Page 66 of Heal You
“What is it that you want to ask specifically?”
Morgan searched Jan’s eyes.Could she really ask the question she wanted to ask?She had nothing to lose, she guessed.“Just like…are we dating?Or could we be instead of whatever this currently is?”
The smile that spread on Jan’s mouth didn’t quite settle Morgan’s heart rate.She would need a little more to go on before that happened.“I don’t see why we couldn’t say we’re dating.”
“But is that what you want, Jan?”Morgan squeezed Jan’s hand and dipped her head to find her gaze.“Seriously, is it whatyouwant?”
“Yes.It is.”
“Even with everything you’re dealing with?Even though you’re barely out of a marriage?I’m happy to wait until the time is right for you or until you decide that this isn’t the right thing for you.I just…I need you to tell me how this is going to work.”
“We’re dating.If people can’t deal with that, then it’s their own tough shit.”
“And by people, you mean your best friend and her wife?”Morgan wasn’t sure this was going to go to plan if Jan didn’t have Gillian and Finn’s support.Jan was so close to her best friend that this was surely going to create a huge rift between them.
“Them and anyone else who has something to say about it.”Jan slid from her stool and stood between Morgan’s legs.She drew Morgan into a soft kiss, smiling against her lips before she pulled back a little.“I understand that people are confused and concerned, but why should I put my life on hold just to appease them?Why should I do exactly what Gill did and lock myself away…refusing to deal with the world?That just doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Nor me.”Morgan smiled.“I just don’t want you to lose the people who mean the most to you.”
“I won’t.They’ll realise that I have the chance to be happy again, and everything will be okay.”
Morgan lifted her brows and exhaled a deep breath.“I hope you’re right.”
“In time, you’ll realise that I’m always right.”Jan winked and rounded the bar.“Now, I quite fancy an espresso.May I help myself?”
Morgan laughed.“You may.”
* * *
Settledinto a booth at Morgan’s bar, Jan brought up several estate agent websites, prepared to trawl through the copious amounts of homes available to buy.Now that she was refreshed from her holiday, it was time to look at what was available.Jan wanted a place to live in, and today, that process began.She refused to put it off any longer.
She brought her cappuccino closer, smiling as she eyed Morgan behind the bar.She wouldn’t stay here all day—Morgan was going to be sick of the sight of her soon—but she had wanted to be here while she looked for a place to live.If she was torn between several, she could at least ask Morgan’s opinion.That would have usually been Gillian’s job, but their friendship was strained at the moment.
I could strangle Finn!
Now wasn’t the time to recollect the information Morgan had given her about Finn coming here yesterday.She could deal with that another time.And she would, without a doubt.While she understood that her friends wanted to protect her, their concern should be directed towards Phil for ever putting her in this situation,notMorgan.
As she scrolled through the first website on her list, the dread started to settle in all over again.Jan was almost forty-nine.She didn’t want to have to pack up her life and go through the hassle of redecorating and picking out new floors.She shouldn’thaveto do it.What she should have been doing right now was planning a dinner party or a garden party.Exactly as she did every year.But she didn’t have a dining table or a garden she could use right now.She didn’t even have a bed she could call her own.
“Hey,” Morgan said as she appeared at the booth.“I brought you a bottle of water, and Ben has just been out to pick up lunch, so I asked him to get you something, too.”Morgan set down a plate with a chicken club sandwich sitting on it.“You should eat something while you’re sitting here doing that.I know you’ll only forget otherwise.”
“Thank you.”Jan reached out and took Morgan’s hand.Did she already know Jan well enough to assume that she would forget to eat lunch?Huh, womenwerefar more attentive.“I might need your help if I come across something I’m interested in.Only if the bar is quiet, though.”
“Mid-week is always quieter.Just give me a shout if you need some advice.Though, you probably shouldn’t take it from me.I live in a one-bed flat above a bar.”
Jan frowned.“Hey, Iloveyour flat.It’s cosy, and it’s where we’ve spent many nights together.Your flat means a lot to me.”
Morgan dipped her head as her cheeks reddened.“I know.It’s still not really what I had in mind for myself.”
“Well, it suits you just fine at the moment.”As Jan was about to offer Morgan a seat, her phone started to ring on the table.It…was Phil.“Hello?”
“Hi.Um, are you around for a quick chat?About the divorce?”
Jan cleared her throat.“Yes, what’s up?”
“Can we do this face-to-face instead?I know you don’t want to see me, and I understand that, but I don’t want it to be this way, Jan.I don’t want to lay out terms and shit over the phone to you or via a lawyer neither of us know the first thing about.I’m close to the hotel you’re staying at, so I can be there in a few minutes.I’ll wait in the reception for you.”
“I’m not at the hotel.I’m at a bar around the corner.”Jan eyed Morgan and mouthed ‘Phil’.
