Page 61 of He's the One

“There’s too many?”Oh God, of course there was.“They were reduced. I can’t resist a bargain. And what if they were thrown away tonight and no one had loved them?”Shit. Why did I tell him that?

But Col smiled.

A little later, when he walked into the house, Col’s mum seemed so delighted with the deluge of flowers and the wine that he felt a bit easier. Right until he realised what he’d also accidentally given her. She’d pulled the Mars Bars and Crunchies from the bag before Theo snatched it back.

“I got those for Col, sorry,” he blurted.

She laughed and Theo breathed a sigh of relief only to register Col was trying to drag the bag off him and would soon be revealing what else he’d bought.

“Nope.” Theo hugged the bag to his chest. “These are for our metal-detecting trip. I’ll hide them for you to find.”

Col let go.

Thank fuck for that.

“How was Dominic?” Col’s mother asked.

“He didn’t look very well, but then he never does.”

“Why have they transferred him back to Marsden?” his father asked.

“I don’t know. He’s better off there though. Is it okay if I take the iron downstairs?”

His mum frowned. “You can iron up here. Do you want me to do it for you? What needs ironing?”

“It’s a trick he wants to show me,” Theo said.

“With an iron?” She gaped at him.

“Yes.” Col pulled an iron out from under the sink and Theo followed him downstairs.

“Don’t stay down there playing with an iron,” his mother called. “I never thought I’d have to say that.”

Theo followed Col into a bedroom next to where they’d left their shoes, and thought how lovely it looked: warm and clean and homely. A bright blue and white checked duvet lay over a double bed with a wooden headboard. There were lots of sketches on the walls that Col must have drawn, and every flat surface and two corners of the floor held items made out of stone: animals, flowers and geometric designs.

He ran his fingers over the smooth curves and raised patterns. “These are amazing. Do you still have the first one you ever did?”

“Mum does, in her bedroom. A bear.”

“Maybe you could carve me something. Would it take more than a day?”

“Depends if you want it the size of a car.”

Theo laughed. “I was thinking of Isla, curled up with her tail wrapped around her.”

Col tipped his head on one side and closed his eyes. “I could do that.” When he opened his eyes again, he sighed. “What the hell are we going to tell my mother we were doing with the iron?”

Theo fiddled with his phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Googlingstupid things to do with an iron.”

Col plugged the iron in, took the note from his pocket and put it on a wooden board on the floor. “What does Google say?”

“I had to get rid of thestupid.Er…make a cover for a phone, clear up spilt candlewax…er…seal packets of cat food. Have you got a cat?”

“No.”

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