Then, too casually, he says, “So, Jasper mentioned something about a woman.”
I pause mid-reach for a plastic teacup, then straighten. “And?”
“And he says you’ve been spending time with her.”
I roll my eyes and keep stacking Lucy’s books. “You both need new hobbies.”
Geoff smirks. “Well, Lucy did mention something about yoga.”
I pause just for a second before grabbing another book. “So what?”
“You’ve been doing yoga with Lucy for ages, but now suddenly someone else is coming along too?”
I shake my head, sighing. “It’s not sudden. Ivy joined one class, and now she’s coming again. That’s it.”
Geoff lifts an eyebrow. “So this Ivy just happened to join, and now she’s sticking around?”
“As I said, she’s coming again on Monday,” I admit. “But it’s not like that.”
Geoff hums like he doesn’t believe me.
I groan, tossing a throw blanket onto the sofa. “She’s… nice. Smart. Funny. A bit chaotic in a way that keeps things interesting. But we’re just friends. She’s on this whole self-discovery, no-dating ban thing, and I respect that.”
Geoff watches me for a beat, then nods. “And that works for you?”
“Yes.”
His expression doesn’t change.
I know that look. It’s the same one he used to give me when I was fifteen and trying to convince him I hadn’t stolen his jacket, even though I was standing there wearing it.
I shake my head. “You can drop the sceptical older brother routine. There’s nothing to dissect here.”
Geoff makes a vague, unconvinced noise, folding his arms.
I exhale, dragging a hand through my hair. “Ivy and I are friends. That’s it. She’s not dating, I respect that, and honestly, I like having a friend, someone in my life aside from you and Jasper.”
After I left my job, I realised that most of my friends were my work colleagues. We tried to stay in touch, but our lives were so different. They would work hard andplay even harder. I had Lucy to look after. So, overtime my brothers became my best friends, but to be honest, I wouldn’t mind a friend outside the family. A friend who doesn’t rat me out to my mum if I do something silly, like grow a moustache. I looked like Borat.
“But you do like her,” Geoff insists.
I pause—not because I don’t have an answer, but because I know exactly how Geoff is going to interpret anything I say next.
I keep my voice even. “Of course I like her. She’s a good person, and she makes Lucy laugh. But that doesn’t mean I like her in the way you’re trying to suggest.”
He lets that sit for a moment, like he’s waiting for me to take it back.
I don’t. Because it’s the truth. And yet, there’s an odd flicker of something I can’t quite place in my chest.
Geoff sighs, running a hand over his jaw. “Alright. If you say so.”
“I do say so.”
He studies me for another long moment, then shrugs. “Fair enough.”
I grab the last of Lucy’s fairy wings off the floor and toss them into the dress-up bin, signalling that this conversation is over.
Geoff smirks like he knows he’s getting under my skin. “Jasper’s going to ask about her next, you know.”
