Page 146 of Mark

“Mum, if this is about Esther, I really don’t want to hear it. I’m sorry you’ve had a wasted trip, but I just can’t, Mum. Even saying her name makes my blood boil.”

“She isn’t why I’m here,” she declares.

I drop down on the cream pouffe, needing to release the tension out of my legs and shoulders. “Then I don’t get it. Why are you here?”

“Because there is a boy who fought for you, and by the looks of that basket, is still fighting for you.”

And there goes my jaw again.

“You’re here… you’re here to talk about Mark? Seriously?” I glance at Summer. “Am I dreaming?”

She shakes her head.

“You’d shake your head in my dream. It’s my dream, right?”

“Blooming heck,” she retorts and walks over to pinch the inside of my arm.

“Hey, you psycho! That hurt.”

“You wanted to know if you were dreaming so I thought I’d cut to the chase and prove it so you don’t start rambling.”

“I don’t ramble. And you didn’t need to do it that hard.”

“It’s payback for tackling me to the floor. I think you’ve bruised my coccyx.”

“You are such a drama queen. You landed on the rug.”

“I landed on my arse,” she argues.

“My gosh, are you two always like this?” Mum questions.

“Kind of,” Summer answers as I say, “Yes.”

“Now can we all get back on the subject because I have a booty call later tonight.”

Summer grins. “Look at you living life.”

“That is what life is for, beautiful,” Nanna replies before arching her brow at me. “Now back to you.”

“Do we have to? We could talk about your booty call instead.”

She rolls her eyes as Mum hisses, “Freya, don’t encourage your nanna.”

“You know he cares about you just as much as you care about him,” Nanna states.

“Are you really going to play that card after what I saw?”

“Are you really going to keep pretending you didn’t hear me say Esther orchestrated the entire thing?”

Okay, we’re doing this.

We’re really going to talk about this.

“I don’t even know what that means, Nanna. Because I’ve had it going around in my head for over a week. Did she orchestrate seducing him? What? What did she orchestrate?”

“She orchestrated the entire thing. None of it is what you think it is,” Nanna replies.

I run my fingers through my hair, swallowing past the lump in my throat.

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