Page 29 of The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck

“Of course you did. We never said there was anything wrong with your hearing.” Lady Helena turns to me with a smile. “Dougal is my gardener, butler, chauffeur, and so on. He grew up on the family estate in Scotland and then went on to work there like his father.”

“Did you grow up there too?” I ask.

“No. I was mostly in London or away at school. Mother hated that drafty old castle. But we visited now and then.”

Alistair and Dougal continue to argue good-naturedly behind the bar. It might be the first time I’ve seen him remotely relaxed. Smiling and laughing. Whatever hesitation he shows with his mother, there’s none when it comes to this man.

“Talisker, thirty-year-old single malt, from the Isle of Skye,” announces Dougal, serving first Lady Helena and then me. There are several fingers of amber liquid in the heavy crystal glass. “In honor of our new friend Lilah.”

“Thank you.”

He stands beside my chair, waiting until I taste it. Talk about putting on the pressure. “What do you think?” he asks. “Nice and peaty, isn’t it?”

I swallow it down and smile super convincingly. “It’s very good.”

“Just admit that you don’t like it.” Alistair sits on the sofa opposite me. “Lilah is apparently not a scotch drinker.”

Dougal’s face falls. The man is heartbroken. How could I have done such a thing? He then shrugs and swiftly takes my glass from me. “We won’t waste it, then.”

“Oh, no,” cries Lady Helena. “Whatdoyou drink? Darling, what does she drink?”

“I’m fine,” I say. “Really.”

Alistair taking a seat on the opposite side of the room from me seems like a statement. Though I am a grown-up who doesn’t need her hand held. But there’s a distinct distance between us now.

“How long have you two known each other?” asks Dougal.

“Since Saturday,” says Alistair.

Dougal’s brows rise. “Not long at all.”

“When you know, you know.” Lady Helena sighs wistfully. “I once got engaged to a total stranger while on a bender in Paris for Fashion Week. These things happen. The sheer awkwardness of waking up with the most exquisite hangover and not being able to remember my fiancé’s name.”

Alistair blinks. “So, you didn’t in fact know.”

“She left the ring on the nightstand and got on the first plane back to Heathrow,” says Dougal. “Never saw him again.”

Lady Helena pouts. “My point is that you can fall at first sight. There’s no set allotment of time that must pass before love is allowed. Isn’t that right, Lilah?”

“Time is just a construct,” I say.

“Suck-up,” mumbles Alistair.

“But we’re only friends, as previously mentioned.”

“Oh.” Lady Helena’s smile doesn’t stay down for long. “But you must have a good feeling about where things are heading, though, darling. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have brought a woman you’ve only known for two days home to meet me.”

Alistair’s brow furrows like never before.

“Just friends,” I repeat with a smile.

She turns to her son and asks, “You spend time with women who are just friends?”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Well done, darling. You certainly didn’t get that from his side of the family.”

“I always wanted to drive the coastal ride in a convertible,” I explain. “It’s on my wish list. Your son was kind enough to offer. Of course, it would have been rude not to stop since we happened to be passing.”

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