“We’re coming,” he said. He nodded to Elinor. “And you can always ask me anything about you-know-who if you feel the need.”
Her cheeks pinked again. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like I was gossiping.”
“It’s not gossip if you ask the person directly.”
She bit her lip and nodded. “Sorry.”
When they rejoined both sets of parents seated at the table, sure enough, they were talking about their various ailments.Katie giggled, and Jordan smothered a smile as Elinor rolled her eyes.
“Oh good, you’re back! Jordan, you should drink your tea before it gets cold,” Mrs. Bennett suggested. “Girls, why don’t you have anything to drink?”
“I’m only staying a few minutes as I have to finish my assignment,” Katie said apologetically.
“You must be almost finished uni by now,” Jordan said. “In the home stretch, right?”
“Exactly. I can’t wait. It feels like forever since I first enrolled.”
“Well, if you change your mind about your course major as many times as you did, that will happen.”
Now it was Katie’s turn to roll her eyes at her sister.
“Now, now. Let’s not spoil Meg’s day with sisterly squabbling,” Mrs. Bennett said.
Katie’s five minutes stretched out to twenty before the clock’s chime startled her to awareness that she had work to do. She made her excuses, leaving Elinor seated next to Jordan. She leaned a little closer as the parents swapped notes about a senior citizens event coming soon.
“I didn’t mean to gossip before. I am sorry.”
“It’s all good.”
She sighed. “But is EJ good? You said before that she’s distracted. And I get the sense that it’s not in a good way.”
“All I can say is from what I’ve seen, and yeah, I think she’s at risk of having her head turned by these new friends. She wants to make a good impression.”
Her mouth tweaked. “I don’t know why she always feels like she has something to prove. Sometimes I get the feeling that she’s embarrassed about her background. Which is ironic considering she’s the one who is always demanding honesty from others about their history.”
He nodded. So true. EJ could be a walking contradiction.
“What are you two talking about so seriously over there?” Mrs. Bennett asked.
There was no way he was going to spill the tea about what Elinor and he had just shared.
“How is that daughter of mine going?” she continued, as if unaware he hadn’t responded to her previous enquiry. “I do worry about her sometimes.”
“I think she’s enjoying making some new friends,” he said carefully.
“Oh, I saw that you took her to Bennelong recently. How wonderful! What a generous friend you are to her.”
“That’s me.”
Elinor snickered.
“She’s always wanted to go there,” he said. “It seemed like an appropriate time to go when it was a celebration.”
“Oh, she’s so lucky to have you as a friend, isn’t she?” Mrs. Bennett said, warm affection in her face.
“EJ would be even luckier if she opened her eyes and realised friends can be more than that,” Elinor murmured.
He shot her a glare, but she sipped her tea, not looking at him.
