Page 28 of Burning Embers
“Is everything all right?” asks Sophie while rinsing the mixer attachments.
I nod once and turn to her with a smile. “Yeah, fine,” I reply.
She tilts her head. “Why don’t I believe you?” I shrug and continue filling up the sugar containers. “You know what we need? Agirls’ nightout.” She claps her hands together; I can’t suppress my laugh. There’s something infectious about her excitement.
“I’d have to wait until payday,” I admit.
She slaps the counter. “I don’t think so. It’s my treat. You helped me so much leading up to Selene being born.”
I shake my head, ready to argue with her, but she’s not taking no for an answer. Hand on her hip, her eyes bore into mine. “Okay, fine. As long as Marcus will have Molly tomorrow, it sounds lovely. Will you ask Felicity to come?”
She smiles wide. “Of course, this is going to be so good. I can’t wait.”
“Don’t you need to clear it with Charlie?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No, he won’t mind. He’ll be pleased I’m doing stuff again.”
She struggled when Selene came along, opened up to me when she returned to work. She blamed herself for their little girl’s early arrival. But it was out of her control. I couldn’t imagine being in a relationship like theirs; they are lucky.
I can’t remember the last time I had a night out, but I’m grateful for Sophie, I needed this. “So, how are the classes going with Olly?” Sophie asks over the brim of a margarita glass.
“It’s okay. I was apprehensive at first, but he’s a great teacher,” I reply, unable to hide my smile.
“I bet he is,” she says with a wink.
“Who is what?” asks Felicity, looking up from her phone before slipping it back into her bag.
“Olly—he’s a good teacher. He’s giving Rach self-defence lessons.”
Felicity stares at me, a warm smile gracing her lips. “How does that not surprise me?”
“You know, Charlie thought maybe there was something between Olly and me,” Sophie says on a light chuckle. I almost choke on my drink. “Yeah, he asked me once, but I told him I thought he liked you.”
I cough to clear my throat. “Who—Charlie?”
She shakes her head, laughing. “No, Olly. I think he likes you.”
I stutter as I try to come up with a response. “He—what no way—he doesn’t. I mean…not like that.” He acts like he’s not good enough for me, he’s even said as much, but I’ve found myself disagreeing.
“Really? Because if my sources are correct… Did he or did he not have you and Molly-Mae stay over at his house?”
I am so glad my glass is on the table and not in my hands. “It is, but nothing happened. He was just being a friend.”
They both laugh in unison.
“Listen, friend or not, there is no way he would go out of his way for you like that if there wasn’t more to it.”
I cover my warm face with my hand, hoping to hide my embarrassment. I’m a grown woman, and yet I feel like a giddy teenager.
“Well…do you like him?” asks Felicity, sipping on her cocktail.
I’m just about to answer when someone clears their throat from behind us, and the girls’ eyes go wide. I turn to peer over my shoulder.
“Rachel, I thought that was you.”
I quickly stand and grab him in a hug. “Harris, oh my god. How are you?” I step back. He looks good, a little less awkward than the kid I knew from school.
“I’m good. Blimey, this is a blast from the past,” he says, his eyes dancing all over my face.
