Page 272 of The Long Way Home

Julian rolls his eyes, not loving the conversation.

I like it though.

I remember him from school. Felt a bit like a god. He was so good at rugby. People used to compare me to him when I started to play. That was a good feeling because he was the best. He was the best. Then I came along and I was better.

“Gross,” Daisy says, recognising her brother’s discomfort. “So when she was 11, you were 18.” She pulls a face.

“We weren’t naffing then!” Julian says, proper annoyed now.

Magnolia laughs and stands up, points to the kitchen.

“Wine?”

She doesn’t wait for anyone to agree, she just walks on in.

She’s leaning against the kitchen bench when I walk in after her.

“Need a hand?” I ask loudly to cover my tracks. She doesn’t. She knows where to find it.

She’s not in here for the wine. She’s in here because she knows I’ll follow her. I’ll always follow her.

She stares over at me, eyes heavy. I have this impulse just to tell her now, but it’s not how I want to do it. I want to tell her by ourselves, just us. Dunstan’s, maybe? I wonder if I could get her to take a drive with me this week? Maybe up to Dartmouth together. So I say nothing, even though I want to say everything and bite down on my lip to keep quiet. Shove my hands through my hair and walk towards her.

Pull out her favourite rosé from the wine fridge that she’s standing in front of, have to move her legs to the side to get to it. Grateful for the chance to graze them, even if it’s just for a half a second. Pour her a glass. Hand it to her.

“Good top.” I nod at the grey one she’s wearing.

She looks down at herself, pleased. “You like it?”

I nod once. “Love it, actually.”

She looks up at me, eyes a bit startled but I hold them anyway. Hope she gets my point.

Her mouth falls open a bit. I think about just kissing her — I could do it. She wouldn’t stop me. I’m in the clear. Maybe I will. I take a step towards her—

Then there’s a knock on the doorframe. Both look over to Julian filling it.

He glances between us, frowning. Doesn’t look angry how I thought he might. He does look something though.

“Hey—” She smiles big, pushes past me to get to him.

“I gotta go,” he says, waves his phone. “Work thing came up.”

“Oh.” She frowns. “Okay. I’ll come?”

“No—” He shakes his head quickly. “No, um, you stay here. I’ll leave Kekoa. He’ll take you home.”

Kekoa. Julian’s main bodyguard. That’s weird.

“Oh, no.” She shakes her head airily. “I’ll just grab a taxi.”

“No,” Julian says, sharper than he meant to, I reckon. Catches it, touches her face in a way that I hate. “You stay here. Have fun.”

Jo walks into the kitchen, clocks me, smiles down at Parks. “I’m going to come stay at your place tonight anyway,” he says.

“Oh.” She nods.

That’s not a weird thing. Jo stays there all the time but Parks isn’t an idiot and something’s clearly amiss.