Page 33 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
James shook his head. “Mike’s messaging about something.”
“At this hour?”
“Yeah, well, there’s a lot going on right now.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
He should just change his last name to Bond, she thought. “So, are we going to go to Daniel’s fortieth birthday party in July?”
James sighed. “I’m not thinking about that, it’s ages away.”
“It’ll be a bit of craic, James. And, like, he’s your brother – it’d be wrong not to go.”
“We’re not like your family, Daisy. We’re just not that close.” James tore off some naan bread and started to chew.
“So think of it as a fun weekend in London. We can plan some stuff, see a show. We haven’t been away in forever and we can definitely afford –”
“Daisy, please!” James said. “Sorry, look, can we talk about it nearer the time?”
“Absolutely. No worries.” She tried not to look disappointed. Why had she even bothered? It would be exactly the same then. She wished he’d make more of an effort with his family – he couldn’t be happy with the way things were.
Or maybe she was completely self-deluded, and James was simply unhappy withher.
“James, we’re okay, aren’t we?” She looked at him.
“Yeah, we’re okay.” When Daisy said nothing, he sighed. “I just can’t play happy families at the moment. I’m sorry, I don’t expect it to make sense.
Daisy felt a familiar twinge of panic. Was he talking about his own family – or the two of them? Now she thought about it, he had never hinted that he wanted more from their relationship. She had always been reluctant to talk about their future, terrified that they might discover they wanted totally separate things. It didn’t matter that they’d been together for five years, or that they owned a house – they’d never sat down to discuss what they actually wanted. Instead, they’d sort of drifted along, and she’d just assumed they’d wanted the same thing. She’d heard of people who’d been together for twice as long as them, but assoon as one person had The Talk, the other person broke it off. What if James wasn’t in this for the long haul?
And what ifnotasking meant she was about to miss another sign, experience another sliding-door moment in her life?
Or was she overthinking everything? Here they were, enjoying an evening out. Tonight wasn’t about deep, philosophical questions or puzzling over signs and sliding-door moments. It was about the two of them being together and having fun.
She tried to think. Sex: it would be the perfect end to the night. Because when it was good between them, it was actually pretty good. Surreptitiously, she checked there were no bits of spinach stuck between her teeth before flashing James what she hoped was a seductive smile.“I think I have a fairly good idea what you’d like to do when we get home!”
James looked at her gratefully. “Really?” He ran a hand through his hair. “Is it okay if we leave now?”
“Totally okay.” She felt a little zing of happiness, as he motioned for the bill.
As they left the restaurant, she said: “Is it bad to hope Alma is out for the night?”
James laughed. “I don’t know why you’re worried about Alma being there. It won’t matter. I never evenhearher when I’m in the office – she’s actually pretty thoughtful.”
“In your office?”
“Yeah, in my office. Where I work.” He looked at her. “Are you sure you’re okay, Daisy? Because you’re acting a bit ... off.”
“Yeah, no, all good.” Daisy cleared her throat. He was going home towork?That’swhat he’d assumed she was talking about? He flashed her a quick smile, but she thought she heard him suppress a sigh.
CHAPTER 15
MyStarScope Taurus:You are going through a transitionary period, but today is a good day to find the balance between the life you lead alone and your partnership with someone close.
“So, you get why I wanted you to see Claire’s house?”
Daisy and Matt were sitting at a small table in a café in Sutton the following week, after Daisy’s former client had given them both a tour of her redesigned late-nineteenth-century home.
