“Do you need help?”
Did he? “I think I’m going to keep trying by myself for a bit first. I’ve not done a line in eleven days. And I’m down to a handful of cigarettes a day. Got one left in the pack I have and don’t intend to buy another.”
“Progress, mate. Progress.” Alex slapped him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you come to Nan’s for your dinner tonight? Bring Willow. Me, Ben, and Chaya are going.”
“I forgot you got Saturdays as your day for dinner with her.”
“Yeah. She won’t mind two more if you bring Willow. You’re going to have to introduce Willow to her eventually. You message Willow to let her know, I’ll call Nan. She says she can’t read without her glasses and says her arthritis makes texting hard. It’s all bullshit. She just likes chatting on video.”
Five hours later, he held Willow’s hand as they walked to Nan’s house. It had seemed the natural thing to do, walking side by side along the street. And now, it felt . . . peaceful. Calming, even.
“Nan is lovely and the nosiest person on the planet. Don’t give her an inch or she’ll have your life story out of you in minutes.”
Willow looked up at him. “Is this going to be an inquisition?”
She wore a denim shirt dress, cinched at the waist, and little suede ankle boots. Her hair was in a messy bun. But her lips looked totally kissable. And those fucking eyes. All wide and bright. “Probably. I’ll help you fend her off.”
“But she’s not your Nan.”
“No, she’s the rest of the band’s. But she adopted me as her own nearly twenty years ago. Wouldn’t have got through Dad dying without her.”
Willow squeezed his hand. “I’m glad she was there for you.”
“Me too,” Luke said, lifting his hand to knock, but the door was pulled in before he had the chance.
“Eee, let me get a good look at you both. Oh, lovely. She’s lovely, Luke.”
Luke looked down at Willow and winked. “That she is.”
“Come in, Willow and put wood in th’ole. I’m Nan.”
“Put wood in th’ole?” she mouthed to Luke.
Luke grabbed the door handle. “Put the wood,” he tipped his head to the opening. “In the hole.”
“Oh, right. Yes, we can be a bit confusing to you Yanks, can’t we? Alex, step away from that chicken,” she said, without even turning to face the kitchen in her small two-up, two-down house.
“How did you even know?” Alex yelled from the kitchen.
“Because you’ve always been the same. Stealing food off my platters before I’ve put them out.”
“It’s lovely to meet you, Nan,” Willow said. “I know you’ve been such an important part of Luke’s life. He’s lucky to have had you.”
“Oh, thank you, duck. And I love your accent. We’re becoming a bilingual family. We have Cerys with her Welsh, and Zoe with her sign, and you with your American.”
Ben laughed. “I’m pretty sure that’s not what bilingual means. Bi means two. And I’m not sure an accent counts as a different language.”
Chaya laughed. “It’s close enough for Nan.”
“You know what I mean,” Nan said, gesturing to the sofa. “Have a seat. Luke can help you get a drink, and Alex, you can get yourself back in the kitchen and help me out.”
“Why me? Just because I’m the only one who didn’t bring a date.”
“Chaya isn’t a date,” Ben said.
“Well, you come and help with the chicken, then,” Alex said.
Luke laughed as Ben flipped him the bird.
“Whereabouts in America are you from, Willow?” Nan asked once they were all seated around the table.
Willow raised a hand to her mouth and quickly chewed her food before answering. “I was born in Florida, but I moved to California when I was five and Malibu shortly after I made my first film.”
“Oh, anywhere near that TV show in the nineties? What was it called? 90210?”
“Maybe an hour in traffic. California is a very sprawling place.”
“One of my cousins went out to America. Moved to Arizona. Got good work at a golf club. Are you near Arizona?”
Willow laughed. “Unfortunately, no. That’s over five hundred miles away.”
Nan nodded thoughtful and chewed her food. “You won’t know my cousin, then?”
Ben and Chaya began to laugh, and Luke found it hard not to.
“No,” Willow said. “I think that’s probably unlikely.”
“How did you meet Luke?” Nan asked.
“They did the horizontal tango after one of our gigs in Detroit, Nan,” Alex said mischievously.
Chaya put her hand over her mouth, struggling to not grin.
“Luke Bryson. Did we not raise you better? You’re as bad as this one,” she said, thumbing in Alex’s direction. “He’d stick it in a melon if he was out of options. But you.”
The table broke out into uproarious laughter.
“A fucking melon,” Ben said, wiping his eyes as his shoulders continued to shake.
“Nan,” Luke gasped between laughter. “It’s why she’s here. Love at first sight and all that. And it’s hard to carry that on with an ocean of water between us. It’s not like I . . .”
“Dined and dashed?” Ben offered helpfully.
“Wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am’d,” Chaya added.
“Okay, you two. Thanks for the helpful commentary. She’s here now. It’s not like I just left her.”
Willow looked up at him. “Well, technically you did,” she whispered.
“Jesus Christ,” he said quietly, leaning close to her. “Not you as well.”
She ran her tongue along her lower lip. A lip that was inches away from his own. “You did dine and dash. I had to hunt you down.”
“If I’d known, I wouldn’t have.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.
“Really?” The wonder and uncertainty in that one word squeezed his chest.
“Yes, flower.” He brushed his lips over hers. Softly, because he was in company. But with feeling, because fuck the contract. “I promise you I won’t do it again.”
“Did you mean that?” Her voice was so quiet he barely heard it.
“I did.” He kissed her chastely again for good measure, relieved when she didn’t stop him.
“Can you stop kissing Willow for a sec to discuss why you all found me fucking a melon so funny? I can guarantee I’ve never fucked anything edible,” Alex asked grumpily, and the whole table burst into laughter all over again.
“I don’t know,” Ben said. “There are some body parts that are quite edible.”
Chaya playfully slapped his arm with the back of her hand.
“And there are some places it feels good to be eaten,” Nan said.
“Oh, God, Nan,” Alex said covering his ears. “You’re going to scar me for life.”
“Perhaps you’ll remember that next time you think about bringing the horizontal tango to my dinner table. Now, eat your chicken.”
Luke noticed Willow’s shoulders shudder in laughter. “You okay, flower?”