Page 35 of Saving Ren
Still not wanting to speak to the mouthy fucker, I nod.
“Why don’t you go around there later and drop off the key to Gardener Street and tell her to look at it whenever she’s ready?”
“Because she’s already told me she can’t afford it till she gets a job.”
“What sort of job does she want? Weren’t you looking for someone to run your office for you?” Cooper asks me, then questions Jack.
“My sister’s moved down. She’s looking after Finn and helping me out with ordering and accounts and shit while she finishes college.”
“Lauren’s an interior designer, I said we might have some work for her at the new apartment block, but that won’t help her out right now,” I explain.
“Dude, that is fucking spooky. My redhead is an interior designer too. . . at least that’s what she wanted to do after Uni.”
“Yeah? Well, don’t go getting any ideas. . .”
“Not interested, mate,” he cuts me off. “I’ve got enough on my plate with work and keeping up with my kid.” Jack holds his hands up in surrender as he responds to my comment.
“Yeah, I’ve got all of that shit happening too. That’s why I should be staying the fuck away, not chasing after her.”
Jack shrugs and chews on his bottom lip. “You need to work out what’s gonna hurt more, dealing with the drama she comes with or the regret of not having tried?”
“Where does Jo live again?” I ask Cooper without even a moment’s hesitation.
* * *
I decideto give Lauren the day to unpack her stuff and get settled at Jo’s before rocking up unannounced.
The weather’s dark and gloomy, the surf too lumpy to take my board out, so after a quick chat with Ava on the phone, I’d spent the afternoon just lying on my sofa wondering what the actual fuck I was doing with my life.
Jo hasn’t called me back like she’d said she would on the phone earlier, and although I’d pulled both hers and Lauren’s numbers up on my screen, I hadn’t had the balls to actually call either of them and say that I’d be dropping a key over.
Hoping not to come across as too desperate, I stop off at the bottle shop and pick up a decent bottle of Prosecco as a gift for the girls to celebrate their temporary living situation with.
Jo lives in a gorgeous single-story place off the esplanade that we’d done a complete reno job on for her a couple of years ago. Turning off the beach road and onto a dirt track, I notice a Land Cruiser parked on the in and out drive and assume it must be Lauren’s.
I pull my truck up behind the cruiser, rehearsing in my head what I’m going to say to explain my uninvited appearance. Wiping my palms on my jeans, I grab the bottle of drink, climb out the cab, and make my way to the front door.
Stepping back so the entryway camera can pick me up and I don’t freak the girls out, I press the doorbell. It takes a few moments, but Jo eventually pulls the door open.
“Gabe?” She wears a frown on her face as she says my name like a question. For a split second, I regret coming here, but I brush it aside, lean one shoulder against the door frame, and give Jo my best smile.
“Hey, Jo. Was wondering if I could have a quick word with Lauren?”
“Huh! Okay. I’m not sure. . .” She pauses, studying me for a moment. “Talk to me, Gabe. What’s going on here? Why the interest in my girl? With the greatest respect to you and your past conquests, but she is not your usual one and done type.”
I consider bullshitting her with the key and Prosecco story, instead, I respect Jo’s blunt approach and respond with my own.
“I really fucking like her, Jo. I haven’t stopped thinking about her since last night. You heard her on the phone, she doesn’t want a bar of me but I. . .”
“She does, she likes you, she’s just got a lot going on, Gabe, like seriously. A. Lot.”
“I saw the bruises, I worked that out for myself.”
“You saw the bruises?” she asks, her arms folding across her chest, as she moves to the middle of the door to block my entry.
“Last night. Her makeup rubbed off when you were dancing. I noticed bruises along her jaw, then on her wrist when she was pulling her jacket on. I want to help her out, Jo. . .” I step back from the door and hold my arms out to the side. “I don’t fucking know, I’ve no idea what I’m doing. I just know I want to see her again.”
Raking her fingers through her long hair, she tosses it over one shoulder and gathers it over the other. When her brown eyes meet mine, I know she’s made her decision.
