Page 45 of All Mine
Wren: Rosie and I were just saying the same!
Isabella: She loved you guys too!
Rosie: Do you think she’d like to Bolthole next time we go?
Isabella: Definitely!
Chapter Twenty-Six
Etienne
Brothers from Another Mother WhatsApp group
Fox: The good news– the investors fucking love the game!
Walker: Well done, bud.
Etienne: You going to be rich now then?
Fox: The bad news– they want a couple of extensions designed over the coming months before they buy.
Etienne: So, I guess Walker and I are making rockets this weekend?
Fox: Lifesavers.
Fox: Talking about projects, Etienne– they’re planning a project on cooking at school. I gave your name to the class teacher. . . She wants you to go in and cook something French.
Etienne: You owe me, mate.
Fox: I know.
Etienne felt a rush of love for Fox. He worked bloody hard, putting in long hours after his boys were in bed. He deserved success. Maybe his game would take off and be a worldwide phenomenon, the nextFortniteorRoblox, and Fox would never have to work again. You never knew what was around the corner. He touched a wooden windowsill nearby, an old superstition since losing his parents, trying to hold luck close to him.
Things were going well on two fronts, and he wanted to keep it that way. Firstly, bookings for the restaurant were full for weeks and he could add to the £40,000 for Alex with every good day’s work. And secondly, the hot Italian Isabella was caving in. He just knew it.
He threw a look out the window, as he often did, to see if he could catch a glimpse of her painting the frontage or planting window boxes, hair in a messy bun or tucked under a baseball cap. She was hot even when she was decorating. But not today. In fact, he hadn’t seen her for a few days, maybe close to a week. Hmmm.
The phone rang in his hand and he half expected it to be Fox again, laughingly apologising for volunteering him to go into a class of children and teach them how to cook. Him, the most child-free man in town. What was he going to do with a bunch of six-year-olds? When he glanced at the screen and saw Alex’s name, he sank down on the nearest seat to answer.
‘Hello?’ he said hesitantly.
‘Et?’ Alex said, sounding equally anxious, but Etienne held the phone tighter at the sound of his brother’s voice. It had been so long.
‘Al,’ he said back and his face broke into a grin. ‘How are you doing?’
‘I’m okay,’ he answered and Etienne could hear the smile in his voice too.
‘Where are you?’ Etienne could hear other sounds down the phone, people talking, something clanking in the distance.
‘The train station.’
Etienne’s stomach dropped. Was he leaving again? Before he even came home? What was going on?
‘Where? Where are you going?’
‘Don’t worry, I’m moving around until I get this sorted. Now that I’ve made contact with the Dougalls, I don’t feel safe staying in one place.’
‘But you’ve told them you want to clear your debt?’ Etienne said. ‘How did you do it?’
