Page 17 of On Circus Lane

The satnav announces his next turn, and he wrinkles his nose. “I’m sure that’s not right,” he mutters.

Steven leans forward. “So, you know better than the satnav, Tom?Interesting.”

I can practically hear Tom’s teeth grinding, and I’m not surprised. Steven hasn’t lost an opportunity to have a dig at him throughout the journey. Jack told him off a few times for it, but he and Ivy are now asleep, leaning their heads together and swaying with the movement of the car.

“Did you know paying with your phone at a drive-through is illegal?” I say quickly to distract them from a potential argument.

“Of course it isn’t,” Steven snaps. “I do it all the time.”

“Oh, then it must be okay,” Tom mutters.

I repress a smile. “You can’t legally use your phone while driving. At a drive-through, you are still in control of your car, and the engine is on, so it’s illegal.”

“Hmm,” Steven says in a quelling voice and sits back.

Tom looks at me gratefully, and mouthsthank you, and I feel a rush of warmth. I don’t usually get involved in social spats unless I’m sticking up for Ivy, but protecting Tom from more of Steven’s comments felt right.

Tom shakes his head as he comes to a sign that says no entry. “I knew it was wrong,” he groans. “Last week, the fucking thing sent me down a lane so narrow it would’ve been difficult to travel on foot. I had to do a thirty-point turn, and I’m pretty sure the cows were applauding by the time I left.”

He turns the car around and sets off again, and after a few minutes he smiles, happier with the route. Finally, we pull into a car park, and he switches off the engine. I look around with interest but there isn’t much to see—just the back of some very tall buildings.

Tom stretches and gives a grunt of satisfaction. His T-shirt rides up, and heat runs through me at the sight of his flat belly and tight abs.

He reaches around the seat and squeezes Jack’s leg. “Fuck,” Jack mumbles, lurching upright and startling Ivy who was resting against him. “I amsoawake. What’s happening?”

“What do you mean?” Tom asks innocently. “I just stopped the car.” He pauses. “After a drive long enough to be featured in an epic poem, and you slept through most of it.”

Steven huffs. “He’s taking the piss,” he informs Jack, acting as though he’d missed his boyfriend’s twinkling eyes.

“Yes, thank you, Steven,” Tom intones. “For where would the world be without your observational skills? Next, you’ll be teaching a traffic warden where to appropriately place the ticket on an old lady’s car.”

I raise my eyebrows because his comment seems rather specific.

Steven glares at Jack. “Well, thank youverymuch, Jack. I presumed that incident was private.”

Jack sighs as Steven exits the vehicle in a cloud of righteous indignation.

“Tom,” Jack says accusingly.

“Sorry,” he says, putting his hands up. “I forgot I wasn’t supposed to speak of that incident. But don’t worry. For the rest of the holiday, I’m activating my Judi Dench level of acting skills to persuade Steven that I like him.” He closes his eyes for a moment. “There, it’s done.”

Jack shakes his head and climbs out of the car, followed by Ivy.

Tom glances at me and huffs. “Even Judi Dench would have trouble withthatacting job.”

“You don’t seem to like him much?”

“He’s not good for Jack.”

“And that’s it?”

“There’s more to it than that, but really, what more do I need?”

I nod because he has a point.

“Let’s get our stuff together,” he says, checking his phone. “Freddy says they’re a few minutes away.”

When we exit the car, the wind hits me, and I shiver, pulling my jacket around me. “God, it’s cold.”

---