Page 41 of Kiss Me Ever After
We stopped in the supermarket. Justin insisted on paying, to say thank you for letting him stay, and urged me to get whatever food I wanted, plus any alcohol. Over the past few weeks, I’d become accustomed to picking the cheapest items, the ones on offer or the ones with the limited ‘use by’ date. It was actually quite difficult when I had free rein to choose anything I fancied. By the time we finished, I had piled the trolley high with all manner of goodies.
God only knew what Mum would say when we got back.
In all the excitement, I hadn’t given her a second thought. I had no idea how long she was planning to stay for or whether she intended going back to her parents. Still, the house was meant to be mine for the summer, so I thought I could invite anyone I wanted to stay.
“Is that you, Lennon?”
Shit, she was still there.
Justin followed me into the kitchen, bags in his hands. He dropped the groceries on the counter. “Afternoon, Mrs Cole. Lovely to see you again.”
Mum’s head swung between Justin and me before she fixed me with a glare. “What’s he doing here?”
Sensing the fight brewing, I stood tall and let out a breath. “Justin’s going to stay here for a few days.”
“Like hell he is.”
Ignoring her, I turned to Justin. “Why don’t you take your stuff upstairs to my room? You know where to go.”
“Sure you don’t need me here?” He tilted his head.
“No. I’ll come and find you in a bit.” I crossed my arms over my chest. Justin walked past me and tenderly kissed my temple. I could almost sense the anger rising in my mother.
“He can’t stay, Lennon.”
“Why not? I’m guessing you’re going back to Cornwall soon and I’ll be here alone. After the trauma I’ve been through, surely it would be good for me to have someone in the house.” I tried appealing to her.
“If you’re scared of being in the house on your own, I’m sure Sonya would be happy to have you. Or even Bryony.”
I screwed up my face. “Mum, Bryony’s my boss. Can you imagine living and working with someone twenty-four seven? And I couldn’t possibly ask her, I’ve only known her a few weeks.”
“Youmight have.” Mum’s fingers flew to her mouth after she’d spoken.
“What are you talking about? You only met her the other day.” When she didn’t respond straight away, a sense of apprehension swept over me. “You’ve never seen her before, right?”
Slowly, she shook her head. “Bryony and I were in college together. We’ve known each other for years. When she told me she was moving down here, we got in contact again. I helped her and Si get the cafe and when I knew they needed extra help over the summer…”
The dawning realisation I didn’t get this job on my own merit, and that somehow my mother had arranged the whole thing, brought a knot of anger to my chest. “Did you seriously believe I was so incapable that I couldn’t get my own job?” I spat.
Mum approached me, but I swung out of her way. “Lennon, it all happened so quickly with your dad being charged and the rug being pulled from under us. I didn’t want you left with nothing.”
“So you basically decided for me what I’d be doing.”
Suddenly, it all made sense. Mum didn’t have a clue when it came to social media. For her to have stumbled across a job on her news feed and brought it to my attention had been unexpected to say the least. But now I knew the truth, that she’d been in collusion with Bryony the whole time, I could see what had happened.
“I know the Blue Goose isn’t New York, darling, but at least it will help you get back to university in the autumn.”
“Who says I want to go back? I might stay here with Justin.” I pouted and folded my arms across my chest.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Lennon. What could he offer you?” She pursed her lips.
“Right now, a lot less betrayal than you have.” I stared her directly in the eye. “And I’d quite like it if you weren’t here much longer.”
With that, I turned on my heel and headed upstairs.
19
Justin
