her bottom lip, cradling the fruit bowl against her stomach, wondering just how honest to be.

"It's just a dumb tradition."

“Joining you of course, love,” he stated, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Because it was. 

As he set the bucket of champagne down beside them, he ducked his head low, so as not to make the same error Cora had. He quite liked his own head, so it would be a real shame to see any harm come to it. Instead, he swiped the open bottle of champers straight out of the bucket, and immediately lifted it to his lips. Taking a long swig of the fizzy stuff, he hummed contentedly before holding it out in offering to Cora. He doubted she’d give it so much as a second glance – she hardly seemed like the type to indulge, even at parties – but it was nice to be nice. While he waited, he leaned forward and pinched on of the grapes from her – his – fruit bowl, and popped it into his mouth. 

“Yes, you were hiding. And yes, exceptionally gorgeous,” he grinned, revealing the grape still trapped between his teeth. Davey had no doubt in his mind right now that he looked utterly ridiculous, but he didn’t seem to mind. Cora appeared to have a bit of a sulk on, for some reason, and he found himself wanting to coax a sweet giggle out of her pretty lips.  

He watched, curious, as she seemed to mull over his question. It hardly seemed like a difficult one, so he wasn’t sure what was getting her in such a tizzy. He hardly thought it was the norm to throw yourself down under the dinner table at a fancy party, so he figured there must be some sort of rational explanation. Or perhaps irrational, if he knew Luca and his friends. Either way, he expected an answer, and it appeared he might have to push for one. 

With a sigh, Davey gently dropped the bottle back into the bucket and sidled along the floor, shuffling in closer to Cora. Gently, he bumped his shoulder against hers in a manner that he hoped was playful and comforting, rather than his usual ride and overly confident self. 

“Come on, love. Tell me about your tradition, and why it involves you stealing my best glassware,” he teased, eyes wandering to the crystal bowl in her arms. 

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