Page 120 of Red Flag
“It’s an absolute pleasure,” Nix said, taking her hand to kiss.
His easy-going charm was going to earn him some brownie points. Mum grinned. “Well, it’s nice for Olivia to bring homea gentleman for once.”
At least that definitely confirmed she hadn’t heard any of our activities as she came home.
My swallows were still harsh in my throat.
Nix and I waited several seconds for her to introduce us to her boyfriend, but her attention went back to the food. Ben, drink refilled, left.
“Er, Nix, this is David, I assume?”
David nodded, not looking up from chopping his precious lemons.
“Do you need any help dishing up?” I asked Mum again.
“No,” she said and shooed us out. “Just take these drinks out with you.”
I looked over the champagne flutes. Nix didn’t drink.
So I downed one, to my mum’s chagrin, and filled it with orange juice.
With two drinks each, Nix and I went out to join my brother and Griff.
Griff gestured to the space beside him. “Nix, arm yourself by sitting between me andLiv. We’ll save the dirty work for Ben.”
Nix laughed and sat between us, taking a sip of the orange juice and placing his phone on the table. We didn’t do that here. Phones were forbidden at dinner.
David brought out the potatoes and vegetables while Mum came to give us the meat and Yorkshire puddings. From all of my travelling, I had really missed a good roast—nearly as much as a full breakfast.
Mum took each of our plates in turn, loading the potatoes on and talking to David about Nietzsche. Something she’d never had an interest in before.
“So, my French is definitely not that bad,” my brother whispered with a little grin as he leaned over the table to talk to me. “Something about being his little slut?”
Griff choked on his drink. My mum stopped dishing up the potatoes and came to his back. “Are you okay? Do you need a soft drink?”
“Fine!” Griff wheezed, putting the glass of champagne down with a little more force. “Just went down — the wrong way!”
Mum patted him on the shoulder and returned to the plates.
“You must be quite fluent then,” Nix confirmed. I nudged him in the ribs with my elbow.
“Rusty,” he said. “I haven’t had to use it much since we were sixteen.”
Nix cocked his head to the side. “So, you both speak French?”
“Not exactly fluently,” I said, shoving my carrots around the plate. “We lived in France for a few months at a time for Dad’s job.”
Mum sat next to Ben and said grace. Somehow, that made Griff laugh more, trying to clear his throat.
I wanted to die. The floor should open up, swallow me whole and throw me back up somewhere very, very far away.
“Olivia wasn’t very good at languages,” my mum said with a little laugh. “She always struggled.”
“You didn’t earlier,” Nix said, shovelling a forkful into his mouth to hide his grin. “Your French was perfect.”
Oh. My.God.
Griff coughed again, trying to pass it off as the previous coughing fit. Ben pursed his lips, eyes wide, staring down at his plate.
