He huffed. ‘Bloody exhausted. I never knew all this emotional stuff could be so draining. But then, after I got home and had a wee grampa nap.’ He rolled his eyes and grinned. ‘I felt… I don’t know… lighter? Does that sound daft?’
She smiled. ‘Not in the slightest. I totally understand. And I’m glad things went so well.’ She nudged him with her shoulder.
‘So, are you looking forward to your date with my brother?’ he asked, without looking at her.
Her stomach plummeted. ‘Sorry? Date? We’re not going on a date.’ In spite of Kendric’s texts of encouragement, Juliette had managed to hold off.
Reid smiled but kept his gaze locked on the view. ‘Methinks the lady doth protest too much. He’s a good-looking fella, my Ric. He has ’em bloody swooning at his feet wherever he goes.’
‘Yes, he’s handsome, I’ll give you that,’ she replied, not knowing what to say. But I don’t fancy him in the slightestfelt a little harsh, so she kept that to herself.
He turned to her and smiled. ‘You could do a lot worse.’ Why didn’t he sound convinced?
‘Yes, but I’m not really looking… I mean, I don’t really want… I’m happy with the way things are,’ she finally admitted.
‘Really? Don’t you get lonely?’ he asked.
She thought about his question for a few moments. ‘Sometimes. But I have my best friend, Millie, and, of course, my family.’
He nodded and frowned. ‘Well, that’s good.’ He fell silent for a while. ‘Obviously,Idon’t get lonely, you know, I have Evin. He’s great company. And Chewie, of course.’ He sounded as though he was trying to convince himself.
‘I don’t like night-times.’ She was almost shocked that the words fell from her mouth instead of remaining as thought like she had planned.
He nodded. ‘Aye. I get that. Too much time in the wee small hours for thinking.’
‘Yes, far too much.’
A silence fell between them, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable, or like she needed to fill it with inane small talk – a habit she’d picked up in her youth when her confidence wasn’t quite there. Laurie had helped on that score. He was always so interested in what she had to say, but, on the flip side of that, he made her realise that companionable silences were quite acceptable too.
Eventually, Reid spoke. ‘So, what will you do when you go back down south?’
She shrugged. ‘Get back to normal life, I suppose. Back to the university library during term time.’
He smiled and nudged her with shoulder this time. ‘Ah, that’s right, you’re a bibliophile.’
She laughed lightly. ‘I guess you could say that, yes. Books are my life. So many stories to dive into. You’re never lonely when you’ve got a book. I think I might have pinched that line from someone, but you get the point.’
Reid nodded his head. ‘I do. I used to love reading. Used to read to Evin every night when he was wee. Such special times. These days, I can’t seem to concentrate for long. Same with the painting, sadly.’
‘I’m sure it’ll come back, the inspiration, I mean. The attention span will definitely improve. I found it did. And then books became my escape. Beats getting drunk or staying in bed all day sleeping.’
‘Very true.’
They sat in silence for a while, admiring the view and sipping on their coffee. ‘Kate’s coming to take Evin for a week’s holiday and I’m dreading it,’ Reid offered out of the blue.
‘Oh? How come? What about school?’
He shrugged. ‘She takes him every so often. Special dispensation with us living so far apart. He has a tutor when he’s there. It’s part of the legal custody agreement. I can’t really stop her. I haven’t told her about what’s going on with me and I won’t be doing so. I don’t want to give her anything else she can use against me. I’m just scared of what will happen. If she’ll not let him come home.’
‘Reid, she can’t stop him from coming home if it’s gone through the courts. Your name is on his birth certificate so you’re his dad until it’s proven otherwise. And Kate would be foolish if she let him know what’s going on before it’s dealt with properly. He’d end up hating her, so I’m sure she won’t risk that.’
He lowered his gaze and kicked at the dirt beneath his feet. ‘I wouldn’t put anything past her now. Not after everything she’s done.’ He shook his head. ‘I wonder what I saw in her, you know? Was I so blind?’
‘Love makes you see things that are sometimes not there, and vice versa.’
‘She was fun, back then. So carefree. And I have to admit she was beautiful. But it’s amazing how ugly someone can become when they show their true colours.’
‘Did she change a lot?’
