Page 2

JEM

It’s less than an hour after I’ve left her when Dee appears in the office.

No great surprise there.

I knew she wouldn’t be able to stay in that room all by herself. She seems to thrive on other people’s energy and will have been going slowly stir-crazy on her own.

From the moment I met her, she’s rubbed me up the wrong way.

There’s just something about her attitude to life that gets my blood up.

She may be an intelligent, attractive woman, like her sister, but she has none of Bea’s emotional maturity and is very happy for other people to pick up the pieces she scatters around her as she bulldozers through life.

I can’t stand selfishness, and she epitomises it. All she ever seems to do is take advantage of Bea’s kindness and I’m sick of it.

I sigh and shoot her a resigned look as she inches into the room. ‘Do you need something?’ I ask, trying to hide my irritation.

She shrugs and gives me a cocky smile back, which I’m sure works wonders on all the guys she charms on a day-to-day basis, but totally fails to have any impact on me.

‘Just thought I’d stretch my legs. It’s a bit tedious, sitting around in Bea’s bedroom staring at the wall.’

‘Well, I’m really busy and I need to concentrate, so can you stretch them somewhere else please.’ I don’t make it a question.

There’s a short, tense pause. ‘Yeah, sure. I just thought I’d see if I can help you with anything. I could check Bea’s emails or something?’ she says.

‘No thanks. I’ve already done it.’

I continue to type. I just want her gone so I can focus on my work.

After a few more beats of silence, she asks, ‘What’s keeping you so busy today?’

‘Programming.’

Another pause.

‘What language do you programme in?’

I sigh and rub a hand over my eyes. So she’s not leaving then. ‘Python,’ I say, my tone short.

‘I’m sure there’s a trouser-snake joke in there somewhere,’ she says with a grin.

I shake my head, supressing a smile. ‘Do me a favour and refrain from telling it.’

Her grin morphs into a frown and she huffs in frustration. ‘Okay, Captain Code. I was just trying to lighten the mood.’

‘I don’t need light, I need peace,’ I quip, turning back to stare at my screen.

But Dee is clearly determined to get the recognition she craves.

Limping over to me, she sits on the edge of my desk and rests her swollen foot on the arm of my spinny office chair.

I ignore the blatant play for attention.

‘Are you sure I can’t help with anything?’ she asks, using what she obviously considers to be her most charming tone of voice.

My skin rushes with heat as her citrusy scent hits my nose.

‘You can help by taking your foot off my chair,’ I say, determinedly not looking at her as I try to get my perplexing reaction under control.

‘I’m supposed to keep it elevated.’

‘Yes, above your heart. You’re not going to achieve that by sitting on my desk. You should go back to your room and lie on the bed with your leg propped up.’

I sense her scowling at the side of my head, but I don’t react.

Clearly this doesn’t sit well because she gives the arm of my chair a couple of gentle nudges in retaliation at my unfriendliness.

I continue to ignore her, pretending I’m not even feeling the jolts.

‘I thought you’d brought me back here so you can play the hero and tell Bea you’ve looked after me while I’m in pain,’ she says in a teasing tone. ‘Contempt isn’t a very heroic trait.’

Glancing at her now, I raise an incredulous eyebrow, then shake my head and look away again.

I think I can actually feel the irritation crackling in the air around her.

It may be a little childish, but I take a weird kind of satisfaction in it.

She’s so easy to wind up because she hates not being the centre of attention all the time.

Bea thinks she acts this way because she says their father always treated Dee like she’s second best and for some reason, she feels guilty about this.

I can’t say I’ve ever seen any need for it, but what do I know? I’m an only child, so I’ve never experienced sibling rivalry.

Honestly, I think Dee’s just a natural-born attention seeker.

My vision of the computer screen is momentarily blocked when she leans across the desk to pick up the empty mug next to me.

‘Dee! For God’s sake. I’m trying to bloody work here!’ I snap before I can check myself. The disruption of having her in here has made me feel a little wired and my blood seems to be pumping at double its usual rate through my veins.

‘Jeez, Jem. You don’t need to be such a grouch,’ she counters.

‘You’re like a bloody cat, trying to climb all over my keyboard for attention,’ I say, aiming for levity.

‘Are you implying I’m a nuisance?’ she says with a sting of hurt in her voice, sliding off the desk and sucking in a sharp breath as her ankle appears to give her pain. ‘Because I was actually about to go and make you a cup of tea. So there’s no need to be unkind.’

I watch her limp away from me with my empty cup dangling from one finger, while she presses her other hand against the wall for support as she hobbles back to the door.

I experience a twinge of shame. Bea would not be happy with me if she could hear how short I was being with her sister when she’s clearly in a lot of pain.

That’s one of the things I love about Bea, her generosity and kindness. She’s my ideal woman – not that I’d tell her that, not right now, anyway. It would make things too weird between us, especially as we’re working together. But maybe one day…

There’s a clattering sound from the kitchen, which drags me right out of my thoughts. What the hell is Dee doing in there?

Well, whatever it is, I’m going to let her get on with it while I get back to doing some work. There’s still a lot of engineering to be done on this software before it’s in a workable enough state to demonstrate to prospective customers – assuming we ever get through on a bid to pitch to them.

It’s a risk, starting a business instead of getting a job with a firm right after university, but I prefer the idea of keeping control over the work I do, and I’ll never get rich working for someone else. Unless I get really lucky.

After growing up in a household where we were always watching the pennies, I’d love to be in a position one day to be able to afford anything I want, without having to work out what I’d have to give up in order to have it.

It would also take a lot of stress off me if I felt confident that I could pay for my mum’s ongoing and increasingly complex care needs in the assisted-living flat I’ve managed to get her into as well.

We’ve already sold the family home my dad left her in his will in order to pay for it up till this point, but that money isn’t going to last for much longer.

It blew my mind to find out just how expensive care is for someone suffering with Alzheimer’s.

The worry about how I’m going to pay for it is starting to keep me up at night and I was so tired this morning, I overslept and didn’t even have time to shave.

Pushing away the heavy, sinking feeling in my chest, I focus back on the screen and resume typing for a few moments, but my concentration is shot.

Perhaps a break and a cup of tea would help.

If Dee really is making me one, she’s going to need help carrying it back in here. I can’t imagine she’s going to be able to hop back to my desk without it splashing all over her.

I can imagine her trying it though, just to prove some kind of point, and the last thing I need right now is to have to take her back to A&E with burns.

Jumping up from my chair, I make for the door, but just as I swing it open and start to walk through the doorway, Dee appears right in front of me, heading back into the office.

As I predicted, she’s carrying a cup of tea in one hand whilst using the other to steady herself against the wall. The surprise of my sudden appearance sets her off balance and she jerks away from me, shouting, ‘Whoa!’

Unfortunately, this wild movement causes some of the hot tea in the mug to slosh over the rim and up into the air, then splatter down onto the front of my shirt.

There’s a split second where I don’t feel anything but the pressure of the liquid as it soaks the material against my skin, but the burning heat of it immediately follows and I let out a yelp of alarm.

Tugging my shirt out from where it’s tucked into my trousers, I yank it up and over my head before the tea has time to scald me too badly.

I’m vaguely aware of Dee hopping quickly away from me while I swipe any remaining liquid from my skin with the dry sleeve of my shirt.

Dee returns a few moments later and the next thing I know, I’m taking a glassful of liquid right to my face.

Too stunned for a second to react, I just stand there, agape, as the cold water runs off my chin and down my chest.

At least it’s taking away any remaining sting from the hot tea.

Dee is also just standing there, frozen, clutching an empty glass in one hand, with her jaw hanging open and her eyes wide with what appears to be horror.

That’s a new look for her.

‘Shit! Jem, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t expecting you to be there. You made me jump. Are you okay?’

‘I’ve been better,’ I mutter through clenched teeth.

She actually looks chastened and her gaze drops from my face to my chest.

A strange sort of gurgling sound emanates from her and her eyes seem to widen. ‘I had no idea you were so fit,’ she says in a strangled-sounding voice.

‘Really? That’s the comment you’re going to make when you’ve just scalded me with hot tea?’ I’m not sure why her compliment aggravates me so much, but it does.

Maybe because I suddenly feel exposed, standing here half-naked in front of her. I fold my arms across my chest, just below where my skin is still stinging a little from the burn. Looking down, I see it’s only a bit pink and so a pretty minor injury, thank goodness.

‘Sorry. I really am sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable about, you know, your body, on top of everything else,’ she whispers.

Huh.

This is a totally different Dee to the cocky, self-centred one I’m used to seeing. When I look back into her eyes, I see with a shock that they’ve welled with tears.

‘Hey, don’t worry about it,’ I say on reflex, giving a small shrug. I feel bad now for being so snappy.

There’s an uncomfortable pause where she blinks hard, trying to clear the tears.

God, this is weird. And uncomfortable. My heartrate seems to have picked up again and I can feel my pulse throbbing in my throat.

‘Important to exercise when you’re sitting at a desk all day,’ I say gruffly, to break the tense silence. ‘I go climbing at the wall, so I need to be fit for that too.’

‘Oh, right. Yeah. I guess so,’ she says. ‘Well, I didn’t mean to get so personal. I think it was the shock that made me blurt out the first thing that came into my head.’ Her gaze isn’t meeting mine now.

She’s embarrassed.

Another first.

‘I didn’t mean anything by it,’ she says, still staring at my chest. ‘It was just an observation. You’re always wearing such baggy shirts so I’ve never really thought about your body before.’

There’s another weird, tense pause while we both digest what she’s just said.

‘Um… er… anyway. Do you need anything to put on that burn?’ she asks brightly now, apparently determined to pretend there’s nothing strange going on here. ‘A cold flannel or something?’

She’s still not looking me in the eye and a strange kind of prickly shiver runs over my whole body.

What the hell?

‘Er. No. I’m fine. The water you threw all over me did the job,’ I say, trying to keep my own tone light now.

‘Okay. Good.’ Another awkward pause. ‘Do you have another shirt to wear? Or should I put this one in the wash? Bea might have a big jumper you can borrow for a bit. I could look in her wardrobe.’

‘Don’t worry. I have my gym kit with me, so I’ve got a t-shirt I can put on.’

She just nods once, then starts to hobble back away from me.

Finally looking me in the eye, she says, ‘Well I’ll leave you to it then.

I’ll stay in my room so you don’t need to worry about me attacking you with any more tea.

’ She flashes me a smile now and I see the old mischievous Dee has returned.

Which I’m relieved about. I was feeling really odd about seeing her so unsure of herself.

She limps away without another word and I stare after her for a moment before going back into the office, pulling my gym t-shirt out of my bag and putting it on. The burn prickles a little as the material brushes my skin, but I ignore it.

I also ignore the squirming heat in my belly.

After making myself a fresh cup of tea, I sit back at my desk and stare at the screen with unseeing eyes until I finally manage to pull myself together and get back to work, pushing away a lingering, unsettled sort of feeling in my chest.