“Skylar, I don’t think…” But my daughter is already pushing open the pub door, my sister close at her heels.
Perfect. Now I’m uncomfortableandI look like a complete arse.
I quickly catch up with the girls just as my sister is asking the waiter if we can sit at the table she’d spotted. We make ourselves comfortable, in the darkest corner of the room, on the opposite side of the building tothem. If we’re lucky, they won’t see us. They seem too close, too intimate, to want to look this way; it doesn’t look like they’ll be moving their eyes from each other anytime soon. Not unless I go over there myself to tear their gazes apart with my bare hands.
Rian and Skylar order a burger each. I don’t mind; given we’re already here, we may as well make the most of it. A drink might even take my mind off seeing them here, together.
“I didn’t think Jordan would be interested,” Rian comments.
“This is Tyler we’re talking about. Okay, so he’s a fireman: I’m sure that could play in his favour. But, still – come on!”
“I was talking about you.”
My daughter bursts into shameless laughter.
“Hey, I can be charming, when I want to be,” I say, clutching at the remaining shards of my pride. “And I have a few hidden talents, too.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Rian mutters sarcastically. “But Jordan’s taste in men is a little different.”
“Are you talking about Steven Hill?”
“He stayed here, where he belonged. He made something good of his life.”
“He also cheated on his wife.”
“I see you’re up-to-date with everything.”
“Doesn’t everyone know about that?”
“Well, yeah. Nothing’s a secret around here.”
“You guys are getting distracted,” Skylar says, drawing our attention back to the task at hand. “Those two seem to be really enjoying themselves.”
I turn suddenly towards their table, where they seem to be getting a little too close. They look happy together; he doesn’t seem to stop talking, while she laughs. Too much.
“Enjoying themselves…” I say through gritted teeth. “Let’s not get carried away.”
“You shouldn’t just sit around and let this happen,” Skylar says. “You should do something.”
I glance at her in surprise.
“Why do you care if your headmistress gets it on with Tyler?”
“I don’t,” she says, tearing her eyes away. “Apart from the fact that she could lose interest in my…situation.”
“Very insightful,” my sister says, lifting her pint towards her in appreciation.
“Well, you got into the school, didn’t you? She’s helping you get everything back on track. What do you think would change?”
Skylar doesn’t respond, limiting herself instead to a disinterested shrug. It’s a gesture as unconvincing as her response.
Maybe this has something to do with the conversation we had a few days ago about her mother – about her loneliness? About the fact that she’s worried about me?
“I don’t think you have a hope in hell with Jordan,” my sister says, my attention falling back onto her. “She’s not right for you.”
“What would you know about who’s right for me?”
“Come on. I read the newspapers.”
