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“No, I do not want to slap you. But I am pissed, Fe. What the hell? You can’t mess with people’s lives like that!”

“I know,” Fe cried. “I fucked up. After I caught you on the kitchen floor—killer tits, by the way—Halle lost it. Once you’d gone, she got so mad. But the next day she came to mine, and we talked. I apologised, but I said I was still uncomfortable with you being with each other. And then we missed your surgery, and that was it.”

“What do you mean? And please don’t talk about my tits again.” Lydia was trying hard to keep everything straight in her head.

“After you told her you wanted to go back to when you were barely friends, Halle came storming in. The kids were with Mum, thank God, because I’ve never seen her so angry and upset. She said I’d ruined her life. Her chance at love.”

“Jesus.”

“She’s right. Lydia, is there any chance you feel the same for her?”

“Fe, I really don’t want to talk about this.”

“Okay, I get it. But if there is, could you find it in yourself to talk to her? I can’t be responsible for making her miserable.”

“And I can’t talk to her just to assuage your guilt, Fe. I need time. I made a promise to myself to cut the crap and start looking out for myself better.”

“Absolutely, I think that’s great. Just don’t rule it out. You might not be where she is, but I know you like her. You wouldn’t have risked catching some sort of disease off the floor if you didn’t like her.”

Lydia flushed. “The floor was clean. And that’s not the point.”

“You also look at her funny.”

“I do not.”

“Yes, you do. I’ve seen you ogle her plenty of times.”

“Well, she’s hot. Jesus, Fe, I’m only human.”

The conversation was way out of hand. Lydia had come here for a roast dinner, not a deep dive analysis of her love life.

“Do you forgive me?” Fe was clutching her mug so hard Lydia was afraid she’d break it.

“Yes, I forgive you, but it’s going to take a little longer to forget. I understand there are some issues lingering from when we were kids that you need to work through, but you messed up, Fe.”

“I know.”

“I’ll think about everything. I don’t want to see Halle hurting. But I need to be a little selfish too. For now, I think it’s best if we keep yours and my relationship separate from mine and Halle’s.”

Fe crossed her heart. “I’ll keep out of it, I promise.”

“Okay. Right. Is everything out in the open? Are we ready to move on?”

“I’ve told you everything.”

“I need to tell you about running into Clark then!” Thankful for the change of subject, Lydia relayed her conversation with Fe’s ex-husband. Or soon to be.

Chapter 15

“This… was… a… terrible… idea!”

“I couldn’t agree more, sweetie. Are you alright? You’re looking a little red over there.”

“No… I… think… I’m… dying.”

“Then stop, you tit. No one is making you run, Lyds. Why the hell are you running, anyway? I thought your boobs were a health hazard?”

“They are… hang on a sec.” Lydia stopped her jog/shuffle so she could bend over and rest her hands on her thighs. Head down, she did her best to draw in some much-needed oxygen. “I bought a new sports bra.” Panting, Lydia could feel the stitch forming as she spoke. “Thought it would be a good plan to get fit.”