Page 51 of Fighting Fate

“Actually, as good as the offer sounds, I think I need a quiet evening too. Might have a bath or something…”

A disappointed breath echoes down the phone, making my chest impossibly tighter.

“There’s a bath at my place…a big bath…with jets…”

“Rory…” I know he’s trying to be nice, but right now, I need him to let it be. Although I want to see him and every cell of my being is aching to be held by him, I need space to get my head straight and shake this afternoon off.

“All right.” There’s a glum edge to his voice that has fresh tears springing to my eyes. Rory’s been so good to me that it feels awful to let him down. “I’ll call you tomorrow, or you can call me whenever…if you need anything…”

“I’ll call you later.”

I’m about to put the phone down when he calls, “Willow?”

“Yeah?”

There’s a moment of silence, as though he’s trying to think of what to say before he tells me, “Enjoy your bath.”

The cab comes to a stop outside my sister’s house. I’m not sure this was such a good idea when Daniel peers out of the front window and grins my way. The kid is a ray of sunshine, whose smile will cut through any dark cloud.

“Taxi’s here,” I tell Rory as the front door opens wide and my favourite and only nephew stands on the porch waiting for me to go inside. “I have to go.”

After a crestfallen goodbye while I pay the driver, Rory ends the call. Before long, I’m being dragged indoors and being told about the newest LEGO set that’s about to be released. This kid and I have built a lot of sets in the last nine years. Every Christmas and birthday, we’ve spent hours gluing blocks together so that they never come apart.

“Can you give your aunt some space, please?” Dorian asks him when I’ve finally got my shoes off and hung my bag on the rack. “You’ve got another half hour before Jake’s home, and the Nintendo has to go off if you want to make pizzas with him.”

The kid actually looks torn between staying with me or going back to his game. It’s only fair I nudge him in the lounge’s direction with the promise that I’ll come play with him later.

“You’re staying for dinner, right?”

“Depends on whether or not you’re going to make me one of your veggie specials?”

A big grin cuts his face with an enthusiastic nod. “Pineapple, olives, and mushrooms.”

“Don’t forget the extra cheese.”

“I won’t,” he sings, skipping back to his game.

Once he’s disappeared into the lounge, we head into the kitchen, where Dorian has her laptop open and her files on the dinner table.

“You’re still working?”

“I have court next week and a few cases that I want to wrap up before the school holidays.” Closing her laptop, she puts it into her briefcase, followed by the files.

“Do you ever take a break?” I tease her, taking my sunglasses off and putting them down on the table along with my phone.

“Jake and I are hoping to go down to the Cotswolds for a few weeks during the summer holidays. He and Daniel can do all the fun water sports, and we can spend some quality time together….” Meandering over to the kitchen counter, she finishes preparing a fresh cafetière of coffee. I’m going over the new Polaroid photos on the fridge when she says, “You look different.”

“Do I?” Not really sure if it’s a compliment or not, I turn to look at her.

After an assessing top-to-toe look, she replies, “Yeah. Not in a bad way. You look good. Your face looks…” Shaking her head with a low chuckle, she fetches two mugs from the cupboard.

This is weird. She’s being strange. The way she keeps ogling me is making me feel odd. Pausing on my stomach, Dorian takes a step back like maybe she’s trying to look at the bigger picture.

“Do you have something to tell me?”

Fuck me.This is like the twilight zone. “Like?”

“I don’t know…” With a shrug, she picks up the cafetière and gives me another one of her odd glances before heading to the outdoor seating area. “How are things going with the new show…Rory Knight…life in general? Everything okay?”

---