Page 71 of The Life-Changing Magic of Falling in Love

‘Please. Seeing us arguing would probably up the entertainment value. You know how everyone loves Oz once they get a look at him and you’ve also seen how hard it is to get him out front. Besides, he’s not some performing monkey. He’s the talent and I’m the – I don’t know what I am. I thought it would be easier than this and I’m not sure Oz gets it – sees it – you know?’

Now the veil has been lifted I can see how overwhelmed he’s been feeling. I reach over to lay my hand over his. ‘Oh honey, seeing my folks run their own business, trust me, I know how hard it is. But isn’t it more that you’re not letting Oz see it? Maybe if he did?—’

‘He’d what? You heard him earlier? He’s not interested in catering one dinner party, let alone making that part of our business.’

‘You’re panicking and I totally get it but if you tell him why?—’

‘Do you have any idea what he gave up to do this with me?’

I squeeze his hand. ‘Everyone gives up things in life to move forwards. Did you ever think that maybe he wanted to give whatever it was up anyway? For the chance to do this with you? And now that he has, I’m pretty sure he’d want to know the extent of the problems so that he can help you fix it.’

‘It’s not that simple.’

‘It really is.’ I say that like I really believe it. Like I don’t know that there are a gazillion grey areas that we all use to complicate things when we want to. My hand leaves his to creep up to my thumping heart, beating a heavy drum and bass beat trying to get him to see that the risk of saying it has to outweigh not saying it. It just has to. Because it’s such a crappy feeling being the last to know something. And you always find out in the end.

Always.

Only sometimes when you do it’s far too late to do anything about it.

‘You’re already working to find a solution to the problem, Carlos. Tell him. He’ll respect you more for it.’

‘What if all he hears is that I’ve lied to him again? What if he?—’

‘I know a lot about sifting through What Ifs and the only What If you need here is … what if you don’t tell him and you lose him because when he works it out, and he will work it out, he loses all respect for you? Because what if he feels like you thought he wouldn’t be able to handle it – that you never even gave him the opportunity to rise to the occasion? That’s worse. So much worse.’

Carlos blows out a breath, shifts his gaze from his coffee to staring out the window before he says, quietly, ‘You’re right. I know you’re right.’

‘You’ll tell him?’

He nods his head carefully.

‘When?’ I ask feeling like a kid demanding to know when a parent is going to Think About It. ‘You should do it now. Tonight. As soon as you see him. Don’t leave this, Carlos.’

‘It’s okay. I’ll tell him. Thank you … I needed to hear all that. You’re the only one of our friends to wade in, you know?’

They probably don’t have as much to lose, I think, but say, ‘Don’t think you’re getting off lightly. My turn … before you came back to the bakery, I think I agreed to have sex with Zach. Next week.’

‘I’ll get the bourbon,’ Carlos says and I wonder if it’s to celebrate or to help calm me down.

Chapter Twenty-One

KEEP CALM AND BUSY

Ashleigh

‘Apatosaurus, diplodocus, stegosaurus, triceratops.’ I stare at the plastic dinosaur in my hand. ‘So, then what are you?’ When it doesn’t burst into a fully animated introduction, I’m forced to grab my phone and bring up the list I made last week. ‘Let’s see, long snout, smooth spine, oh, right … you’re the irritator. I’ll try not to hold it against you,’ I tell it as I slide it onto the shelf between the diplodocus and the stegosaurus.

There.

Five-year-old Davey Montford’s collection of dinosaurs is exactly as it should be, standing proudly on the shelf that runs the length of his bed – except now the shelf underneath them is dust free.

Win-win.

And a total turn-around from last week when it hadn’t been stated in the New Client File for 33B that Davey’s dinosaur collection, along with everything in his bedroom, needed to be kept in strict alphabetical order or he wouldn’t be able to function.

I still can’t believe that thanks to George recommending me I now get to clean all the apartments on the thirty-third floor of The Clouds. This one is a headquarters of frantic family life and I love restoring order to it for them.

I sweep my gaze between the list and shelf to double-check I got the order right. The last thing I want to do is upset Davey, or his mother, Julia, who was kind enough to label last week’s episode “first-clean teething troubles”.

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