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“Hey…” His voice was a seductive rumble. “You finished with those idiots? Ready to come home?”

“Home?” I swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump in my throat and failing. “You mean to your place.”

“Potato, potahto,” he replied.

“Literally no one calls it a potahto… You know what, that doesn’t matter. I need to ask you something.”

“Go right ahead.” All the warmth was gone from his voice, replaced now by what I liked to call big daddy energy. “Are you OK? Where are you? What happened?”

“What was this morning?” I ignored his questions, focussing on what really needed to be discussed. “What was that… vibe?”

“In the shower?” he asked, wariness seeping into his tone.

“No, before that. We were in bed and you… then I…” I couldn’t even fucking say it, but he could.

“You know.” I wanted bluntness, and I got it right now. “You don’t want to, but you know. It’s why you jumped out of my bed like your arse was on fire. You were sticky, probably feeling gross, but no more than you were moments before. Something else got you out of bed.”

“I felt suffocated.” I could say that now, here, down the phone line, away from his penetrating gaze. “I felt smothered. Like you were becoming a part of me, taking me over.”

“Not that, babe. No one can do that, but a connection? Yeah, it was there. It’s always been there. When you started working for me, you were this kid: smart, quick learner, determined and I admired that. It’s why I kept you on, but then you grew up, into a bloody good mechanic, but more than that. A woman. Last night? It was everything I’ve fucking dreamed of for years and more besides. More than sex. More than coming, and you felt it too, otherwise why get scared? If I was just a dick to ride, then I was no threat. No, this morning, it was the start of something, something incredible if you’d just choose me.”

His voice broke then and so did my heart.

“Choose me, Jamie. Choose me.”

But I didn’t, did I? Not him, when I hung up, then ignored his calls. Not Hunter, his shadowy shape standing there, further up the path. Instead, I chose to ring an Uber, jumping in the backseat and avoiding all conversation until I got home. Then as I was walking up the stairs, I saw I had a call coming through.

“What?” I snapped. Couldn’t Brock see that I wasn’t ready for this? That I might never be? If this was real? If they wanted…? Why didn’t they talk to me about it at the start?

“That’s no way to speak to your mother!” Mum’s strident tones came down the phone line as my eyes fell closed. My head was hurting and all I wanted to do was fall face down on my bed and sleep for days. “Goodness sakes, you’d think you were raised by savages, not your father and I. We arrived safely, thanks for asking.”

“That’s good,” I replied weakly.

“I’m ringing about brunch tomorrow. I think it’d be lovely to have Brock join us.”

“I can’t…” You did not say that to Majorie ever, but the tears that bled into my tone must’ve stopped her tirade cold. “I can’t, Mum. I told you everything was casual, and when I talked about it with them… We broke up, OK. We broke up.”

I ended the call then, ignoring its buzz as I got inside. It was left in the kitchen, turned off and charging, as I stumbled into bed. I wrenched the dress up and over my head, tossing it to the floor with a wince, but I wasn’t concerned enough to do anything about it. I slipped under the covers, pulling them over my head until I was completely cocooned.

I used to do that when I was a kid, shutting out the world, making a safe space just for me. In bed, no one or nothing could hurt me. I said that over and over as I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 25

Jamie

I’d had a couple of glasses of wine, but I emerged from under the covers the next morning with a throbbing head, just like a hangover. I shuffled down the hallway and into the bathroom, and it took a long, hot shower to make me feel more human. When I went to go and grab coffee to complete the revival process, I found I had someone waiting for me. A tentative knock, that had me sighing and then walking to the front door to find an abashed Millie standing there.

“Here.” Coffee, sweet coffee, was shoved my way and I accepted it instinctively. “I’ve got croissants as well.” She held up a paper bag and I sighed after taking a sip.

“Nutella ones?” I asked.

“What the hell do you take me for? Of course they’re Nutella ones, now let me in. You know we’re going to talk through this, so let’s make a start.”

I stared at her for a second, wanting to be mad, sad, frustrated, but instead, when she smiled, I did too. It might’ve been a grudging one, but it was there. We’d been best friends for most of my life and that wasn’t going to stop now.

“The McDonald phone tree was activated last night, was it?” I asked as we both walked into my kitchen.

She grabbed a plate and tore open the bag, placing each pastry on it before offering me one. Part of me wanted to be wary of McDonalds bearing food, but the smell was way too enticing. I picked one up and took a bite, waiting for an answer.