Total pages in book: 209
Estimated words: 198235 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 991(@200wpm)___ 793(@250wpm)___ 661(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 198235 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 991(@200wpm)___ 793(@250wpm)___ 661(@300wpm)
‘Hello, Ruth.’ I sound normal enough.
‘Ava, how are you?’ She sounds normal, too.
‘Good, thank you.’
‘I was waiting for you to call. Did you forget about me?’ She laughs.
Actually, I did. Her lesbian crush has made way for other more important things. ‘Not at all, Ruth. I was going to call you later.’ I’m lying through the skin of my teeth.
‘Oh, well I beat you to it, then. Can we meet tomorrow?’
I sink into my chair, my mind whizzing through a million excuses to put her off, but I know I have to face this head on. I can be professional. ‘Sure, how about one-ish?’
‘Perfect. I look forward to it. Bye!’ She hangs up, and I hang my head. I bet she is. I’ll be wearing trousers tomorrow, and I won’t be making too much of an effort either.
Tom lowers his fashion specs to the end of his nose. ‘Dumped?’ he asks. I don’t need to push for an elaboration on his one word question.
‘It’s complicated.’ I brush him off and start to mark up some drawings, but something catches my attention outside the office.
My brother.
He’s standing on the pavement looking into the office and after what seems like an age of us staring at each other, he pushes his way through the door. ‘Hi,’ He smiles.
My hand comes up in a little wave gesture. ‘Hi,’ I whisper. We’re in that awkward place again.
‘Lunch?’ he asks hopefully.
I smile and collect my bag, joining him at the front of the office. My simmering anger has cooled, but I’ll re-stoke it later. Right now, I want to fix things with Dan, get things back on track before he goes back to Australia. He’s been a complete arsehole, but I can’t hold grudges, not with my brother. ‘Tom, I’ll be back in an hour.’
‘Hmmm,’ he replies. I look back and see him staring dreamily at Dan. ‘Bye, Ava’s brother.’ he croons, waving a limp wrist and actually fluttering his lashes. I purse my lips and shake my head, especially when Dan’s eyes enlarge in alarm and he starts walking backwards.
‘Urm, yeah,’ He coughs and straightens his shoulders in an obvious attempt to make himself look more manly. ‘See ya,’ His voice has gone deeper, too.
I laugh. ‘Come on,’ I push Dan through the door. ‘You have an admirer.’
‘Great.’ he quips. ‘Not that I’m homophobic or anything. You know, whatever tickles your fancy.’
‘I think Tom wants to tickle your fancy.’
‘Ava!’ He looks at me in horror, but then breaks out in a grin. ‘He’s got taste, obviously.’
‘I don’t want to burst your bubble, but he’s like that with most men. You’re nothing special.’
We start walking side by side down Bruton Street, towards Starbucks. ‘Thanks,’ Dan laughs, nudging my shoulder.
I nudge him right back and smile up at him. We’re going to be okay.
* * *
Dan sets down the coffees and his sandwich, and I immediately tip three sachets of sugar into my cup, momentarily unaware that what I’m doing is completely out of the ordinary, until I look up and see Dan’s brow all knitted as he watches me stir it in. ‘Since when have you taken sugar in your coffee?’
I freeze mid-stir, frantically searching my brain for a viable excuse. We’ve not talked, but things are comfortable. Advising him that I’m pregnant will catapult us straight back to awkwardness, so I’m going to be a total shitbag and wait for him to go back to Australia, then I’ll get our mum to tell him. ‘I’m knackered. I need a sugar hit.’ It’s the best I come up with.
‘You look tired.’ He sits down, eyeing me suspiciously.
‘I am tired.’ I admit. No hair twiddling needed.
‘Why?’
‘Work stress.’ Half true, but now I’m fighting my hands to keep them on the table. ‘So, you’re okay?’
‘Kate told me to take a leap, but I’m sure you know that already.’ He un-wraps his sandwich and takes a bite.
Yes, I do, but there is little point confirming it. ‘You should never have gone there, and you really shouldn’t have gone there on my wedding day.’
‘Yeah, I was out of line. I’m sorry.’ He reaches over and places his hand over mine. ‘We’ve never had cross words.’
‘I know. It was horrible.’
‘It was my fault.’
‘It was,’ I grin, and he dips his finger in the froff of my coffee and flicks it at my nose. ‘Hey!’
‘Congratulations, anyway.’ He smiles.
‘What?’ I blurt.
‘I never congratulated you on your actual wedding day. I was too busy being an arsehole.’
‘Oh, thanks.’ The relief that takes hold makes me sag in my chair, but just as quickly, I’m stiff as a board. Matt knows, and he has been doing a fantastic job of keeping my parents informed and up-to-date on my love life. He’ll be like a pig in shit over this. That cooling fury has just boiled over into the realms of panic. I quickly disregard the possibility that he’s called my mum and dad already because if he had, then Dan would know, and he wouldn’t be sat opposite me happily chomping his way through a tuna melt. This is bad news. I need to get to Matt before he gets to my parents. Or I could just ring my parents and tell them myself. That would be the sensible thing to do, but I want to see them with Jesse. I want to do this bit right, which is absurd, but after how they found out about Jesse and the shock of a rushed wedding, I want to make this part special.