The fist holding my heart unfurls. ‘I don’t have a lot to offer you, Nell.’
‘I don’t know. Wild sex and naked kitchen shows,’ she replies, her smile widening, ‘seems like a good trade to me.’
‘A trade?’
‘You know, for staying with me. Are you—are you freaking out a little over there?’
‘It’s those boobs, I tell you. The thought of not conversing with them again almost brings me to tears.’
‘You’re crazy.’
Crazy for you, I don’t say. Because that would be madness. And potentially painful. Yet I still find myself asking.
‘So where do we go from here?’
‘Well, I don’t know about you,’ she answers, drawing her body along the bed with a yawn, ‘but I’m going for a shower.’
Chapter 11
PENNY
‘Sickening. Truly sickening.’
I turn my head to see what Melody is complaining about now. So much for a wild night on the town. She’s been in a funk since we arrived at the wine bar an hour ago. A few minutes ago, her complaints centred around the lack of lime in her vodka tonic, and beforethat,her complaints were about Tim and his anal-retentiveness and his need to keep everything spotlessly clean. Though my money is on the fact that she’s in a bad mood because of his not so heavily veiled comments encouraging her to check on the progress of the builder completing her house repairs. Or in other words, his reminder that she will be, at some point, moving out.
‘I think they’re cute,’ I say, watching the young couple read a cocktail menu, their bodies pressed tightly together. They’re a little younger than we are and clearly in the first stages of their relationship. You know, before you walk straight to the bar, knowing exactly what the other wants. I wonder what Ben’s favourite drink is? I push the feeling behind the thought away, telling myself he won’t be around long enough for us to fall into those patterns. Besides, if I really wanted him to know, I could just ask. I return to people watching, my smile feeling sort of foreign as the couple pass our table, and I notice he has his palm low on her back as he ushers her ahead.
‘He’s a gentleman,’ I say.See? They’re not all bad.
Mel harrumphs, turning her head over her shoulder to look at the disappearing pair. ‘You know he’s just trying to stare at her butt. It’s all pretend, isn’t it? Those early days are all hearts and flowers until they’ve got you where they want you.’ She stabs her straw into her drink. ‘Whether that’s on your knees or your back, and then it’s all downhill from there,’ she declares, making a ski slope motion with her hand, her expression twisting in distaste. ‘One minute, it’sdarling, I can’t live without you, and the next, it’sbut you know I need my space.’
She blows out an angry breath, lifting her blunt auburn bangs. Hers is a hairstyle that would look at home on a kid in grade school, but as always, she carries it off with a kind of effortless chic I don’t have time to cultivate. Especially after a thirteen-hour shift. And while thirteen might be unlucky for some, it wasn’t for baby boy Peterson, born four hours ago into my own waiting hands. With a little help of some salad tongs. Okay, forceps, but they’re really just the same implement.
‘Maybe you just need to be upfront with him, Mel. Tell him you want to take the next step.’
‘No offence, Pen, but that would just freak him the fuck out.’ She sighs heavily. ‘I just need to make him see that he needs me.’
For a bright woman, Melody can be so dumb about men. But then, who am I to speak? She’s not the one with a million-pound debt, rumbling around in a house by herself. Except I’m not anymore. Not while Ben’s here, at least. Ben, the man my mind seems to be fixated on. But it doesn’t have to be complicated. Not when it’s just sex.
God, if Mel could hear the thoughts whizzing through my head, she’d give me such a hard time after my whole “staying single” deal. Actually, if she could hear, she’d probably be pretty pissed. But I suppose I am single. Ben and I aren’t a thing. It’s just sex. And it doesn’t have to be complicated.So stop thinking about it!
‘Why don’t you’ —I clear my throat—‘ask Ben to take Tim out for a pint? Maybe speak to him man to man?’
She laughs. Actually, I think that was more a huff of air. ‘Ben would hate him. He’d probably end up punching him.’
‘What? No! He’s not the violent type.’ Mel arches an eyebrow in my direction. ‘The annoying type, sure, but not violent.’
‘Have you forgotten what he does for a living?’
‘No,’ I retort. ‘But we’re not at war. And soldiers aren’t all violent thugs.’
‘I didn’t say he was a thug, just that he has a temper. And I’m his sister. He just wants to protect me, I suppose.’
‘Oh, you told him. About the beginning, I mean.’The beginningis the term Mel uses to refer to as the time early in her and Tim’s relationship—a period when Tim dicked her around by dating other girls. She forgave him, and they moved on. I can see Ben’s point of view, though I wouldn’t say so because it’s not something she likes to hear. Actually, it’s something she refuses to hear.
‘Unfortunately, yes.’ Elbows hook on the bar, and she lets her shoulders slump. ‘Anyway, we’re not here to talk about my relationship woes. We’re here to sort yours.’
‘Are we? I thought we were meeting for a drink and a little supper?’
