Page 12 of The Lies
Chapter Three
I spendthe next three days stuck in Aunt Addy’s kitchen baking like a mad woman, trying to fulfil the orders I reinstated on Sunday evening. By Thursday morning, I’m desperate to get out of the house and I’m also dying to go back to what’s going to be my bakery to try to get some idea of everything that needs doing. Mostly, though, I just want to be there so I can imagine what it’s going to be like. It feels like it was all a dream and I want to make sure it wasn’t.
After raiding Aunt Addy’s garage for some basic tools, I head into town, leaving her behind with her sewing machine. I make a stop in the charity shop next door before letting myself in with the spare key Blake gave me.
I dump my bags on the counter before taking my charity shop spoils into what was the kitchen at the back to get changed, but to my surprise the place is empty. I look around and every bit of crap and old piece of furniture has been cleared out.
I don’t have any clothes I’d happily get dirty, so I grabbed a pair of leggings and picked up a man’s shirt from next door for a few quid. Carefully folding my jeans and jumper and placing them in bag to keep them clean, I head back out to make a start on stripping the hideous orange wallpaper that seems to cover every available inch of the place.
It looks so much bigger with everything gone and it gets me even more excited as I can really begin to imagine what it could look like. I find an electric socket and plug in Aunt Addy’s wallpaper stripper. I leave it to power up while I grab a knife, scraper, my phone and headphones. I set my playlist and pop the buds in my ears before getting started.
The hours fly by as I make my way around the room, stripping all the old paper off. It’s been years since I did any decorating, I think I was probably about seven when Mum suggested painting my bedroom. We did a fairly good job between us but she was no expert, nor a great teacher.
I’m totally lost singing away to a song when some movement over in the corner of the room scares the shit out of me. I spin around, one hand instinctively coming up to cover my racing heart, the other frantically pulling at the cords hanging from my ears.
Two amused faces look back at me and when I look into Blake’s eyes, I start to relax a little—until I focus on the person stood next to him.
Suddenly I’m nine again and in my primary school classroom, staring at my childhood crush. His dark brown and almost black eyes are exactly as I remember and it seems he hasn’t outgrown his cheeky smile.
Jason Duffy.
“Kenny!” he exclaims happily. I, on the other hand, just about manage to contain the groan the reminder of my childhood nickname creates. Blake’s eyebrows draw together and he looks at me questioningly but I shake it off. “Blake said you were back. How’s it hanging?” So apparently I was wrong when I told Blake that he probably wouldn’t remember me.
“Uh…it’s…uh…good?” I reply, but my childhood nerves get the better of me and it comes out like a question.
For fuck’s sake, Addison, you’re now a grown woman and Jason Duffy is just another man. So what you fancied the pants off him in school?Yeah, he’s still good looking, but I’ve got Blake now and with the two of them stood side by side, there is no question for me as to who the most attractive is.
“Anyway,” Blake says, thankfully dragging me back to reality where I’m thirty and about to be a business owner. “My afternoon job got cancelled yesterday so I ripped this place out.”
“I saw, it looks massive.”
“That’s what she said,” Jason comments with a giggle. Okay, so I may now be thirty but it seems he may still be nine. Blake and I stare at him with blank expressions before going back to our previous conversation.
“I wasn’t expecting to find you here doing this,” he says, taking a step towards me and reaching out. I expect him to put his hand on my cheek or my neck so I lean in slightly but when he pulls his hand back, I see a piece of orange wallpaper between his fingers that he just plucked from my hair.
“I’d finished all the cakes I had to do so I thought I’d come and help. Shouldn’t you be fixing someone’s broken light fitting or something?”
“I’m done for the day and I had a few hours to spare before my hot date tonight.”
“Is that right?”
Blake doesn’t respond. Instead, he steps into me. I’m forced to step back until I’m against the wall. His lips come down to mine and he kisses me like he hasn’t seen me for days, which of course is the case.
“Ugh, really? I came here to work, not watch porn,” Jason complains after a minute or two.
“We were going to strip the wallpaper so Jason could hopefully start skimming the walls soon, but it seems we’re a little late,” Blake says.
“I’ve just got this little bit by the window and then it’s all done. The kitchen is just paint and so is the bathroom,” I say as I peel myself off the sticky wall.
“Amazing,” Blake says, sounding stunned.
“What?”
“I just wouldn’t have put you down for doing any manual labour.”
“Will you please get out of your head that I’m some sort of posh city girl. That. Is. Not. Me,” I state, starting to get a little pissed off by how he sees me.
“That wasn’t how I meant it. You’ve done a great job,” he says, pulling me into a hug. His praise puts a halt to my sulking.
