Page 108 of The Wedding Engagement

Arran rolled his eyes. “Okay, Sherlock. Yeah, something happened. And now she’s ghosting me.”

Fiona frowned. “Ghosting? You mean she dressed herself up in a white bedsheet and said ‘boo’?”

He laughed. “It means ignoring all someone’s messages.”

“Ah, I see.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “What did you do?”

Arran raised his eyebrows. The audacity of Fiona Adebayo knew no bounds. “What do you mean? I did nothing!”

She pressed her lips together, shaking her head. “In my experience, that means a man has donesomethingto upset his woman. Whether he realizes it or not.”

Arran’s dad entered the room, holding Jayce’s hand, clearly catching Fiona’s words and sending Arran a “just agree with whatever she says” look. He took the wee one to raid the biscuit jar.

Arran’s heart rate picked up. “I can’t think of anything I might’ve done.”

“Humph. Well, that’s typical of you men.”

“I like the way you automatically assume I’m in the wrong, even though I’m your bloody son,” he muttered.

She gave him a soft tap on the back of the head. “That’s because I’m a wise woman.”

He shook his head, unable to suppress his smile. “Fine. Counsel me, oh wise one.”

Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she leaned in. “Can I give it to you straight, no sugarcoating?”

At that point he laughed solidly for a good few seconds. “You mean, thatisn’twhat you’ve been doing so far in this conversation?” He blew out a breath. “That makes me worry. Okay, fine. Shoot.”

His dad sat across from them with Jayce on his knee, seemingly interested in whatever wisdom his wife was about to spout. “Listento your mother, son. I can tell you, she is always right,” Abeo said in his soft Nigerian lilt, opening a chocolate biscuit for Jayce, whose eyes were as wide as saucers as he eyed his bounty. Morning, noon, or night, if Jayce asked his grandfather for a biscuit, the answer was always yes.

Clearly delighted at the prospect of telling her son how it was, the sparkle in Fiona’s eyes intensified. “I know Liv, and she’s a bloody delight. I can’t believe it’s taken you this long to figure that out, by the way.”

Arran closed his eyes painfully, and she continued. “Anyway. She’s also not the sort to play games and mess you around, like this specter thing you mentioned.”

He frowned. “Specter?”

She waved her hand in a dismissive manner. “The not-answering-the-messages thing.”

“It’sghosted, Mum,” Arran said, eyeing the chocolate smeared all over Jayce’s face like the kid was giving himself a facial.

“My point is, if Liv hasn’t answered when she normally would have, then it means she’s upset with you.” She gave him a pointed look. “And she’s such a delightful girl, that meansyou’vedone something wrong.”

He opened his mouth to protest, then realized there was truth in his mum’s deductions. Liv wouldn’t play games, that was for sure. And she did normally answer straightaway. So, either she was upset, or something urgent had happened today to waylay her.

Abeo sucked his breath in through his teeth. “I think she has hit the nail on the head. You’ve probably been a bit of a Dundee United.”

Anxiety stabbed Arran in the gut. What if something was wrong? The worry snowballed into a tidal wave that nearly knocked him off his chair.What if she’s been in an accident?

He stood abruptly. “Can you guys keep an eye on Jayce while I go call Liv?”

Abeo nodded. “Of course, son. Go.”

Fiona got up from the dining table and moved into the open-plan kitchen, muttering, “It’s about bloody time.”

Arran left the kitchen, heading into the front sitting room, where it was quiet. He dialed her number and it rang and rang. With a sinking heart he thought it was going to voice mail, but at the last minute, she answered. Her voice sounded weird.

“Thank God,” he said with a sigh. “I was in a free-fall panic that you’d been hurt or something and that’s why you hadn’t answered my messages.”

She took an audible breath. “I didn’t realize you’d be worried. I’ve just…been busy. Sorry.”

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