‘We keep supplies for these occasions up here.’ Amber pulled open a top cupboard, one too tall for Jayden to reach, and rummaged until she found a packet of painkillers. She passed them, and a glass of cold water, across to Gabi and sat down again.
‘Thanks,’ Gabi said, swallowing two immediately and groaning.
Jayden lifted the bowl to his mouth and began slurping the milky bits from the bottom. When he lowered it again, he had a perfect white moustache. Amber laughed and reached over to thumb it away, but he rubbed it roughly with the back of his own hand before she could reach him. His chair screeched as he stood up. He was dressed for school, the local primary badge on the breast of his polo shirt.
‘Grab your book bag then, love,’ Amber said to him, and he dragged his feet out of the room. Amber turned back to Gabi.
‘Not a bad way to end your day,’ Amber said. ‘In the arms of the local hero. . .’
‘Bit of an overreaction on his part, I think,’ Gabi said.
‘Doesn’t matter,’ Amber replied. ‘There’s plenty of girls who wouldn’t mind being carried home by him.’
‘Not me. I can limp along quite nicely on my own,’ Gabi said automatically. But for a second, she remembered the way Walker had caught her and the solidity of his arms around her.
Amber blew her coffee as Jayden appeared in the doorway, backpack now in place. Amber reached a hand out to straighten his collar, but he ducked and waved, signing instead.
‘See you later,’ Amber replied. ‘Walk straight home tonight and don’t forget Gabi will be here when you get here.’ Gabi managed a weak wave. Thank God she had all day to recover before she was on Jayden duty. She put her head in her hands, only lifting it when Amber placed a frothy coffee in front of her. The tablets were at last kicking in as she remembered she wanted to ask Amber something.
‘I saw you and Alex together yesterday. Or rather, I saw that you were never together. In fact, you were obviously avoiding him. And I realised, I never did hear about how you knew Alex, or what he did to deserve that slap when he arrived in Honeybridge.’
Amber snorted. ‘Don’t get me started on what that man did!’ But Gabi leaned forward on her elbows, settling in for the story. Amber rolled her eyes, before nodding gently.
‘Okaaaaaaay.’ She pulled her chair into the table. ‘Buckle up.’ Gabi sipped and the hot coffee was deliciously creamy. She licked the froth from her lips and waited for Amber to begin.
‘We were both working for a hotel. I was on front desk, he was bar. We had an instant sort of. . .’– Amber rubbed her hands together and then popped them apart– ‘connection.You know?’ Gabi nodded, at the same time thinking she hadn’t felt a connection of any kind recently. Even the last guy she’d had a thing with on set had been no more than a tingle, come to think of it.
‘We used to find opportunities to see each other, flirt outrageously. . .’ Amber fanned her face with her hand. ‘It all started off as a bit of fun, and God was it good fun!’ She laughed outright now, leaning back in her chair.
‘Soon we were seeing each other all the time– whenever Jayden was at school or staying at a friend’s house. I couldn’t get enough of Alex, and he certainly seemed to be hungry for me.’ She closed her eyes momentarily and sighed. ‘The things that man could do with his hands. It’s no wonder he’s good at guitar.’
Gabi choked on her coffee and laughed. ‘Sounds promising.’
‘I thought so too. We’d been seeing each other for a few months, and I thought it was time to introduce him to Jayden.’ Her turquoise eyes were suddenly clear and direct. ‘It felt like we were getting serious– and we come as a package.’
Gabi nodded. From the little she’d seen of Amber and Jayden together, she knew there was nothing Amber wouldn’t do for her son.
‘I’d never been that serious about anyone before that I wanted to introduce them to Jayden. After Jayden’s dad took off when he heard about the hearing loss, I just thought I’d do family my way, myself. That way I could look after him and protect him. We didn’t need anyone else.’
‘I understand that completely,’ Gabi acknowledged.
‘Anyway, it felt right so I did it. For the first timeeverI introduced my boy to my boyfriend.’ She leaned back in the chair and her shoulders deflated. She seemed to shrink.
‘Did it not go well?’ Gabi asked. Amber let out a long breath.
‘Actually, it went brilliantly,’ she said with a rueful smile. ‘They got on so well. I didn’t realise how much Jayden was missing a man in his life until I saw him with Alex.’
‘So, what happened?’ Gabi sipped her coffee, but didn’t take her eyes from Amber, who blinked sadly and bit her lip.
‘I fell in love,’ Amber said. Gabi raised her eyebrow. She hadn’t known it was anything as serious as this. She let out a long, low whistle.
‘Did you tell him how you felt?’ Gabi asked and the women locked eyes.
‘No,Ididn’t tell him that I loved him,’ she said, emphasising the I. She pressed her lips together tightly as if in pain. ‘But Jayden told him thathelovedhim.’
Gabi’s eyes widened as Amber continued.
‘I had no idea he felt that way. But he did.’ Amber rubbed her face with both hands. ‘In fact, I only found out after the event when Alex did a runner.’
