Page 49 of Enemies to Lovers

‘I’m working on it, Mum, I can promise you that much,’ says Alex, once again not looking up. I’m startledby the admission: Alex plays lovable rogue with a heart of gold, but has never outwardly said he’d like to settle down.

‘Really?’ I ask, not doing a very good job of hiding my shock.

‘What, because I’m such a Lothario?’ he bats back, and I can hear the edge in his tone.

‘No judgement,’ I say, ‘I just didn’t know. It’s … nice. You deserve nice.’

Alex looks up and crinkles his nose at me. I crinkle my nose back.

‘Do you ever think about settling down, Florence?’ Dad asks. ‘In the abstract, I mean. A husband, kids …?’

‘Dammit!’ Jamie shouts, throwing down his ping-pong bat. ‘That’s it, mate, I’m out. You won. I’ll beat your arse tomorrow.’ He puts his hands behind his head and closes his eyes. We all watch him, and then the attention comes back to me.

I take a breath to decide how I feel about being asked about settling down. I don’t think Dad is asking with any judgement, either, but I can sense Mum is holding her breath for my reply.

‘In the abstract, yeah,’ I offer. ‘Of course. I mean, Kate’s right about how you and Mum support each other. It’s pretty rare.’

‘Hard-agree,’ says Alex. ‘It’s a tough act to follow. Most men I date either don’t want to “settle down” or – and this is an awful thing to say, but it is my experience – see that I’m a doctor and think they can be the mainhome-maker while I go off to work. And I don’t want either of those things! A proper fifty–fifty set-up is—’

‘Elusive,’ offers Kate. ‘I think so, too. Laurie and I have to work at being equal, to be fair, but I think that’s half the battle: finding somebody who wants to figure that out with you. And, you know, it’s not always fifty–fifty, is it? Sometimes it’s twenty–eighty and sometimes it’s ninety-five–five, depending on what’s going on with everyone.’

‘But knowing it all works out in the end?’ offers Mum.

‘Exactly,’ says Kate. ‘God, we’re getting a bit deep and meaningful, aren’t we?’

‘It’s the pencils,’ says Alex sagely. ‘They’re a gateway to emotional honesty and peace.’

‘Well,’ says Dad, ‘I wouldn’t go that far. But I see where you’re coming from.’

‘You look nice.’

Jamie.

I’m in ‘our’ room, putting the finishing touches to my make-up. Adonis texted and said to come down to the beach. Kate and Laurie are having a lovebirds’ night and everyone else is chilling out here, but it feels like a waste of where we are to stay in again, since I stayed in last night, and the one before. Mum practically hit send on the text for me, she’s that eager for me togo out and enjoy yourself, darling. You’re only young once!

‘Thanks,’ I reply, looking at him in the reflection of the vanity mirror.

Neither of us speaks after that, but Jamie doesn’t leave.

‘Was there something you needed?’ I ask, when I can’t take the silence any longer.

He shakes his head. ‘No,’ he replies.

I nod, slipping lipstick into my bag and spinning round on the chair to stand up.

Jamie looks me up and down and smiles softly. ‘You lookreallynice,’ he reiterates.

I can’t quite find it in me to say something witty or self-deprecating even, so I give a shy smile and suddenly feel twenty levels of self-conscious. ‘Are you staying here?’ I ask.

He shrugs. ‘Jasmine said to meet down in the town, but …’

I wait for him to give me hisbut.He doesn’t.

‘Oh,’ I offer. ‘Well, I’m sure that would be …’

Jamie waits for me to give him my verdict. I don’t.

‘Yeah,’ he says. ‘I dunno.’

---