Page 20 of Only Ever Yours
My mouth watered. “I’ll be five.”
Finn was on the landing as I got there. “Any idea why my sister’s cooked us dinner tonight?”
I laughed. “You think she’s got an ulterior motive?”
“When was the last time Hollis did anything ‘just because’?”
He had a point. “Honestly, I’ve tasted her Bolognese, and I don’t care.”
It took me closer to ten minutes to be showered, dressed, and back downstairs for dinner. Hollis and Finn were already seated at the table, dishes of food in front of them, when I entered the room. Hollis lifted the bottle of wine.
“Would you like a glass?”
I nodded and took my seat opposite her while she poured, once again appreciating the treat of home-cooked food. We had fallen into the trap of ready meals and things you could heat in the oven or the microwave because neither Finn nor I really knew our way around a kitchen. On occasions, we rustled up a full English—the works with bacon, sausage, egg, hash brown, beans, and toast—or a stir-fry, but that was about the limits of our cooking ability.
“A toast.” Hollis held up her own glass. “To the people who took me in when I most needed it and for putting up with all my crazy ideas for the businesses.”
Finn laughed. “To be fair, Sis, you actually came back at the right time for me, too. Maybe we should be toasting you.”
I’ll definitely drink to that.
For the first time in a long time, we ate dinner, chatted, laughed, discussed plans for the garage and the gym, and enjoyed a chilled-out evening. Finn started to clear the table and gestured for me to help.
“There was something I wanted to ask,” began Hollis.
“Ha, I knew there were strings attached to this meal.” Finn carried on rinsing the plates and putting them into the dishwasher. “Go on, spill.”
I stood up, one eye on Hollis as I picked up the empty wine bottle and put it in the recycling bag.
“Two things actually.”
“Did you get dessert, as well?” I asked. “One course for each question.”
Hollis glared at me, sipping on her wine. “Funny, Jase. There’s ice cream if you’re that desperate for something sweet.”
I sucked in my lips.I know what sweet thing I’d like.
She ignored me and went on. “Now I’m staying long term, I talked about decorating the bedroom. Can either of you hang wallpaper? I want to do an accent wall.”
“A what now?” I wasn’t up on the latest trends in interior design.
Hollis rolled her eyes and stared at me as if I had asked her the most difficult question on the planet. “An accent wall,” she repeated, with a small shake of her head. “One wall is different to the others, for effect.”
“Oh, got it.” I opened the freezer door to check out the ice cream options; I was still hungry.
“The wall behind my bed, for example. To make it stand out.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. Thinking about Hollis’s bedroom was the last thing I needed to spend too much time on. “Right. Not sure I’m going to be much use to you, though. I can paint a wall; wallpapering is not in my repertoire, I’m afraid.”
“I think Barney’s brother, Liam, knows someone who could help,” Finn chipped in. “And he’d probably do it as a favour. I’ll find his number for you later.”
“Thanks, Finn, I’d appreciate that.”
I let the freezer door slam shut and held up my hands. “Hey, I don’t want to do a crap job and have you hate me forever for it.”
She tilted her head. “I couldn’t hate you, Jase. Butyou’re right. I wouldn’t want you giving me nightmares with wonky wallpaper.”
Oh, but the dreams you could give me…
