Page 71 of Life After

“I’m notoriously good at being hard on myself. I’m an expert at it.” Jen flicked imaginary hair from her shoulder and laughed. “Stick with me. I’ll teach you all you need to know.”

“I don’t want either of us to be experts at it. I want us to be happy and fulfilled and content with what we have.”

Jen smiled. “You’re right. I know you are. Because even though I’ve lost so much over the last few years, I’ve gained probably the greatest thing in the world.You. I can’t ask for anything else. I feel rich just for having you in my life.”

Oh, Suzanne hadn’t expected Jen to say any of that. “You are…” Suzanne paused as she sighed. “I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t even know how to process any of it. I just know that I’m incredibly happy with you. I’msograteful that we met.”

“For me, I’m just going with this. I don’t care what happens over the rest of this year; I’m just happy to be on the outside with someone like you. When I left those prison gates with nothing but a bag of my belongings, I wondered if I’d even find a shitty job that could pay a mobile phone contract, but what I came to find—you and this life I’m now a part of… I can never repay whoever is looking over me.”

“Ruby,” Suzanne said, smiling as she stroked her knuckles against Jen’s cheek. “I think this is all Ruby’s doing.”

“You…do?”

“I really do. She was your best friend, and she would only want you to be happy. Perhaps she had to let you go through the pain of hitting rock bottom so you could come out of it on the other side.”

Jen laughed. “She was a bit of a tit like that. You know, letting me get into trouble. So, yeah. You’re probably right.”

“Of course I’m right. It’s why you’re even dating me in the first place.”

Jen drew Suzanne in, her cold nose brushing Suzanne’s. “Oh, I have a long list of reasons why I’m dating you. A long list.”

“Maybe you can read it out to me one day. Preferably when we’re both naked in bed.” Suzanne knew she was wearing one of her smirks that had Jen’s knees quaking. “Are you available?”

“Naked in bed with you? Fuck, I’m available every minute of the day.”

With a sense of peace sitting in Suzanne’s chest, she tugged on Jen’s hand and led her out of the park. It would take them twenty minutes or so to get back to Suzanne’s, so why not head there right now? To the warmth and relaxation they’d both become so accustomed to lately.

Chapter 26

With her mouth agape,Jen sat in her van, staring down at the next parcel on her list of addresses. Did shereallyhave to be the one to deliver to this house in particular? Fuck, she wished this wasn’t on her route today. As she shook her head and looked up at the house in front of her, Jen’s stomach somersaulted. She had a parcel for Ruby’s mum. The very woman who hated the sight of her.

What if she puts in a complaint about me?

No, Lyn would never do something like that. At least, Jen hoped she still knew this woman as well as she once had. She really didn’t need anything to go wrong with this job. Sure, it was mostly shit and painfully boring, but it was still a job. A job Jen couldn’t afford to lose. Not in the near future anyway.

She chewed her lip as she glared at the front of the house. The very home where she had spent ninety percent of her childhood. The place where she would knock each morning after traipsing across town to meet Ruby for school. This…really wasn’t ideal. Still, she had a parcel in her hand that wasn’t going to disappear into thin air no matter how long she held onto it.

Just do your job, smile, and then leave.

Jen climbed from her van, the parcel tucked under one arm and her scanner in hand. Maybe she would get lucky, and nobody would be at home. Leaving it in Lyn’s safe place seemed far easier right now. Jen pushed the front gate open, the garden as immaculate as it had always been, and knocked on the front door. She would give it a minute, and then she was gone. After their last encounter, Jen really didn’t have the balls to face Lyn again. It seemed easier not to exist in her best friend’s mum’s world. She was certain Lyn would agree.

Jen heard the lock on the back of the door, and then it opened wide. The smile Lyn wore quickly faded, but Jen hadn’t expected anything else. Now she just had to hope Lyn didn’t close the door in her face before she’d handed the parcel over. “Hi, Lyn. I have a parcel for you.”

Lyn held out her hand, looking over Jen’s shoulder instead of making eye contact. “Thanks.”

Jen handed it over, but she wasn’t quite done yet. “I just need a signature.” She held her scanner out and popped the pen from the top of it. “Just in the box, please.”

Lyn squiggled her name across the screen and cleared her throat. “Done?”

“Yes, thank you.” Jen slotted the pen back in place and hesitated between the front door and the garden gate. It didn’t feel right to just walk away, but it also felt awkward the longer she stood here. “Nice to see you’re still in love with your garden.” Jen threw a thumb over her shoulder. “Looks great.”

“I have very little else to do with my time,” Lyn said, placing the package down inside the hallway. “How come you’ve delivered my parcel?”

“I, uh…” Jen wrapped a hand around the back of her neck. “It was just on my route today. I don’t get to pick and choose who I deliver to.”

“R-right.”

“Look, if it’s an issue, I can see if someone else on my shift can deliver any other parcels to you in the future. I don’t know how often I’ll manage to get the swap, but I can ask.” While Jen knew Lyn didn’t have the time of day for her any longer, she hoped dropping a parcel wouldn’t be the end of the world. “I can speak to my supervisor when I finish my shift later if you’d like me to do that?”

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