Page 46 of Promise Me Ever After
“Is there enough for me as well?”
“Sorry, Mum, probably not. I should have gone shopping yesterday.” I cracked the eggs into a bowl and started mixing them, keeping an eye out for shell.
“If you were planning on bringing someone home, then perhaps you should.” She let out a sigh.
I stopped what I was doing and turned my full attention to her. “It just happened. There wasn’t much planning involved.”
Honestly, I’d hoped it would happen, but I hadn’tplannedit. Waking up next to a woman hadn’t happened in alongtime. I usually did a runner before the girl in question woke up. And I rarely made anyone breakfast.
Mum put the coffee machine on. I could tell she wanted to talk, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear what she had to say.
“Come on, out with it.” I couldn’t bear it.
“Isn’t Georgie a bit, well, old for you?”
Laughter shot out of my mouth. “Really? That’s it? You’re worried about a four-year age gap?”
“A thirty-year-old woman will want different things. What if Georgie wants marriage and children? After all, her younger sister’s getting married soon. She’s probably thinking all those things should happen to her.”
I knew all about Georgie’s past relationships and how she really didn’t want to rush into anything this time around. Mum didn’t know that, and I wasn’t prepared to share it with her either.
I shrugged. “What if she does?”
“I’m not sure you’re in the same place in your life.”
“What? Because I still live at home with you? Justin and I were going to get our own place until Lennon came along, and we know how that ended up.”
Mum threw her hands in the air. “You can still have that, Alex. You know you don’t have to stay here and look after me.”
Her words rang true. I could still have moved out, got my own flat. But after Amber announced she was moving in with Curtis, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave Mum. Sure, it was a pretty sad state of affairs to be in, but it was comfortable… easy. With the hours I worked in the restaurant, coming back to a fully stocked fridge was a definite benefit. I helped out with cooking and always did my own laundry. Apart from paying Mum a monthly rent, she took care of everything else. I knew I was lucky and for the most part, enjoyed still being around the house. Guilt at leaving Mum on her own had been the thing which had stopped me, until now. I knew that I wanted more than one night with Georgie. I wanted to see if we could have a future together. One which would definitely involve me moving out.
“But after Amber moved in with Curtis, I didn’t want you to get lonely.”
She fixed me with a look. “Don’t you think I might like to bring a man home sometimes? Having two kids in the house isn’t exactly conducive to that!”
I shuddered. “Ugh. I don’t want to hear about your sex life.”
Her mouth pursed as if she were sucking a lemon. “Nor I yours. And after last night’s performance…”
I screwed up my eyes. Was I really having this conversation with my mother? Of all the embarrassing things to be talking about. “Sssshhhh. Don’t.”
Mum crossed the kitchen and enveloped me in a hug. “I want you to be sure, that’s all. Think about things before rushing into something. Go and talk to your sister for advice if it’s too weird talking to me.”
“As if I’d talk to her! It would be all over town in a matter of minutes.”
“Curtis, then. Talk to your friends, make sure it’s what you really want. And I’ll support you whatever you decide.” She released me, patting my shoulder. “Right, I’m going to get breakfast from The Blue Goose before work, so I’ll see you later.”
Once Mum had gone, I resumed my task of cooking breakfast and turned on the cooker. Our conversation swirled around in my head. I’d only had one — totally and utterly amazing — night with Georgie and I knew I needed more. She was smart, sassy, sexy, everything I wanted. But how could I tell her knowing about her stance on taking things slowly?
“Something smells delicious.” Georgie came into the kitchen wearing one of my hoodies. It swamped her body, finishing mid-thigh. She plucked at it. “Sorry. I didn’t have anything with me to wear and my dress isn’t exactly breakfast attire. I’ll wash it and get it back to you asap.”
I waved a hand. “Don’t worry, you can keep it as long as you want. I’ve got plenty.”
Georgie laughed. “Yeah, I saw by the stack in your wardrobe.” She went over to the coffee machine and helped herself to a mugful. “God, I need this right now.”
“Hangover?” I asked, only half an eye on her as I put the eggs into the pan.
She screwed up one eye. “Maybe a little. And other parts of me ache too.” She scraped her bottom lip with her teeth and fixed me with a long, lingering look.
