Page 95 of Rafferty's Rules
‘Thanks, babe.’
‘You welcome, sweetie. But for the record, I’m not making you fat.’
‘You’re not making me anything,’ he retorts. ‘Unless it’s a ready meal you’ve picked up from Waitrose.’
‘Because my talents lay elsewhere,’ she answers, her words dripping with a meaning I don’t miss.
‘Man,’ Tom says, blowing out a breath. ‘Why did I go into education? I should’ve gone into porn.’
I glance at Flynn, his lips thinned to the point where they almost don’t exist. But he doesn’t reply. Chastity can obviously take care of herself.
‘I’m notintoporn, Thomas,’ Chastity rebukes icily. ‘I’m a producer of—’
She doesn’t get any farther than this, her husband and the rest of her family all chiming in with:
‘of tasteful, female-centric erotica with an emphasis on seduction, romance, and sensuality.’
‘Oh,’ she answers delightedly, ‘you’ve been studying the company spiel.’
‘No,’ Roman complains, setting down his beer, ‘We’ve just heard you banging on about it heaps.’
She laughs as Tom says, ‘Do you need any new meat?’
‘I’m not sure you qualify.’ Her gaze rolls over him as cold as her tone.
‘Oh, I qualify, all right,’ he answers with a leer, propping his elbow on the table and his fist under his chin.
‘Are you a member of the union?’
‘My member could join any union it likes.’
‘And that is the kind of statement that will get you on a list somewhere,’ Byron interjects, leaning over to slap the back of his head.
‘Or prison,’ Roman adds. ‘And you a teacher.’
‘Remind me to look for a different high school when the time comes, will you, darl?’ Amber nods.
‘Might do us both a favour.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Byron almost growls, glowering at his friend.’
‘Easy, tiger. I just mean Edie has a touch of Phillips, and I don’t want to fall out with a mate over detentions waiting for her at high school.’
The tension seems to seep out of Byron as he huffs out a laugh. ‘You’re right. She’s gonna be a handful.’
‘She’s an enterprising little soul, I’ll give her that.’ Tom smirks. ‘She tried to charge me two bucks to use the bathroom earlier on.’ Byron just shakes his head. She said the water was expensive.’
‘That’s because I told her off for leaving the hose on yesterday,’ Amber murmurs.
‘No,’ Byron asserts, ‘it’s because she’s an enterprising soul.’
‘Like Rafferty, then?’’ Sally suggests, causing me to turn to the man sitting next to me.’
‘I thought I was the lazy one,’ he retorts.
‘Laid back more like,’ Byron says.
‘Yeah, he’s laid back,’ Sally agrees, as though he’s not sitting at the table overhearing the conversation. ‘He’s just been a bit lost lately. But that’s okay, son,’ she says kindly, turning to him now. ‘We’ve all been a bit lost since your dad died.’
