“Jamie. Thought you’d have been outside with the yoga people.” He headed to the coffee pot. “Is this drinkable?”
“De-caf. We’re on Livi’s yoga diet for the weekend.” I regretted the carbs as soon as I’d finished them.
“Great.” He eyed my coffee. “That’s not decaf.”
“French press. There’s a mug left.” I pointed to where I’d put everything together. “I found decent beans.”
“Good girl.” He poured and drank. “Livi said Marcus was here the other day.”
We’d told our mother about the girl in the house and Marcus. She’d laughed it off with some story about dramatic scorned women, but she’d mentioned it to Lawrie.
“He was.”
Lawrie nodded, drank the coffee black and hot. He used to joke he had a mouth made of asbestos, but now he just didn’t joke. “I’ll tell him to keep his distance. I know he makes you uncomfortable.”
“He’ll be here for Livi’s party weekend though. And his friends.” And they’d be wearing masks. I wouldn’t know exactly who was there, not without checking through the guestlists and speaking to the security.
Lawrie didn’t say anything, he just watched me, his face expressionless. I could never tell what he was thinking.
It seemed a decade before he broke the silence. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“What’s Marcus doing now?”
“He’s involved in a couple of start-ups. And he’s overseeing some of the investments we’ve made over here. He’s doing okay.” Lawrie nodded, as if reassuring himself. He looked out of the window, Livi’s voice carrying through the air.
She permeated the oxygen around here. Maybe even the whole island.
“And are you?” I’d never asked him that before. We had always just co-existed, shared different parts of the same person, as if she had a separate persona for each of us and Lala.
“Always.” His smile was false.
“Are you and Livi okay?”
A shadow crossed his face. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
“She thought you needed to spend more time together.” I wasn’t going to lie. If I couldn’t get a straight answer from her, I’d try from him. I wanted my mother to be happy, and if he wasn’t making her happy, that would affect us all.
I knew – I’d overheard Gav talking to Livi one night about it – that there was always a concern that Lawrie was using her for her name and connections, maybe even her money.
“Maybe we do.” He rubbed his face. “Jamie, I’ll keep Marcus away.”
“Why?”
“Because he makes you uncomfortable. He doesn’t need to be here.”
“He’s always made me uncomfortable.”
“I know.”
“So what’s changed? Who’s this Ashley he’s friends with?”
Lawrie looked up to the ceiling as if he was praying for patience. “Ashley?”
I nodded.
“He’s the son of a man who owns a lot of the clubs and a couple of the hotels on the island.”
“Who?”
