Текст книги "Down London Road"

Автор книги: Samantha Young

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I smiled down at her brightly. ‘Are you still looking for a bartender?’

Su sighed heavily, jamming her hands into her coat pockets. ‘Yeah, I am. I want another guy like Craig, so obviously I get a ton of girls applying and no guys as hot as Craig.’

Charming.

It hadn’t escaped my notice that the bartending staff at Club 39 were all attractive, but to hear it put so bluntly without any regard to ethics in the workplace made me choke on a snort. I covered it quickly with a rueful smirk. ‘Well, I may have the answer to your problem.’ I pulled out my mobile phone. ‘His name is Cam, he has bartending experience, he can start immediately, and he’s pretty hot.’ A total dick, but a good-looking one.

Su took his number with a wide, infectious smile. ‘Sounds promising, Jo. Cheers.’

‘No problem.’

We bade each other goodnight and I hurried down the basement steps, smiling a bright hello to Brian, the security guy, and Phil, our doorman for the night.

‘Evenin’, Jo.’ Brian winked at me as I passed.

‘Evening. Did the missus forgive you for forgetting her birthday?’ I asked, slowing down as I turned to wait on his answer. Poor Brian had arrived at work on Saturday night in the worst mood. He’d forgotten his wife’s birthday, and rather than being angry, Jennifer, his wife of ten years, had been hurt. There had been tears. Brian, who looked like a grizzly bear but was more the cuddly kind, was distraught.

Not so much now, if his grin had anything to do with it. ‘Aye. I had that movie set up like you said. Worked like a charm.’

I chuckled. ‘I’m glad to hear it.’ I’d suggested that Brian talk to Sadie, one of the students who worked at the bar and was in the film club at Edinburgh University. I thought she might be able to get permission to use one of the uni’s projectors so Brian could take Jennifer to a private screening of her favourite movie – An Officer and a Gentleman – on the big screen.

‘You still dating that lottery winner, Jo?’ Phil asked, his eyes running the length of me. Not that there was anything to see – I was wrapped up in my warm winter coat.

I tilted my head to the side, my smile flirtatious now. Phil was just a few years older than me, single, cute, and perpetually asking me out to no avail. ‘I am, Philip.’

He sighed heavily, his dark eyes glittering under the twinkle lights around the club door. ‘You let me know when that ends. I’ve got a big shoulder here for you to cry on.’

Brian snorted. ‘Maybe you’d have a chance with her if you didn’t spew shite like that.’

Phil huffed and swore at him. As this was almost a ritual now, I laughed and left them to their bickering.

‘There she is.’ Joss grinned at me as I wandered into the empty club. She was leaning against the bar, and her expression changed when she saw my face. ‘Something happen?’

‘I had’ – I glanced around to make sure we really were alone – ‘a difficult time with Mum tonight.’ I took the steps down to the bar and ducked under it. After I brushed past her, I heard her footsteps following me into the small staff area.

‘What happened?’ Joss asked quietly as I shoved my bag in my locker.

I turned to her, shrugging off my coat to reveal the same uniform she wore – a white tank top with CLUB 39 scrawled across the right breast and black skinny jeans that made my long legs look even longer.

Joss stood before me in all her attitude. Her thick mane of blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and she gazed at me in concern with her exotic grey feline eyes, her full lips pursed. Joss wasn’t a traditional beauty, but she was sexy. I could see why Braden had fallen for her. Her cool smartassery was so at odds with her unintentional but overt sexuality, any guy would be intrigued.

Yeah. We made a pair. And we got good tips.

‘Mum fell out of bed, broke her last bottle of gin, and took her usual tantrum when I said I wouldn’t get more for her. Once she calmed down I had to help her get ready so she could leave the flat to get some booze.’ I snorted bitterly. ‘Then I had to leave Cole there.’

‘He’ll be fine.’

I shook my head. ‘I’ll worry about him all night. You mind if I keep my phone on me?’

Joss’s brow puckered in consternation. ‘Of course not. But you know what the solution to that is, right?’

‘A fairy godmother?’

‘Yes.’ Her mouth tilted up on one side. ‘Except instead of a fairy godmother, he’s a suit-wearing fairy caveman.’

I didn’t get it.

‘Braden! He’s offered you a job so many times, Jo. Part-time or full-time. Just take it. If you took a full-time position, you’d be working during the day so you wouldn’t have to worry about working nights away from Cole.’

I tried to feel only gratitude as I strode past her and into the bar and tried very hard to ignore the irritation. ‘Joss, no.’

She followed me and I didn’t even have to look at her to know she’d be wearing the mulish expression she used to reserve for when people asked her questions she didn’t want to answer. ‘Why tell me these things unless you want a solution?’

‘That’s not a solution,’ I replied quietly, tying the short white apron around my waist. ‘That’s a handout.’ I shot her a smile to soften the blow of my words.

My friend clearly wasn’t having any of that tonight. ‘You know, it took me a long time to figure out that we can’t do everything on our own.’

‘I’m not on my own. I have Cole.’

‘Okay.’ Joss shook her head and took another step in my direction. I turned towards her slightly, my stomach flipping at the edge in her voice. ‘I’m just going to say it.’

Brace yourself, Jo.

‘How can you take Malcolm and all those other guys’ help but not a friend’s?’

Because it’s a totally different thing! ‘It’s different,’ I told her softly. ‘It’s just part of being in a relationship with a guy who has money. I’m not good at many things, Joss. I’m not a scholar like Ellie or a writer like you. I’m a girlfriend. I’m a good girlfriend and my boyfriend likes to show his appreciation by being generous with his money.’

I was surprised by the utter fury that flashed in Joss’s eyes, and I automatically stepped back. ‘One: there’s much more to you than that. Two: do you realize you pretty much described yourself as a glorified whore?’

She might as well have punched me. Hurt cut me deep as I reared back from her words, feeling the sting of tears in my eyes. ‘Joss …’

I saw regret pass over her face, and she ducked her head, shaking it. ‘There’s so much more to you, Jo. How can you be happy to let people think these shitty things about you? Before I knew you, I thought you were a cool girl but a mercenary gold digger. I had you pegged all wrong – and so does everyone else. And you let them think that. Do you know how many times I wanted to kick Craig in the balls for the way he talked about you? No one respects you, Jo, because you don’t ask for that respect. I’ve only known the truth for a year and I’m finding it hard to hack it. I don’t know how you hack it. I don’t even think you do.’

Laughter and chatter filtered into the bar from the door and Joss moved away from me in preparation for our first customers. I watched her, feeling shell-shocked and raw … like someone had scrubbed off the top layer of my skin and I was exposed and bleeding.

‘I respect you,’ she told me softly. ‘I do. I know why you do what you do, and I get it. But from one ex-martyr to a current martyr … get over your bullshit and ask for help.’

The customers entered the club and I turned to serve them with a bright fake smile, pretending my closest friend in the world hadn’t just called me out on all the things I feared about myself.

As the night wore on, I was able to push Joss’s opinion to the back of my thoughts, and I flirted with good-looking customers, leaning across the bar to whisper in their ears, giggling at their jokes – good or inane – and generally pretending to have the best time in the world.

The tip jar filled up fast.

Two seconds after an attractive thirtysomething guy wearing a Breitling sports watch slipped me his number before he left the bar, Joss was at my side shaking up a cocktail.

Her eyebrow was quirked up in question. ‘Weren’t you just telling me last night how much you like Malcolm?’

Still feeling sore from her earlier flaying, I shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Just keeping my options open.’

She sighed heavily. ‘I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings back there.’

Not acknowledging the apology, not sure I was even ready to, I nodded down the bar. ‘Your customer is waiting.’

For the rest of the night I avoided conversation with her and constantly checked my phone in case Cole tried to contact me. He didn’t.

When the club closed and we’d cleaned up, Joss cornered me as I shrugged my coat on.

‘You’re a huge headache, you know that.’ She huffed as she pulled on her own coat.

I snorted. ‘That’s the worst apology I’ve ever heard.’

‘I’m sorry what I said came out so bluntly. But I’m not sorry for saying it.’

Pulling my bag out of my locker, I shot her a weary look. ‘You used to let people get on with their lives. You never butted in where you weren’t wanted. I liked that about you.’

It was Joss’s turn to snort. ‘Yeah, I know. I liked that about me too. But Braden’s rubbing off on me.’ Her mouth twisted into a grimace. ‘He has this thing about sticking his nose into the lives of the people he cares about whether they want his nose there or not.’

I felt some of the hurt from our earlier encounter recede, a warm balm spreading gently over it. ‘You saying you care about me?’

Joss grabbed her own bag and strode over to me. Her defiant grey eyes had softened with a surprising amount of emotion. ‘You’ve turned out to be one of the best people I know and I hate that you’re in such a shitty situation and you won’t let anyone help you. A few months after I met Ellie, she told me she wished I’d trust her more. I finally get how frustrating that must have been for her – to see that I needed someone and I wouldn’t let her be that person. I feel that way about you, Jo. I see a good person with all her life ahead of her and she’s taking a path to inevitable misery. If I can stop you from making the same mistakes I did … well, I will.’ She grinned cockily. ‘So be prepared to be corralled. I’ve learned from the master.’ Her eyes glittered with anticipation. ‘And he’s waiting outside for me, so I better go.’

Joss left before I could respond to her threat. I wasn’t entirely sure what she meant, but I knew that when she wanted to be, she was the most determined person on the planet. I did not want to be someone she was determined to save.

It sounded exhausting.

4

‘I’m sorry, Malcolm. I can’t.’ I felt my heart rate speed up as anxiety crawled into my gut to play kickboxer. I hated turning down his generous offer. Once I started throwing the word ‘no’ around, things usually went downhill from there.

‘Are you sure?’ he asked quietly on the other end of the line. ‘It’s not until April. That gives you plenty of time to find someone to look after your mum and Cole for the weekend.’

Malcolm wanted to take me to Paris. I wanted to be taken to Paris. I’d never been out of Scotland, and I imagined I was like most people my age in that I wanted to see a bit of the world outside the one I’d been raised in.

But it wouldn’t happen.

‘I don’t trust anyone else to look after them.’

Thankfully, Malcolm’s sigh didn’t sound exasperated and to my surprise it was followed by, ‘I understand, baby. Don’t worry about it.’

Of course I still did. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Stop worrying.’ Malcolm laughed softly. ‘It’s not the end of the world, Jo. I like how much you care about your family. It’s admirable.’

A flush of heat, of pleasure, rose from my chest all the way into my cheeks. ‘Really?’

‘Really.’

For a moment I didn’t know how to respond. I was relieved that he was being so laid-back about my ‘no’, but I was still anxious. Only now I was anxious for a different reason.

My affection for Malcolm was growing deeper by the day. So was my hope.

The past had taught me that hope was far too fragile a thing to cling to.

‘Jo?’

Oops. ‘Sorry. Woolgathering.’

‘About me, I hope.’

I grinned, and let the purr enter my voice. ‘I can come over after work tonight to make it up to you.’

Malcolm’s own voice deepened. ‘I look forward to it.’

We hung up and I stared at the phone in my hand. Dammit. I was hoping.

Hoping that this time it really was going to work out.

‘According to Braden I ambushed you.’

I glanced up in surprise as I pushed my bag into the locker. It was Friday night and the bar was already in full swing. I was late for work, so I hadn’t had time to really chat with Joss and Alistair, who was covering Craig’s shift and was already manning the bar. I’d ducked out during a lull in the crowds to get a drink of juice and some chewing gum from my bag. ‘Pardon?’

Joss leaned against the doorway to the staff room, the music from the bar beating loud behind her. She had a disgruntled look on her face. ‘I told Braden what I said to you last night and he said I ambushed you.’

I smiled. ‘Maybe a little.’

‘He told me I have a lot to learn.’

That earned an eyebrow raise. ‘Apparently so has he.’

‘Yeah.’ Joss huffed. ‘He’s sporting a bruise the size of my fist on his upper arm. Condescending asshat.’ She shrugged. ‘He also, maybe, was kind of, possibly, a little bit right.’

She looked so uncomfortable it was almost funny. ‘Joss, you were trying to be a good friend.’

‘Braden says I have to be stealthy. That includes not using the word “whore” in any capacity.’

I flinched. ‘Aye, that would be good.’

Joss took a step towards me, all her self-assurance seeming to have disappeared. ‘That came out all wrong last night. You know that, right?’

‘Does this mean you’re keeping your nose out of my business, by any chance?’

She scoffed. ‘Yeah, okay.’

‘Joss …’

‘I’m just going to be better at it. Less ambushing, more corralling.’

There was that word again. ‘You know, I would think if you were trying to be “stealthy” you wouldn’t tell me about your intentions to veer me from my “path of misery”.’

Joss crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowed on me. ‘Don’t you air-quote me, woman.’

I held up my hands in surrender. ‘Hey, I’m just saying.’

‘Ladies!’ Alistair’s head appeared at the doorway into the bar. ‘A little help!’

I grabbed my gum and brushed past Joss. I smiled as I guessed at what was really bothering her. ‘I’m not mad at you, you know.’ I looked over my shoulder to see her following me.

She nodded, giving a little shrug as if she didn’t care when she obviously did. Which was why I wasn’t mad at her. ‘Okay, cool.’

We hit the bar to see the customers standing all along it.

‘So, you and Cole are still coming to dinner on Sunday?’

I grinned at her, thinking of the Nichols family and Elodie’s mouthwatering roast dinner. ‘Wouldn’t miss it.’

The Nicholses’ home was the kind of home I’d wished Cole and I had been brought up in. Not for the fact that it was this gorgeous period flat in Stockbridge – although that certainly would have been nice – but because it was full of warmth and real familial solidarity.

Elodie Nichols was Ellie’s mum. When she was younger she’d fallen hard for Braden’s dad, Douglas Carmichael, and she’d then fallen pregnant. Douglas had broken things off but offered financial help and a lackadaisical impersonation of a father. Braden had stepped up to the plate, taking his younger half sister under his wing and playing man-child dad/big brother. The two were close – so close in fact, that Braden was closer to Elodie and her husband, Clark, than he was to his own mother. As for Douglas, he’d died a few years ago, leaving money to Ellie and his businesses to Braden.

Ellie had two adorable half siblings – Hannah, who was a year and a half older than Cole, and Declan, who was eleven. Not surprisingly, the two shy teens didn’t spend time with each other when I brought Cole to these dinners. Declan always monopolized Cole’s time anyway – Declan had a large collection of video games for them to zombify themselves in front of.

About eight months ago, Joss had taken me on a night out with Ellie. After five minutes I got the distinct feeling I was being taken under their wing. Ellie immediately asked me to her family’s Sunday dinner (while Joss smirked happily at someone else getting the ‘Ellie treatment’), insisting that I bring Cole. After two months of dodging the invitation, I finally got to the point where I felt rude declining. I dragged Cole along and we both enjoyed ourselves so much, we tried to make Sunday dinner at the Nicholses’ house whenever we could.

I loved it because it was the only time Cole and I really got to be ourselves. Whatever Joss had said to the Sunday gang, no one ever asked about Mum, and Cole and I could relax for a few hours each week. Plus, Elodie was the epitome of a mother hen, and having never had that, both my brother and I enjoyed being taken care of for once.

Sunday dinner included the Nicholses, Ellie and her boyfriend, Adam, Braden and Joss.

While we waited for dinner to be ready, I usually hung out with Hannah. Looks-wise, Hannah was a smaller version of her gorgeous big sister. Tall for her age, and if she was going to be following exactly in her sister’s footsteps, Hannah had already reached her full height at five foot nine. She was absolutely stunning with short pale blonde hair, wide velvet brown eyes that peered out from under a stylish fringe, and delicate features including an adorable pointed chin. She was going to be a little fuller-figured than I ever would be, already sporting a decent cleavage and a nice curve to her hips. At fifteen-going-on-sixteen she could pass for eighteen, and if it hadn’t been for her shyness, she’d probably have had boys beating down her door and causing Clark no end of aggravation.

As big a bookworm as I was, Hannah was an even bigger one, hiding behind literature and her schoolwork. I thought it was a shame that she wasn’t more outgoing, since she had an amazing personality. She was sharp as a tack, kind, funny, and a little snarkier than her big sister. I’d taken to sitting in her large bedroom, going through her piles of books while she chatted away to me about everything and nothing.

‘That was a good one,’ Hannah observed and I turned around from her bookshelf to see that she was looking up from her laptop. Apparently I’d done something more interesting than her friends on Facebook.

‘This?’ I waved the teen book at her. I didn’t really read young adult books, but Joss had waxed lyrical about them so I decided to give them a try. Hannah saved me a ton of money, acting as my own personal library.

She nodded and smiled, a dimple dipping in her left cheek. She really was adorable. ‘There’s a hot guy in that one.’

I raised an eyebrow. ‘Age?’

‘Twenty-four.’

Pleasantly surprised, I smiled, flipping through the pages. ‘Nice. Who knew teen fiction had got so risqué?’

‘The main character is eighteen. It’s not gross or anything.’

‘Good to know.’ I stood up from my kneeling position and wandered over to her huge bed to flop down beside her. ‘I wouldn’t want you corrupting my innocence.’

Hannah chortled. ‘I think Malcolm’s already done that.’

I gave a wee huff of amusement. ‘What would you know about that stuff? A boy caught your eye yet?’

Of course, I’d expected her to shake her head, frowning like she always did when I asked her this question. To my utter surprise, her pale cheeks flushed red.

Interesting.

I sat up and pushed her laptop off her lap on to the bed so I could have her full attention. ‘Tell me everything.’

She slanted me a look. ‘You can’t tell anyone. Not Ellie or Joss or Mum –’

‘I promise,’ I replied hurriedly, feeling a bubble of excitement for her. First romances were so exhilarating.

Making a face at my obvious anticipation, Hannah shook her head. ‘It’s not like I’m going out with anyone.’

I grinned. ‘Then what is it like?’

She shrugged uncertainly, her eyes suddenly filled with dismay. ‘He doesn’t like me the same way.’

‘Who doesn’t? How do you know?’

‘He’s older.’

Worry stabbed me in the gut. ‘Older?’

Hannah must have heard the note of reproach in my voice because she waved my concern away quickly. ‘He’s just eighteen. He’s in the last year at school.’

‘So how did you meet?’ Although I was willing to be a friend to Hannah, I also wanted the details so I could figure out whether there was reason to be concerned or not. Hannah was a young fifteen when it came to boys and I didn’t want anyone taking advantage of her.

Relaxing, Hannah turned towards me, getting more comfortable with confiding her boy story to me. ‘Last year these boys started to make fun of me and my friends. We didn’t really bother when we were together. It was just names, and they’re just a bunch of idiots who skip school and bully everyone who actually likes school.’ She rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the young male species. ‘Anyway, one day last year I missed the bus, so I began walking home. They followed me.’

I gripped her duvet cover, my eyes wide. ‘Di–’

‘It’s okay.’ She cut me off, reassuring me. ‘Marco stopped them.’

My lips twitched as I tried to contain my smile at the dreamy way she said his name. ‘Marco?’

She nodded, her smile more than a little bashful. ‘His dad is African American but his mum’s family is Italian American with family in Scotland. He’s from Chicago but he moved here last year to live with his aunt and uncle. He was with a couple of friends and he saw the boys following me and taunting me. He scared the guys off, introduced himself, and then walked me home even though it was in the opposite direction from his place.’

So far, so good.

I nodded, encouraging her to continue.

‘He told me anytime I missed the bus he would walk me home. He started hanging around with his friends at the end of school and waiting to see if I got on the bus. The couple of times I missed it, he was true to his word and walked me home.’

What was this kid after? ‘So has he asked you out?’

Hannah heaved a dramatic sigh. ‘That’s the thing. He really is just looking out for me, like I’m a wee sister or something.’

Okay, maybe he really was just a good kid. ‘Is it your shyness? Do you not talk to him?’

Hannah laughed, such a grown-up sound of tart amusement I had to remind myself for a second I was talking to a teenager. ‘That’s the thing. I clam up around other boys, and you’d think with how hot he is, I wouldn’t be able to talk to him. But he makes it really easy. He’s really down to earth.’

‘How do you know he doesn’t fancy you?’

Her cheeks flushed a deeper red than before and she bit her lip, her eyes flickering away from mine.

‘Hannah?’

‘I may have mmmhed imm,’ she mumbled.

I leaned closer, suspecting I already knew the answer to my next question, ‘What was that?’

‘I may have kissed him,’ she answered grumpily, her cheeks brightening again.

I grinned teasingly. Little Hannah had her sister’s impulsiveness when it came to her crushes. Ellie had told me all about the night she’d thrown herself at Adam. Adam was Braden’s best friend, and out of respect to Braden had held Ellie at arm’s length for a long time. Ellie had not made it easy on him. ‘How did that go?’

Hannah’s brow puckered as she stared at the ground. ‘He kissed me back.’

‘Yay!’ I punched the air like a goofy idiot.

‘No.’ Hannah shook her head at me. ‘He then pushed me away, didn’t say a word, and has avoided me for the last month.’

Feeling my chest ache at how crestfallen she looked, I slid my arm around her shoulders and hugged her to my side. ‘Hannah, you are beautiful and funny and smart and there are going to be a ton of boys who won’t push you away.’

I knew how empty my words were. There were no words that helped ease the pain of teenage unrequited love, but Hannah hugged me back, appreciating my efforts nonetheless.

‘What’s going on?’ Ellie’s worried voice brought our heads up. She stood in the doorway, her slender arms crossed over her chest, her eyes creased in concern. Her blonde hair was much shorter than it used to be. For weeks after her surgery she’d worn head scarves to cover the patch of hair that had been shaved. As the hair grew in, she’d chopped it all off into a sexy pixie cut that she absolutely hated. It was now chin length and as über chic as Hannah’s.

I felt Hannah tense against me, obviously afraid that I would share the news about her secret crush on the elusive Marco. I sympathized with her. He did sound intriguing. It was bad enough moping after a mysterious African American, Italian American, Scottish Italian hottie, without your annoying family knowing all about it. ‘I was just telling Hannah all about my first love, John, and how he broke my heart. She was giving me a hug to say she was sorry.’

Hannah’s fingers squeezed my waist in thank-you as Ellie’s eyes grew round. ‘You’ve never told me about John.’

Not wanting to actually get into it, I sat up on the bed, pulling Hannah with me. ‘Another time. The smell of food is wafting up the stairs, which means it’s almost ready.’

Ellie looked a little disappointed as she led us out of the room. ‘I know! We’ll have a girls’ night in this month and we can talk about our first loves.’

‘Aren’t you and Joss dating yours?’

Her mouth turned down at the corners. ‘Just yours, then?’

I grimaced. ‘Sounds like a real good time.’

‘Every time you hang out with Hannah, you get a little more sarcastic. I’m banning you from her company.’

Hannah grinned happily at the thought that she might have influenced me, and I couldn’t help but laugh, affection filling my chest with warmth. ‘Only wild horses, Ellie. Only wild horses.’

Once we were seated around the table, Elodie clucked around us, making sure we all had what we needed.

‘Are you sure you don’t want any more gravy, Jo?’ she asked, the gravy boat hovering precariously in the air in her light grasp.

I smiled around a potato and shook my head.

‘Cole?’

‘No, thank you, Mrs Nichols.’

He made my heart hurt with his beautiful manners, and I nudged him with an elbow, grinning at him. Cole flicked me a look that clearly said, ‘You’re such an idiot’ and continued to eat.

‘What were you and Hannah talking about in her room for so long?’ Elodie asked as she settled back in her seat at the end of the table. Clark sat at the opposite end. Ellie, Adam, Joss and Braden sat across from me, while I was between Cole and Hannah, and Declan was on Cole’s other side. I could tell Elodie was pretending she didn’t really care what we had been talking about but in truth was dying to know.

‘Books,’ Hannah and I answered in unison, causing Clark to chuckle.

‘I’m guessing it wasn’t about books.’ Adam threw Hannah a boyish smile and she blushed. These girls and their susceptibility to a roguish Scotsman … I was suddenly thankful Malcolm wasn’t the least bit roguish. All that angst and drama? Does he like me, doesn’t he? Is he just flirting? No, thank you!

‘How cannily deduced, Adam.’ Braden’s mouth twitched as he took a sip of coffee.

Joss smiled around her fork.

Adam shot an unimpressed look down the table at his friend. ‘I think we need to come up with a child-friendly phrase for f-u-c-k off.’

‘Duck off?’ Cole suggested.

‘Exactly.’ Adam gestured with his fork. ‘Braden, duck off, you sarcastic dastard.’

Ellie giggled. ‘Dastard?’

‘ “Bastard” with a “D”,’ Hannah supplied helpfully.

Clark’s laugh was cut short by Elodie’s huff of outrage. ‘Hannah Nichols.’ She sucked in her breath. ‘Don’t you dare say that word again.’

Hannah gave a long-suffering sigh. ‘It’s just a word, Mum. It means a person whose parents weren’t married when they were born. We only make the word offensive by implying that there is something morally wrong about that. Are you suggesting it’s morally wrong to have a child out of wedlock?’

Silence reigned around the table as we all looked at Hannah in mischievous glee.

Elodie made a little spluttering sound, breaking that silence as she turned sharply to skewer Clark to his seat with her blazing gaze. ‘Say something, Clark.’

Clark nodded at his wife and then turned to his daughter. ‘I think you should have joined the debating team after all, sweetheart.’

Braden’s deep laugh was a catalyst for the rest of us. We all chuckled and Elodie’s grimace melted as our good humour got to her. She sighed wearily. ‘My fault for raising a clever girl, I suppose.’

She was more than clever. Hannah was a superstar and I was glad she was surrounded by people who told her every day how special she was.

Chatter filled the room as we broke off into separate conversations. I was just asking Cole if he’d finished the comic he’d been working on when Joss said my name.

I looked over at her and saw her eyes dancing with mischief. I immediately went on the defensive. ‘Yeah?’

She smiled saucily. ‘Guess who was at the bar last night.’

I’d always been crap at guessing games. ‘Who?’

‘Hot guy from the shitty art show.’

‘Hot guy?’ Braden turned from his conversation with Clark.

Joss rolled her eyes. ‘Nothing more than an adjective and a noun put together, I promise.’

‘What hot guy?’ Ellie peered past Adam to look at Joss, completely cutting off whatever her mum had been saying to her.

‘There was this hot –’ She caught herself. ‘I mean a guy who may or may not have been marginally attractive. I wouldn’t know because I don’t notice the hotness of any guy but my wonderful and oh-so-handsome boyfriend, who fills me with such –’

‘Okay, no need to lay it on so thick.’ Braden bumped her with his shoulder and she fluttered her eyelashes at him in mock innocence before turning back to Ellie.

‘There was this guy at the art gallery thing that you missed and he was checking out Jo.’ Joss’s gaze swept over the table to land back on me. ‘Turns out Cam was in need of a job and Jo got him one at the bar. I was showing him the ropes last night.’

Well, that had been fast. I felt my stomach flip at the thought of having to work with Cam, at having to see him again. ‘He’s Becca’s boyfriend. She asked it as a favour.’

Joss nodded. ‘He told me. He seems like a really nice guy.’ No one could miss the enthusiasm in her voice and I knew exactly what she was up to. Was this part of Joss’s corralling? Trying to play matchmaker with some random guy just because she saw us checking each other out? I blamed Ellie. This was clearly her influence.