“Tea?”
He shakes his head. “Bourbon.”
I glance at the clock on the microwave. “It’s not even seven, yet.”
“I’m on holiday.”
“Lucky you.”
“So, what are you and the lovely Nellie doing today?”
My narrowed gaze dares him to get any ideas. “The usual. Shopping and lunch.”
His casual nod puts me on guard. I can feel the cogs turning in his head and that’s not a good thing.
“I’m proud of you.”
“Oh?” I lick the juice from my lips.
“Yes. You didn’t let anyone tell you what to do. You went with your gut when you knew everyone around you would think you’d lost the plot.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t think I’d live. I didn’t think the cancer would go away. I just wanted to see if the suffering would be less than Sylvie’s.”
“And your mum’s?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I can’t remember her suffering, but I suppose the answer is yes because I’ve seen it in your eyes for… ever.” I glance at the clock again.
“I have to go. Be good.”
“Yes, Mum.”
“Cheeky. But I’m serious.” I grab my rucksack.
“How’s the tire?”
I wink. “Perfect.”
Just another example of how Oscar Stone can be equally loving and infuriating. I told him I wanted to earn my own money to buy a car and instead of dismissing my wishes, like he’s done so much in the past, he settled for buying me a new tire for my bike. Not a new bike—just the tire.
*
It’s amazing howmuch shopping I do with Nellie, yet we rarely purchase anything. I think her subconscious knows that she has a wardrobe full of designer clothes on one side and secondhand bargains on the other side. She’s so close to making the connection.
“I love this café,” she says as we look over the menu that we both have memorized because we come to this same place every day.
Sadly, Harold still hasn’t shown his cheating face here since the day I ate lunch in this same booth with Theo.
“How well did you know Theodore Reed?”
Nellie’s eyebrows knit together. I shouldn’t be asking her this, but lately so many things cause her to give me this exact look. It’s like she’s searching for something that’s right there yet just out of reach.
“Nice boy. I think Nolie has known him for a long time. But… troubled. I wouldn’t get too close to him if I were you.”
I frown.
She fiddles with her mammoth diamond ring, concentrating on something just over my shoulder for a few seconds before her face lights up. “Oscar!”
“God no,” I mutter as my chin drops to my chest, eyes pinched shut.
