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“Yummy?” She offers.
I giggle. “As good a word as any.”
“He’s lovely, Heidi,” she says, “and he looks at you as if you’re something precious. I like that.”
“He does not,” I scoff.
She smiles. “He’s obviously very fond of you.”
“He thinks of me as Oliver’s kid sister, that’s all.”
“That might be what he tells you, but I think he wants to do much more than pull your pigtails.” She waggles her eyebrows.
I glance at the window, where I can see him leafing through a book as Grandpa talks to him. “Well, actually, we did kiss last night…”
Her jaw drops. “Really? Oh my God, Heidi! A peck or a smooch?” Her excitement makes me laugh. She’s always been like this—like my fifteen-year-old best friend, excited to hear about my love life. She made such an effort with Jason, but he just seemed to think she was weird, which made me very sad.
“Oh,” I say with feeling, “it definitely fell into the smooch category.”
“And yet you slept in separate rooms?”
I sigh. “I know he’d like more, and so would I, but we’re both hesitant because we know it would have to come to an end, and neither of us wants that complication.”
“It doesn’t have to end. If it’s meant to be, love always finds a way.” She gives me a meaningful look, sipping her coffee as the two men come back out again.
I finish off my tea. It’s a romantic thought, but not a practical one, and I’m not willing to enter a tunnel when I can’t see the exit.
Still, it’s nice to watch Titus talking to Grandma, laughing at her jokes, and responding with some of his own. He seems so at ease in whatever company he’s in, able to converse with young and old, men and women. He’s quite clever, I notice, at turning the conversation away from himself; he’ll talk about his work, but he tends to divert personal questions away by asking the other person about themselves. With some surprise, I realize actually it might be because he’s shy at heart, and uncomfortable talking about himself.
He’s a puzzle, with many layers. A girl could take years peeling them away to discover what lies beneath.
We chat for another half an hour, and then it’s time to say goodbye. I hug Grandma, and she turns to him and says, “We’ll see you again at the wedding!” They’re flying over closer to the big day.
“Of course,” he replies. “I look forward to it.”
She hugs him. “Take care of her.”
“I will,” he promises, meeting my gaze over her shoulder and smiling.
“Will you be staying with Titus in Auckland?” Grandpa asks as he hugs me.
I move back, and I know I’ve blushed scarlet by the heat in my face and Titus’s amused glance. “No, I’ll be staying with Chrissie.”
“Oh, I thought you were…” Grandpa trails off as he looks at Grandma, and she glares at him. “Ah,” he says, “trust me to put my foot in it.”
Titus laughs. “We’re just friends,” he says.
“Goodbye,” Grandma replies, “I hope the weekend goes well. And that he persuades you to stay!” she adds mischievously.
He gives her a wry look, and then we wave goodbye and head back to the car.
“Jeez,” I say as we get in and close the door. “Sorry about that.”
“He’s getting a bollocking now,” he says, amused. “Poor Graham.” He looks across at me as I start the engine and back out of the drive. “He’s worried about you.”
“Because of Jason?” He nods. “Yeah,” I say, putting the car into gear and heading toward the main road, “Gramps didn’t like him much. Neither did Grandma, come to that, although they were both too polite to say so. I’m not quite sure what they didn’t like, but you can tell, can’t you?”
He nods, and something about his silence prompts me to look at him. “Gramps told you, didn’t he?”
