Page 30 of That Secret Something

Rebecca rested against the back of the red sofa, listening intently.

“Of course, Jess. He’s here.”

A brief flash of anger bristled up my spine, followed by relief. At least he wasn’t missing. He was safe. I sucked a big breath in. “Mum, why didn’t you tell me you were picking him up?”

Rebecca relaxed beside me, offering me a reassuring smile.

“Mike picked him up from your place earlier. He didn’t want him to be inside all day.”

I raised my eyebrows. Mike was Mum’s new boyfriend. Her new boyfriend, who she barely spoke about unless necessary. He seemed nice enough, though, and I liked that he’d taken a special liking to Sausage. Who didn’t like pudgy dogs with boopable noses?

I sighed. “Don’t you think you should’ve told me, Mum?”

“I said we’d get him at some point this weekend.”

“I know that, but I wish… You should’ve told me you were going to get him today.”

“Is something wrong?” she asked, knocking me for a moment.

“What? No, I was just worried, that’s all.” I swallowed, hoping it would erase the squeak from my voice. “Could you just tell me next time, please?”

“It must have slipped my mind with everything going on today…I’m sorry.”

I wondered which part of the day she’d found the most stressful. She’d not exactly jumped to anyone’s aid when things had threatened to go awry, nor given any indication she was particularly fazed. I wished she would talk to me openly, like Sally did with her daughters. But something stopped the request from forming in my throat, like it always did.

“It’s okay, Mum. At least he’s safe…and thank Mike for picking him up. That’s very nice of him.”

“I will.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

With the phone dead in my hand, I turned to Rebecca, finding her already watching me.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

I moved from the open kitchen, taking a few steps towards her. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Sausage just isn’t here. He’s at Mum’s house.”

“Oh. That’s a shame. I was looking forward to meeting him. I’m relieved he’s safe, though.”

My heart pulled at the genuine look of disappointment on her face. Adorable. So freaking adorable. “It’s okay, you can meet him another time.”

“I’d like that.”

A beat passed. Then my mind lurched into overdrive. If Sausage wasn’t here, how were we going to do our walk and talk? Would she still want to go for a walk without him there? He was like a little security blanket for me. Without him, it all seemed much more serious.

“Do you want to see a picture of him?” I was grasping at straws. Suddenly, I couldn’t seem to cope with the fact that she was right there, in my space, staring at me like she’d done in that changing room—right before she kissed me. Heat pricked up my neck, thinking about where her hands had been just hours before.

She stepped closer as I fumbled for my phone. I flipped through a selection of pictures on my camera roll, Rebecca now so close to me that I could feel the warmth of her body pressing against my side.

We should talk first. Definitely.

I heaved in a breath.

Her hand reached out and gripped mine around the phone, shooting little sparks of electricity down my arms. She laughed at the picture—Sausage lay on his back with his mouth open, tongue flopping off to the side.

“So, what do you want to do now?” I asked, awkwardly waving my phone. “We can still talk—”

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