Page 57 of Love and Loathing

“Ah.”

Roscoe followed him into the kitchen, where Aubrey poked at the useless fucking coffee machine until it came to life.

“Want to talk about it?” asked Roscoe.

“No.”

“Liv?”

“No.”

“Evie?”

Aubrey flinched, said nothing, hands braced on the kitchen counter, looking at the coffee machine and the small blue light that cheerily claimed to be doing something and clearly was not.

“Hugo called me. Howell bringing in the vegan meal is already family legend. Everybody knows, Aubrey.”

“Knows what, exactly?”

“That you and Evie… You know… You have a thing.”

Aubrey gave a humourless laugh. “A thing.” A thing that stood no chance. Evie would probably start a fundraising campaign for it. Find a straw-lined box for the poorthingto slowly die in.

“Admittedly, I didn’t quite believe it at first when you two met at mine a while back. But you were barely out of the door when Poppy tried to wager me a ton you’d be together by Christmas. I’ve learnt not to make bets with that woman.”

“Would have been an easy hundred, Ross.”

“She insisted there were ‘sparks’.”

“Mm. That’s often how disasters start.”

“So what happened?”

“She met me.”

Roscoe let out a sigh, even his famed good humour being put to the test. Aubrey gave the coffee machine a slap, then gave up and turned to lean against the counter, arms folded.

“Domnall signed,” he said. “Fifteen percent.”

Roscoe searched his face for a moment, frowning. “It’s a start. But…”

“Not the seventy-plus your father was hoping for, I know.”

“Any ideas why he’s holding back?”

“Because I’m refusing to let him treat us like a mafia laundrette.”

Roscoe winced. “I bet that’s making you popular.”

“Hugely.”

Roscoe sighed again but in sympathy this time. “Get out of the way,” he said mildly, shifting Aubrey away from the coffee machine. He pressed some buttons. The machine came to life.

“Go for your run, Ross. I’m not good company.”

“All the more reason to stay.”

“I hate you and your entire family.”

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