‘No. She reminds me—’
‘Of Theo,’ I finish for him.
‘No.’ He glances at me. ‘She reminds me of you.’
‘Oh.’
‘She takes after Theo too, but mostly it’s you. She has your hazel eyes and your dark-blond hair. And your smile…’ He searches my face, then his eyes come to rest on mine. ‘She’s lovely.’
‘Oh,’ I say again, feeling heat creep up my body. ‘Look, you’re still at the top.’
I don’t know how many more times I’m going to be capable of switching our conversation back to lighter territory.
‘Dad said you still had some growing to do,’ I add with a pang. ‘He was right. Hey, we should mark you on again now!’
He laughs down at me.
‘Come on, Dad would’ve liked that.’ I hurry away and dig a marker pen out of the drawer. ‘Up against the wall,’ I command.
He lifts an eyebrow at me teasingly.
I roll my eyes and push him backwards, my stomach somersaulting at the feeling of his hard chest beneath my palms. What he must look like with his shirt off… I shake my head quickly, trying to expel the thought. His back hits the larder wall and I step up on my tiptoes.
‘I don’t think I’m going to be able to reach. I don’t have shoes on.’
‘I noticed,’ he says in a low murmur.
‘Seriously, I can’t see over the top of your head.’
He very slowly bends his knees and slides down the wall.
I stare at him and then crack up laughing.
‘I think that defeats the purpose,’ I say when I’ve recovered.
The light level is low, but his eyes are definitely sparkling.
He straightens up again as I drunkenly look around for something to stand on. I use my foot to shift a four-pack tin of tomatoes into place. Stepping up onto them and standing on my tiptoes, I’m almost high enough to see over his head and mark the wall. When I wobble, he steadies me.
Whoa…
His hands are on my waist and his thumbs are pressing into the bare skin beneath my knotted T-shirt. With my hand resting on one of his broad shoulders, I pull the pen’s lid off with my teeth. Every nerve-ending is standing to attention as I lean in.
My breasts press firmly against his chest and I both feel and hear his sharp intake of breath as I mark his height on the wall. Withdrawing a minute amount, I discover that his gaze is fixed on my lips.
I lower my heels down and put the pen lid back on, but I don’t step off the tins or move away. He doesn’t remove his hands from my waist either.
We’re looking at each other now and time is stretching on. He reaches up and brushes the edge of my mouth with his thumb. My lips part on a breath and I know he wants to kiss me.
And oh, I want him to… In that moment, I want it so much.
But I’m drunk and so is he. Neither of us is thinking straight.
‘Am I part of your unfinished business, George?’ I dare to ask.
He blinks at me.
‘If Theo were here, would you have come back?’ I whisper.
He closes his eyes and his hands on my waist go slack. The kettle begins to show signs of whistling and the spell is broken. I step down from the tins.
But George grabs my arm before I can walk away.
‘Do you still love him?’ he asks, his expression tortured.
‘I’ll never stop loving him,’ I reply honestly.
His brow creases with pain and he lets me go with a nod, accepting my answer. I cross the room and remove the kettle from the hotplate as it begins to screech.
Chapter 26 Then
A second meeting with Sophie is not going to happen. At least, that’s what Dad is telling George. Her social worker doesn’t believe that it’s in her best interests – she leaves for Devon tomorrow.
When George comes out of the study after talking this over with Dad, he catches my eye and nods towards the stairs. I follow him up, but he goes into my room, not his, closing the door firmly behind us.
‘I’m going to see her,’ he tells me, his jaw set with determination.
I sit down on my bed and stare up at him in dismay.
‘Come with me,’ he implores.
‘George, no. I don’t think you should go.’
‘I’m going.’
‘Just think about it a while longer.’
‘It’s all I’ve been thinking about, Leah!’ he hisses. ‘I can’t shake the feeling that it’s all wrong! I haven’t fought enough for her. I’m her family. I haven’t even met those people and yet I’m going to allow her to go and live with them?’
‘Her social worker said they’re nice,’ I try to reassure him.
‘Sod her social worker! I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could chuck her! They’d say anything to get a kid off their books.’
‘That’s not true.’ A horrible feeling settles over me as a thought occurs to me. ‘What are you planning to do when you get there?’
He doesn’t answer.
‘George!’ I’m appalled. ‘You can’t take her!’
‘She’s mine!’ he shout-whispers.
‘LEAH! GEORGE!’
We stare at each other with alarm at the sound of my mum calling up the stairs.
‘Yes?’ I call back.
‘Theo’s here!’
My shoulders slump. I get up from the bed and go to the door. ‘See you downstairs in a minute?’
He nods, his eyes flaring.
Theo isn’t in the kitchen.
Mum nods towards the courtyard: ‘He didn’t want to come in.’
I don’t have time for this right now!
My chest is tight with exasperation as I walk outside and look around. Theo is up by the girls’ paddock. I stomp up the hill towards him. Maybe he’ll be able to help me convince George, I tell myself. Then I see Theo’s face and stumble.
He must’ve been bawling to look this way: all red and patchy and swollen. He breaks down again when he sees me, his shoulders shaking violently as he drags his hand over his mouth. I run the rest of the way.
‘What’s wrong?’ I ask him. ‘Tell me!’
‘I’m going to Italy tomorrow.’ He can hardly speak for crying.
I don’t understand. ‘On holiday?’
‘No. To live.’
‘What?’
‘Can we walk?’ He nods up the hill towards Hare Heads.
I glance back at the farm, wondering where George is.
‘For fuck’s sake, Leah!’ Theo gasps.
I shoot my head around to look at him. His eyes are wide and distressed.
‘Just this once,’ he begs tearfully, nodding behind me.
I realise what he’s getting at. He wants me to give him my full attention.
I nod and let him lead the way.
By the time we reach the overhang, his eyes are dry, but he still looks utterly despondent.
‘Talk to me.’ I take his wrist and pull him down to a sitting position on the rock.
I let him go, but he swipes my hand, holding it in his lap. My heart skips a beat, but I don’t pull away, even though the unusual contact makes me jumpy.
‘My father told me a while back that he was considering sending me to a boarding school in Europe,’ he reveals in a constricted voice.