Page 119 of The Way Home

“I have the…” Pippa patted her pocket. “Rings.”

His heart stuttered. “How do they look?” he asked immediatelyas he clicked the door shut behind him. He desperately hoped her answer wouldn’t be something likeutter shit.

When she didn’t answer right away, his shoulders slumped. “Oh, God. I ruined them, didn’t I? He’s going to hate me—”

“J…” Pippa’s expression softened as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny velvet box. She held it out to him, biting her lip. “They look brilliant.”

His heart expanded in his chest so suddenly that it almost hurt.

“Really?” he breathed. She gave a slow nod, still chewing on her bottom lip. Jamie loved this about Pippa. She was a goofball ninety-nine percent of the time, so when she was serious, you knew she meant it.

He gently took the box from her hands and bent down to stash it carefully in his suitcase. If he opened it and looked now, he’d probably start crying, and then Caleb would immediately want to know why his eyes were all puffy.

“This might be a spectacularly horrible idea, Pip.”

“Or…” Pippa squeezed his shoulder gently. “It might be exactly what he needs, yeah?”

The two of them returned to the living room. Pippa immediately slipped into the kitchen to join Ellie, while Jamie floated back into the living room and plopped down next to Sally.

Trying to be subtle, he glanced over at Caleb to see if there was a plate of anything in front of him. Caleb’s face looked fairly relaxed as he chatted with Angie about her ankle, but there was no evidence that he’d eaten.

As if reading his mind, Caleb glanced over at him and smirked. His eyes practically saidI’m fine, which glued Jamie right back to his spot on the floor.

Caleb claimed he hated being fussed over, but he certainly didn’t seem to mind being taken care of in other ways. Like, say, waking up this morning with Jamie sucking his cock—

“Jamie!” His mum’s voice startled him out of his dirty thoughts. He turned just in time to see her stepping in from the balcony. “Your herbs are thriving!” she announced proudly, wiping her forehead with the back of her palm and smearing a bit of dirt across it.

“Maggie, I love you, but…” Caleb chuckled from the couch. “If you touched those plants and killed them, I may have to come for you.”

His mother waved the comment away. “I am brilliant with plants, Caleb.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

Turning back to Angie, Caleb continued, “I want you to make sure Henri knows exactly the exercise plan I’ve had you on. I can email him if you—”

“I already sent it to him,” Angie interrupted, dipping a carrot into hummus before crunching down on it. “Now who’s acting like a mum?”

“I am not! I’m your trainer, Ang. I want your ankle to hold up for more than justthisseason…”

“It’s only two games. I’ll be fine, and then we’ll have all summer to rehab, yeah?”

Jamie shifted his attention to Sally, who sat cross-legged beside him, scrolling through her phone. She’d offered to house-sit while they were in the States—something she’d been eager to do since she currently lived with a roommate in Soho. In exchange for watering a few plants, she got the whole flat to herself.

“Doin’ alright, Sal?” Jamie asked, leaning his back against the coffee table.

“Yeah. Fine,” Sally muttered, sliding her phone into her pocket. Her red hair was pulled into a tight bun, and maybe Jamie was imagining things, but the usual Sally spark seemed dim. She looked… sad.

“Are you going to say anything?” he asked carefully. “To the administration, I mean?”

Her blue eyes lifted to his, and she shrugged. “What would I say? It’s not like I can prove Halcombe’s being a bigot. He gets to choose the staff for camp, and… what did he tell me? Oh yeah. That’s that.”

That’s that.Words that horrible people so often used to explain away their behavior.

She smoothed a palm over her forehead, and Jamie suddenly had the overwhelming urge to bike to the stadium and punch Halcomberight in his stupid face. Did the wanker even realize how miserable he was making everyone? Selfishly, he was glad that Caleb still got to enjoy summer camp with the kids. It was an important resume builder and something he loved.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t furious about Sally being cut.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jamie saw Caleb stand and pad toward the kitchen. Pippa greeted him with a cheerful,“There he is.”

Jamie turned back to Sally. “It’s fine,” she sighed, rolling her neck. “Really. Now I’ve got a free summer, boo hoo, right? I can focus on training, and… I dunno. Seeing Julia.”