Page 67 of Always Beth
‘You should invite her over.’
‘Oh, I don’t know, Lauren, we’ve both got a lot going on, the timing isn’t right.’
‘There’s never a right time for anything, trust me,’ she snaps.
My teeth grind repeatedly against one another as I fight the urge to respond.
‘If you think you have a future with Beth, you need to do something about it before it’s too late.’
‘It’s my love life, leave it to me, if I want to do something about it, I will.’ As we stop behind traffic, I pull the handbrake up so harshly the sound echoes through the car.
‘You need to move on,’ she says finally.
‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’
‘Let things go, stop holding a grudge.’
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’ I speed away at the next break in the traffic and head out into the country lanes.A grudge?She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. We sit in silence for what feels like an eternity until I can’t stand it any longer. ‘What do you mean a grudge?’
‘Jacob. I’m talking about Jacob.’
‘I don’t hold a grudge, I just don’t like him.’ I bite my tongue as the biggest lie this century passes my lips.
‘He misses you, James.’
I try and concentrate on the lane ahead, but all I can hear is his voice, both their voices. They betrayed me. I don’t care if he misses me. They can go to hell, both of them. Lauren stares ahead and from the corner of my eye I can see her hands fumble in her lap. There’s a reason she’s brought him up again and I don’t know why, but it feels worse than before.
‘What?’ I whisper.
‘I want to see them, James, both of them, you know, before it’s too late. I want to invite them to the cottage.’
‘By them…you mean?’
She nods and a tear rolls down her cheek, and my heart pounds, Jacob is one thing, he’s my blood, but I can’t relive that time of my life again. No way.
Turning to stare out of the window, she utters the words I never wanted to hear.
‘I’ve made up my mind, James, I’m calling Grace.’
ChapterEighteen
Beth
Butterflies swirl in the pit of my stomach. I’ve raised my hand to knock several times and just can’t find the courage. I’m surprised he invited me over in the first place. When I texted to tell him that Stephen had conceded, the last thing I was expecting was an invitation to celebrate. Having me over to their cottage is probably the safer of the two options anyway, because who knows what would happen if we were alone. I raise my hand to the door and it clicks and falls open.Oh Christ, he looks good.
‘You’d make a terrible canvasser.’ He chuckles.
‘I’ll have you know, I’ve converted a voter or two in my time.’
‘I bet you have. Come in.’
James barely moves an inch, forcing me to slide past him. My arm brushes lightly against his and I immediately still at the skin-to-skin contact. I turn to find his eyes pinned on me, waiting for me to speak.
‘Thank you for inviting me.’
‘Glad you could come.’
Things have turned so formal between us. Both of us too afraid to show any real emotion. We stand transfixed on one another, and I wonder if he’s longing to kiss me as much as I need him to. Dick’s shrill bark draws my attention away and I glance up the stairs to find him clearly perturbed that I’m Poppy-less.
