Page 69 of Never Tell Secrets

“You have popcorn?” I could not envision Alfie eating popcorn.

“I have no idea, but I could get some.”

“I don’t think we should watch a film.”

“Why?”

My hands twisted in front of me, unsure how to explain it without laughing. “Because people never make it to the end. It usually goes how it went the last time we tried to watch a film.” I raised my brows, smiling as he caught my meaning. The last time we’d tried to watch a film together it had ended with him doing unspeakable things to me.

“Yeah, we wouldn’t want that.” Everything in his eyes told me that’s absolutely what he wanted. That was a road we shouldn’t go down.

“I’m pretty tired.”

“Liar,” he said so sharply I flinched. “If you need space from me, just say so.”

“Okay, I need space from you. But you look exhausted, you should sleep.”

“I have work to do.” His expression eased into something softer. “Explore the house as you wish. Eat, take a bath, use the cinema yourself if you want, I won’t disturb you. If you need anything, press the intercom in any of the rooms, Ada will respond.”

“Alfie, you need to rest.”

“I need a lot of things I can’t have,” he muttered so softly I wasn’t sure he meant for me to hear. “I’ll rest later. Don’t worry about me.” He reached out one hand to cup my face. Once again, that dread crept up my spine and I stiffened, warding him away. He backed off, clearing his expression. “Ask Ada about her ice cream stash. I’m sure she’ll be happy to share.”

I watched him disappear up the stairs, fighting the urge to go after him. As soon as he was gone, my stomach grumbled. I guess I was hungrier than I thought, being around Alfie these days had a tendency to suppress my appetite. I kicked my shoes off and went in search of the kitchen.

I found it, only getting lost once. I searched the cupboards, trying to find something easy but everything was so damned fancy. I couldn’t even pronounce half of this stuff.

“Looking for something?”

I gasped and spun on my heel. “Ada! I’m sorry, I was hungry and Alfie said?—”

“Of course, what would you like?” She smiled, wrapping her dressing gown closer around her.

“Something tasty and simple.”

“I’ve got it.” She went to a cupboard and pulled out a bag of pancake mix. Suddenly, pancakes were absolutely what I wanted. “How was your evening?”

“Beautiful, actually.”

“I’m glad to hear it, and I’m glad you came back, I was hoping I’d get to see you again. How is he?”

“Tired,” I said, thinking of the care-worn man working away in his office right now. I felt guilty for not watching a film with him, guilty for a million things that weren’t my fault. These were the consequences of his actions, I had to remind myself of that.

“That’s nothing new,” she said, pouring the mix into a pan, “and how are you?”

“I’m fine,” I answered immediately, she gave me a smile over her shoulder.

“Lola, I know that we don’t know each other very well, but I have a very good pair of shoulders that are excellent for leaning on. If you need them.”

“I appreciate that,” I said, keeping my tone even.

“But you aren’t going to take me up on the offer?” she pushed, I held her gaze. Okay, I guess we were going to have this conversation now.

“With all due respect, you work for Alfie. Which means that anything I say is likely to be fed back to him.”

She folded her arms. “I would never do anything to hurt you.”

“Do you know how many times Alfie said that same shit to me?” I sighed, wondering how this beautiful night had taken such a left turn. “Those smell really good.” I nodded at the batter sizzling in the pan.