He looks at me, confusion furrowing his brow. A strange feeling makes my chest tight—unsettle twinned with concern. I don’t want my sister’s words to come between Fitz and me. I’m not even sure what possessed her to say such things. Yes, we’re close. Yes, we’re ‘touchy-feely’, as she put it, but so what?
“Is she right?” Fitz asks.
“About what?”
“Us?”
I swallow. “I—” I snap my mouth shut when Vanessa walks in.
She pauses and looks at me, then Fitz, then back to me. “Dinner’s ready.”
We follow her through to the kitchen. She has a small table by the wall next to the back door. There’s space for three chairs but not four unless it’s pulled out from the wall. The steaming pasta bake is in the centre of the table. She’s given us all a glass of water and, I discover as I sit down, a warmed plate. She serves us all a generous helping of pasta without a word and then sits down.
“You were going to tell me about Beatrice,” I say after several minutes of awkward silence.
“I’m not sure I should.”
“Vanessa…”
“Look, Beatrice broke up with her long-time boyfriend three months ago. She’s nervous about meeting you and about starting to date again. I don’t want you to break her heart.”
“Why would I do that?”
She sighs and glances at Fitz. He looks at his plate. Apparently, Vanessa’s pasta bake is super interesting. Fitz is usually the least subdued person I know, so to see him so quiet is plain weird.
“You’ve not been bothered about our friendship when you’ve set me up before,” I point out.
“There’s a difference between setting you up with women who want a bit of fun for a night and someone who might want something more serious.”
I stare at her. “Were you going to tell me you were trying to set me up with a future wife?”
Vanessa laughs. “Don’t be so dramatic. Besides, it should have been obvious she wasn’t just another potential fling for you.”
“How?”
“I’ve never set you up on Valentine’s Day before.” She sighs. “Just…tell me in advance if you’re not going to take this date seriously, okay? It’s not fair to get her hopes up if you’ve secretly got feelings for someone else.”
I want to tell her I don’t, but I can’t make my mouth move. Fitz looks like he wants the ground to swallow him up.
We finish the meal in silence.
“Go sit down. I’ll wash up,” Vanessa says.
“You go,” I say to Fitz. “I need to have a chat with my sister.”
He nods and goes to the sitting room without a word. I shut the kitchen door.
“What the hell?” I ask. “Where did all that come from? Fitz and I have been friends for years, andsuddenlyyou have a problem with the way we behave around each other?”
“I don’t have a problem with it, Adrian. Butsomeoneneeds to knock your heads together and make you both see what everyone else does.”
“That we’re a couple?” I ask sarcastically.
“Yes.”
“You’ve made Fitz feel uncomfortable.”
“That wasn’t my intention. I honestly thought you’d both have a light-bulb moment and realise how dense you’ve been. Adrian. If you two announced you were a couple tomorrow, absolutely no one would be surprised.”
