Page 63 of Holiday Romance
“Alright!” Oliver claps his hands together, ushering us toward the back door. “All done.”
“You said—”
“Time to go!” he says cheerfully, turning back to set the alarm.
Andrew and I make a beeline for the yard where he gives me a leg up the wall. Twenty seconds later Oliver joins us and walks briskly down the lane, leaving us to follow. I glance a few times behind us, apparently just to make sure I look extra suspicious, but no one comes chasing after us and no sirens start blaring. We’re safe, even if Andrew is back to looking agitated again.
No one speaks until we reach the next street, at which point Oliver comes to a sudden stop, rubbing his hands together.
“Right then!” he says. “Thanks for that. Pub?”
Andrew shakes his head. “We’re going home.”
“What?” Oliver sounds aghast. “Why?”
“Because I don’t trust you tonight.”
“What are you talking about? It went fine.”
“We’re going to back to the house,” Andrew says firmly. “We’re up early.”
Oliver turns to me for backup but all I can offer is a sympathetic smile.
“Fine,” he sighs. “I guess I’ll go find some like-minded people.”
“You do that,” Andrew says, steering me firmly into the direction we came.
Oliver catcalls us for another few moments before he gives up and, when I glance over my shoulder, I see him walking the other way.
“That was kind of fun,” I say. Andrew only grunts. “Are all your family like that?”
“Just him.”
“All my family are boring. The only black sheep we have is my aunt who has an Etsy store for her bracelets.” He doesn’t answer and, not for the first time that evening, I find myself ticked off at his sudden change in attitude.
“Would you stop?” I ask. “I’ve never seen you this grumpy before.”
“I’m fine.”
“You sound like me,” I tell him. “What is it?”
He shakes his head, jaw still clenched tight as he glances back the way we came. “He could have gotten us into trouble. He should have told us what was going on.”
“He was just messing with you.”
“If the police had knocked on the door—”
“They would have contacted Lara,” I say. “It would have been fine.”
But it might not have been. It’s only then I realize what he means. By the time they contacted Lara, chances are we would be stuck in a police station somewhere, very much missing our window to get home. And while that hadn’t even occurred to me, of course, it would have been at the forefront of Andrew’s mind. Of course, he would have been worried about getting over another hurdle to see his family.
Guilt trickles through me as he opens the map on his phone, searching for the quickest way to Oliver’s place. My mind wavers for only an instant before I make it up.
“Why don’t we stay out?”
He doesn’t even spare me a glance. “You’re the one who wanted to stay in.”
“Yeah, but I’m awake now. And the night is young. Let’s go explore the city.”
