Page 65 of Let Me Love You (Excess All Areas 5)

Ben noticed her arm shake as she tried to touch Alex’s hair.

“I missed you too, lad,” Nan said.

Ben leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “We’d have come to see you later, you know.”

“I know, but this way I get to see all of you. Tell me about your adventures. Oh, and I brought scones. They’re from my freezer because I’m still a bit unsteady.”

Cerys was already plating them up in the kitchen as Luke and Matt gave her a hug.

“Want to see what we were just working on, Nan?” Ben asked. “We’re making an acoustic version of Fantastic Distraction, the song Jase wrote about Cerys. He can’t sing it that great because his throat’s a bit raw from the tour, but you’ll get the idea.”

Nan clapped weakly. “I’d love to see it. I haven’t seen you perform in person in a while. Since Manchester, last year.”

They set up right in front of her as if Jase’s family room was a stage, and she nodded her head in time to the beat, taking turns to watch each of them in a way that made Ben grin. When they were done, she clapped one hand against the chair arm.

“Well done. You sounded lovely, lads.”

Jase helped Cerys with mugs of tea and handed out the scones as they sat around with Nan, all urgency to get things wrapped up gone as they sat with the woman they were all relieved to see up and about, even if she was a little unsteady on her feet.

“So, we were in this diner,” Luke continued. “And this guy comes up to Alex and asks him to sign his shirt. Then, he starts flirting and shit, and Alex politely points out he’s got a girlfriend, and Ben steps in to tell the guy to get lost, but the guy hands Ben the phone and asks him to take a picture. So, Ben does, just to get shut of the guy, and then asks him to leave. And the guy says, ‘Don’t you know this is Alex King from Sad Fridays?’ And Ben drolly says he had no idea and gets Alex to sign his shirt too.”

Nan chuckled. “I hope the pen comes out of your shirt.”

Ben laughed. “Me too. It cost three hundred quid.”

“Well, you’ve got more money than sense if you’re wearing shirts that cost that much when you can get a decent shirt for a tenner at Primark. How’s Izabel, Matt? I haven’t seen her in a couple of weeks.”

“She got asked to do this major event in London, so when she wasn’t in the States with me, she was there. But it’s done now and she’s home. Why don’t I come and get you and bring you to my house for dinner on Sunday?”

“You can come to mine,” Nan said.

Jase reached for her hand. “As much as Matt’s roast will not taste like yours, maybe you let us cook for you, you know, just until you’re a bit steadier and all that. Not forever, right?”

Ben heard the hitch in Jase’s voice, and swallowed.

“Alright.”

“And Saturday, you can come to mine and Alex and Zoe can come too,” Ben said. “They can pick you up on the way.”

Nan waved her hand. “It’s a lot of faff for just me. I’ll get a taxi or the bus.”

“Don’t be daft, Nan,” Alex said. “It’ll take two minutes to come and get you. For once, let us help you instead.”

“Fine.”

Ben glanced down at his watch. “Shit,” he said, shoving his guitar into his case. “There’s somewhere I need to be.”

“Bow chicka wow,” Jase sang then coughed.

The others laughed.

“Well, that wasn’t very subtle, Jason Palmer,” Nan scolded. “I take it you’re off to see Chaya.”

Ben grinned. “I am. I need to get her car from the garage before it closes.”

“I think what he meant to say, Nan, was that there’s someone he has to do,” Luke said.

Alex burst out laughing. “Good one.”

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