Page 47 of Not So Happily Ever After (British Bad Boys)
Jesus, did she tell him about us?
She pulls back, her hands sliding along my biceps. There’s a haunted expression in her beautiful eyes, and I forget about Lucas and any justified repercussions of the weekend.
“Hey.” I stroke her cheek with my finger. “What’s happened?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t even know where to start.”
I’ve no clue what the problem is. How muchcouldhappen in two hours? “The beginning?”
“I don’tknowthe beginning.” She takes a deep breath. “I just found out Dad and Margo are…together.”
Shock zaps through me. I’ve known Margo for as long as I’ve known Lucas. Even before their mum died, Margo was around. It doesn’t seem likely. “You sure about that?”
“Theytoldme. Can you believe they’ve been, you know, foreight months?”
“They didn’t tell anyone for eight months?” Then again, no one knows about Mac and me hooking up a couple of years ago.
There’s a big fucking difference between her dad and Margo, and Mac and me.
“Iknow. They said they didn’t want to upset me. Like I’m a stupid kid or something.”
“Yeah, but Lucas didn’t know.” There’s no way he wouldn’t have told me that.
“True,” she concedes. “Anyway, I phoned him and Harry to clue them in, and guess what? Lucas said Violet always thought there was something between Dad and Margo. I mean,whatthe ever-loving fuck? How would she guess that? She’s onlymetthem a few times.”
“Beats me.”
“At least the photo wasn’t as bad as I was imagining. They were just kissing. But you know.Kissing-kissing. There’s no way you’d mistake that for a friendly peck on the cheek kind of thing.”
I’ve no idea what photo she’s talking about, but I get the general idea. “Could’ve been worse, then.”
“It’s just…I don’t know. It feelswrong. Like a line’s been crossed.”
The way everyone would condemn what I’m doing with Mac as wrong. Because I sure as hell have crossed the line. Guilt snakes through me and, with it, empathy for Margo.
“At least you know her.”
“Huh?” She frowns, obviously not on my wavelength.
“He could’ve hooked up with anyone, Mac. Imagine if he was dating some twenty-year-old chick.”
“That’sdisgusting.” She glares at me. “My dad wouldn’t do anything like that.”
“That’s just an example. I mean, look. It doesn’t mean he’s stopped loving your mum, just because he’s found someone else.”
She presses her lips together and scrunches her nose, the way she always does when she’s trying to accept something she doesn’t want to. Her tense muscles slowly relax. “I know you’re right. And I want Dad to be happy. Because he hasn’t been. Not really.” She heaves a sigh, and I wrap my arm around her waist to let her know that I’m here for her.
“You think you’ll be okay with Margo?”
“Yeah.” She gives me a reluctant smile. “I’m not going to give her a hard time. She was always there for us after Mum passed. I mean, she loved her like a sister. I still think it’s all freaky weird, but I’ll get over it.”
“Good.”
“Only because it’s Margo. I’d need bloody therapy if Dad was dating someone younger than me. Seriously, Will. Thanks for that. I need to scrub my brain with bleach now.”
“You think that’s bad? Try having your mother seeing a guy who’s twenty years younger than her.” What the hell? I haven’t even told Lucas about Jeremy fucking Jones. I try not to think about him unless we’re in the same room together.
Her eyes widen. “Your mum’s…?” She doesn’t finish the question, just gapes as though she can’t quite believe what I just said. And since I can’t take it back, I shrug.
