Although, spending all day with him while he pries me for information on her makes it so much more difficult to avoid. Heknows I’m not telling him the whole truth, and that’s what rips me apart inside. But I’m still holding strong. There’s no point.
Maggie alerts us for dinner, and we head upstairs from the basement. It’s dinner already? Why aren’t Alf and Elodie back yet?
I can tell Caden’s thinking the same thing. He’s had a grimace fixed to his face all day. He must have really needed the space to openly suggest Alf spend the day with her. The kid’s lovesick, caught between a rock and a hard place. It’s hilarious.
As we sit down to eat, Alf marches through the door.
“Oh, good, I’m starving,” he says casually.
Bruiser walks off in the other direction where his dinner’s waiting for him, and Elodie goes to walk straight through to the hallway.
“Uh, excuse me, miss lady,” I call. “Your dinner’s ready.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Get your ass back here,” Alf calls and my eyes fly to Caden, whose face remains impassive as he looks from Alfie to Elodie.
She huffs from the kitchen and turns around. “I’m not hungry. We didn’t eat long ago.”
“We ate hours ago. Come and eat your dinner.”
I stare in silence. He’s not being aggressive, but there’s certainly some tension there between them. Oh, goody.
I mentally rub my hands together as Elodie reluctantly joins us at the table.
“So, how’s your mum?” I say, sounding aloof as excitement bubbles up. I will find out all their drama today.
“She’s good. Better than I thought, actually. She’s back to her normal routine, basically.” Alfie shoves some food in his mouth.
“And you?” I turn my attention across the table to Elodie. “How was your afternoon? What did you think of the almighty Debbie Blackwood?”
Elodie smiles despite herself, her defiant scowl dissolving. “She’s lovely. I had a wonderful day.”
Her gaze slips over to Alf, and I can’t decipher what passes between them, but the air thins out a bit.
“Good, she’s a top tier woman, that one,” I say.
Elodie picks up her fork and pushes around her peas.
“Eat, El,” Alfie says, softer than before. “Please.”
He’s apologising. Did he snap at her? He’s clearly trying to fizzle out the tension.
Elodie looks at him for a moment, then sighs, scooping up some veg and stuffing it into her mouth.
Alfie relaxes beside me.
“So,” Caden says casually, “what did you two get up to?”
Elodie stiffens at that. “Nothing. We just sat in the garden, talking.”
I exchange a sceptic look with Caden.
“That’s all?” he says.
“That’s all,” Alfie says.
Elodie bites her lip.
