BECKETT
‘What are you doing here? I mean, I thought you were going to meet us for an early dinner?’ She fixes a smile on her face, but I’m sure both Elsie and I saw what was under it. ‘You said you were busy.’
‘I thought I’d surprise you.’ As I smile down at her, she looks like she’d happily throttle me. ‘Besides, what kind of man would I be not to want to spend time with the person in your life who means the most.’
‘I thought that was supposed to be you,’ her grandmother offers without conviction.
‘I wouldn’t presume.’ I hold out a hand to the Elsie, the generationally appropriate thing to do. I must say, for someone who sounds like she might make a good CIA interrogator, her appearance is very unassuming. Which, I suppose, would be the point. She’s roughly Olivia’s size, though with the inevitable age-related rounding, and though her eyes are blue rather than Olivia’s mossy green, they have the same kind of intensity. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Elsie. May I call you Elsie?’
‘That’s my name,’ she answers prosaically, allowing me to take her hand. I pull out a seat between the pair and order a coffee.
‘Well, he’s a handsome devil, I’ll give you that.’ Elsie’s statement is somewhat begrudging and not at all directed at me.
‘He’s definitely something,’ Olivia mutters as she eyes a tiny chocolate tart on the cake stand. ‘I told you she was a good judge of character.’ As punishment for the devil quip, and just because making her cross seems to have become my life’s work, I beat her to the chocolatey morsel and pop it into my mouth.
‘I’m starving.’ I widen my eyes in provocation. ‘You didn’t mind, did you?’
‘Of course not. What’s mine is yours and all that.’
Elsie sets off laughing, not at all fooled by granddaughter’s tone.But then, who would be?‘A word of advice for you. Never come between Livvie and something she wants, lad. Not if you want to keep your pretty looks.’
‘Gran!’
‘What? Tell the truth and shame the devil, love. You looked like you could have had his fingers off.’
‘I was not going to bite his finger. Beckett is quite welcome to help himself to anything he wants.’ Her grandmother starts chuckling again. ‘Ew, Gran. Stop it. Not like that.’
‘I’m not too old that I don’t remember what marriage is for. Well, one of the things it’s good for.’
‘Companionship?’ I offer blandly.
‘Nookie, lad. Nookie.’ She leans over, laying her small hand over mine. ‘You’re a fair old size.’ Olivia makes a noise as though she’s in pain as I find myself chuckling. I feel like a prize bull being viewed for stud as she takes stock of my appearance. ‘Don’t mind me. When you get to my age, you say what you mean because if you wait, you might not ever get to say it. I speak as I find.’
‘As it should be,’ I agree.
‘But how about we speak a little less about the joys of the marital bed?’
‘Oh, the joys?’ Elsie shoots me a wink. ‘That sounds promising.’
Leaning in a little closer, I murmur, ‘A gentleman never tells.’
‘You’ll have to speak up, lad. I’m a bit deaf. Come a little closer and—’
‘Gran, really? Don’t, Beckett. Before you know it, she’ll be wheedling out all your secrets.’
‘Allmy secrets?’ Olivia flushes as I slide her a provocative glance.
‘I’m only interested in the juicy ones, not where the bodies are buried.’ Her gran then adds, ‘Where else is an old lady supposed to get her entertainment from with a grandchild as bossy as this one?
‘Don’t start on that old lady business.’ Olivia scoffs, folding her arms. ‘I’m tenacious, and I get it from you.’
‘You’re more obstinate,’ I offer unhelpfully.
‘Andyouare going to keep her on her toes.’ Her hand taps mine before retracting. But that was just to sweeten me up. ‘How old are you, Buckett?’
‘It’s Beckett,’ Olivia hisses. But I’m sure she already knows.
‘The right side of forty. There are a dozen years between Olivia and myself. That’s what you’re really asking, isn’t it?’ We watch each other carefully, like two cats suddenly protecting their patch of territory.
