Page 55 of You Had Me At Thirteen

‘No, he doesn’t,’ I say, eyeing him.

He scoffs, and picks at his scone, before shoving some crumbs into his mouth.

Deb must notice my lingering stare, because when I look back at her, she gives me a knowing smile. This sends my face into the wood-fire burner. I’m not sure what she thinks is going on, but whatever it is, it’s not the case.

Once we’re finished, Deb stands, holding onto the back of the chair. She’s so frail, and I have to rein in my emotions, managing a smile.

Wren jumps up to help her, but she swats him away. ‘I’m fine. You kids have fun. I need to take a nap.’

She bends down and wraps her arms around me. There’s still strength left in her when she squeezes me tight. ‘Please come visit whenever you want, sweetheart.’

‘Thank you for the scones,’ I say, hugging her. ‘Maybe I’ll get that recipe from you. Mum loves scones.’

‘Ask Wren, he made them.’ She gives me a sly wink.

‘I’ll do that,’ I say with a smile.

Deb shuffles towards the stairs, glancing back at us once, before she takes hold of the railing and disappears.

When she’s gone, I turn to Wren. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘About?’

‘Your mum.’ The words are out of my mouth before I comprehend what I’m saying, so I squeeze my lips together before I spill anything else, like my growing feelings for him.

I’d just promised my mum I wouldn’t say anything, and here I am not ten minutes later blabbing like I have a gun to my head, and I’m more than willing to tell you where my best friend is hiding. Busying myself with my plate and teacup, I stand to take them to the sink.

‘Just leave it,’ Wren says, snatching the items from me before throwing them into the sink himself. The clash of ceramic on ceramic has me startled for a moment.

‘I just want to help,’ I say and grab the teapot before he can.

‘You can go now,’ he says, his back to me as he scrubs the dirty items with too much force.

‘Wren, please let me help you.’

He slams his hand against the bench, water and bubbles splattering over the black granite. ‘I never asked for your help, Matilda.’

‘I know, but… why won’t you let anyone in?’

He spins on his heels and folds his arms over his chest, leaning his back against the kitchen bench. ‘Like you?’

I throw my hands up. ‘Someone. Anyone… but yes, me.’

He sucks in a breath and closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them, they are burning with such force, and his piercing glare has my heart slamming against my rib cage. He doesn’t speak again before he’s pushing me against the wall, his tall frame closing in on me. I’m not sure if he’s going to kiss me, or yell at me.

Fuck.

Kiss me, Wren.

Kiss me.

When I move my hand up to touch his face, he captures it before pinning it above my head.

‘I don’t do soft, Matilda. I’m not some puppy you can train. You think you can walk into my life and make everything all better? Well, guess what? You can’t.’ His eyes dart between mine, his nostrils flaring with each short breath.

I’m not sure what to say to that. This isn’t what I expected to happen when I came over here, although I don’t know what I expected. It’s not like Wren and I are friends, I guess.

If it wasn’t for our assignment, we probably would have never given each other a second thought. For him, that is. If I’m honest, he’s all I’ve thought about for the last five years.

---