Page 16 of Only Ever Yours
Once Jase got back from the shops, the three of us ended up in the kitchen. The guys took over the cooking, whipping up the most amazing-looking—and smelling—breakfast, although I knew my stomach wouldn’t be able to take it. Instead, I enjoyed the fruit and yoghurt, along with hot water and lemon.
Finn held his stomach after he’d cleared his plate. “I’m not sure I should have eaten everything on my plate. I think I feel worse than I did before.”
I spooned the last strawberry covered in yoghurt into my mouth. “And I’m feeling much better.”
He pulled a face. “Oh, so virtuous, Hollis.” With a start, he pushed back his chair and dashed out of the room. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Jase laughed. “Looks like it runs in the family.”
“Haha, funny.” I threw my orange peel at him, which he caught deftly and tossed straight into the bin.
We cleared away the dishes, loaded up the dishwasher, and Jase washed up the pots and pans they’d used. A totally domesticatedcouple-yscene, which felt totally comfortable and yet so unexpected.
After eating, I began to feel much better. Jase and I went into the living room and settled at opposite ends of the sofa, legs tucked underneath us, almost like bookends. Both of us were immersed in our phones until Jase spoke.
“What happened in London to make you run home?”
My head snapped up in his direction. I’d asked Finn to keep the real reason I’d fled the city to himself. With Jase asking directly, I couldn’t really ignore it.
Fiddling with the sleeve of my sweatshirt, I glanced down again, trying to work out how to word the explanation. “Let’s just say I was having boyfriend trouble. Well,ex-boyfriend trouble. And I needed somewhere away from him for a while.”
“Sorry to hear that.” His eyes radiated genuine concern. “I don’t like to think of anyone hurting you or treating you badly.”
For a moment, I wanted to pour out the truth. If I did, it would be exactly like Jase to track Gil down and tell him what he thought of him. He’d done it in the past when we were teenagers at college, making sure my then-boyfriends knew where they stood if they ever messed me about. Jase had always been protective of me, and I secretly liked it. He had always looked out for me and made me feel safe. Like he had done last night.
“Thanks.” I smiled.
Finn reappeared, blowing his cheeks out. “Remind me never to drink ever again.”
“Try telling Barney that when it comes to his stag.” Jase grinned.
My brother plonked himself between Jase and me. “This is nice, isn’t it? Just like old times.” He slapped both of us on the thigh at the same time.
I couldn’t deny it did feel like old times, the three of us hanging out together, enjoying each other’s company. Maplebrook already felt a lot more like home than London had recently, but I knew I couldn’t stay here forever.
Chapter Six
Hollis
All too soon, a week in Maplebrook had flown by. I’d done a couple of shifts at the coffee place at the gym, hung out with Ella in the shop, and spent chilled evenings with my brother and Jase. I’d thoroughly enjoyed every moment of my stay. For the past two days, I’d successfully fended off Alissa’s increasingly more firmly worded voicemails. Apparently, it seemed she thought that ‘compassionate leave’ meant she didn’t have to be compassionate towards me. By Friday, I knew I had to get back to her. The week had me questioning whether I wanted to go back to London at all. Her latest had been the most passive-aggressive yet.
“Hi, Hollis. I haven’t heard from you recently. Can you let me know what your plans are?” The tone seemed light, but I could sense the underlying tension.
I didn’t reply straight away, the guilt eating away at me. Usually, I’d respond immediately with something upbeat and breezy. I knew she’d be concerned; I didn’t know what to tell her. It wasn’t only being home and around family and friends that I’d enjoyed. It was the fact there had beennoGil.I’d had no communication from him at all in several days, and the freedom that came with it overwhelmed me. No looking over my shoulder to see if he was there. No coming out of a bar to find him waiting for me. The whole experience had been nothing short of freeing.
Something else I’d tried to ignore over the course of the week was how nice Jase had been to me. He’d looked out for me and not in the weird stalker way Gil might have done. Not everyone would watch on while someone threw up in front of them. The corner of my mouth twitched up at the memory of Jase’s hand massaging my neck. Thoughts of how his touch might feel elsewhere suddenly invaded my mind, and I quickly shook them away. Now wasn’t the time to be fantasising about him even though I did see him differently after these past few days. I had more important things to think about, like what the hell I was going to do.
The lure of breakfast made me go downstairs. The house was empty; Finn and Jase had left for work over an hour ago. I made myself coffee and granola with fruit and yoghurt, trying to ignore the ingredients for a bacon and egg sandwich in the fridge. Just because I considered myselfon holidaydidn’t mean I had to stuff my face at every opportunity. Curling up on the sofa, I flicked on the television, landing on a morning magazine programme, where a chef talked through how to save money on groceries by bulk-cooking meals. The next segment caught my attention. A life coach described being brave enough to turn your life around by making big changes that initially seemed too huge to overcome. Not that my life was awful. I hadn’t suffered half of the things she spoke about although I knew deep down, I wasn’t happy with the way things were. Something had to change. I rewound the programme and watched the piece again and then a third time to be sure.
Before I changed my mind, I messaged Finn.
Where are you? I need to talk to you about something.
While I waited for his reply, I went into my emails and found a copy of my contract. If any of this was going to happen, I had to make sure I had all the facts at hand.
Finn
I’m at the garage this morning. Planning to go to the gym later. What’s up?
