Page 76 of The London Girls
She glanced sideways, imagining her brother beside her, remembering when it had just been the two of them, racing over the grass, leaving the others for dead as she tried her hardest to keep up with him.
‘Come on, Liv, go faster!’ he yelled into the wind. ‘Don’t let them catch you.’
She dared not look over her shoulderfor fear of wobbling and falling off, but Pete had said the one thing he knew would make her accelerate. She didn’t want to be second to anyone but him; she wanted to do everything as well as he could, be better than her other brothers.
It was her and Pete against the world.
She leaned down lower as he pulled ahead of her, her heart pounding as she fought against her fear and went faster still, not caring about the wind whipping her hair from her face or the mud flying up from below and splattering her trousers. She didn’t care that her mother was going to scream like someone had been murdered when they arrived home, or that she’d forbid her from joining her brothers again.
Pete looked back at her, his smile stretching his face wide as she almost caught up with him again, as they left the other two in the dirt behind them.
It was the best day of her life.
Olivia smiled as she relived her memories. Pete was coming home soon, and no matter how bad his injuries, no matter what he’d been through, there was nothing she wouldn’t do for him. Just like there’d been nothing he wouldn’t do for his tomboy sister who’d spent her entire life trailing one step behind him.
She turned one of the final corners and accelerated, the wind whipping harder against her face and leaving her with a smile that had been absent for too long.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
AVA
‘Hello, stranger.’
Ava leaned in the doorway to George’s office, pleased to see the surprised look on his face when he looked up. She’d toyed with the idea of coming all morning, almost changing her mind even on the walk here, but she was pleased she’d followed through.
‘Ava!’ George stood, his eyes darting over her face. ‘I can’t believe you’re here. Please tell me you didn’t walk all this way in your condition?’
‘Well, I was actually waiting for you to come and visit me, but when you never did I figured I’d come and see you instead.’ When his cheeks turned visibly pinker, she smiled. She was used to men admiring her and fawning over her, but George was different. George had seemed permanently immune to her charms, and she certainly hadn’t ever seen him in a romantic light, but there was something about how stable he was, how dependable, that she was starting to appreciate. She only hoped she hadn’t irritated him so much that he couldn’t see past her flaws now.
‘I’m sorry, Ava, it’s been impossible to get away from work for even a moment.’ He sighed and folded his arms. ‘But it’s great to see you today, even if I’m not convinced you should be out of bed yet after barely a week of rest.’
‘It’s fine. I didn’t exactly look my best with my head all bandaged, so it was probably good you didn’t see me.’
George nodded, taking a few steps closer to her and slowly lifting his hand. ‘Your face,’ he said, hesitating before skimming her temple with his fingertips. ‘Even after all these days.’
‘Nothing but scrapes and bruises,’ she said, but her voice caught in her throat and came out much more quietly that she would have liked.George? I’m getting giddy over George?
He pulled his hand back and stuck it in his pocket, but she could tell he was still studying her face. No matter how hard she tried to disguise it, she was missing hair around her ear where it had been shaved off to deal with her wound, and there was a large scab on her bottom lip and scrapes on her cheek and above her eye. Suddenly she was conscious of how terrible she looked, wishing she hadn’t come to see him while she was looking such a fright.
‘If something had happened to you ...’
‘Somethingdidhappen to me,’ she quipped.
‘Ava! I’m serious. If the crash had been worse or if you’d lost your life, I never would have forgiven myself for sending you out that night.’
She sighed. This time it was she searching George’s face. ‘I was doing my job, George. You couldn’t have stopped me if you’d tried – and actually, from my recollection, youdidtry!’
‘Would you join me for a walk?’ he asked, surprising her. ‘I could do with some fresh air and I’m not expecting anything urgent to arise in the next fifteen or so minutes.’
She nodded. ‘Of course.’
The weather was chilly, but she was wearing a warm coat and scarf, and she had gloves on to help stave off the cold. Thankfully the sun was doing its best to peek through the clouds, which made it less grim than it had been earlier.
George held out his arm and she took it without thinking, looping hers through as they strolled. It suddenly felt like the most natural thing in the world to be spending time with him.
‘How are you, really?’ he asked. ‘You can tell me, Ava. You must be in terrible discomfort still.’
‘Actually, that’s why I wanted to talk to you,’ Ava said.
