My only hope was I’d have figured it out by then.
Chapter Sixteen
Darcy
The ideaof having dinner with Owen’s dad had been weighing on my mind for four days, and with every hour that passed, it seemed to get heavier.
Owen and I hadn’t talked about the weird moment we’d had after we’d gone back to the kitchen, where I’d told him I was confused and he’d promised nothing was going to change. But that wasn’t true, and both of us knew it, and I hated that he’d felt the need to pacify me with a false promise.
I supposed I could have challenged him on it. And maybe I should have.
But deep down, I wasn’t ready for that conversation.
Sooner or later we’d have to have it though, because we couldn’t keep burying our heads in the sand and pretending this was going to last forever.
“This is ridiculous,” I muttered under my breath as I sighed, only half focused on the chai base I was straining.
“What is?” Alfie asked, looking up from his desk in the corner where he was buried in end-of-the-month reporting. It was soearly in the morning I’d totally forgotten he was there and startled, spilling cooling custard across the counter.
“Shit!” I put the pot down with a clang, looking around for some blue roll to mop it up. Luckily I hadn’t spilt too much, or I’d have been pissed at myself for wasting things.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, grabbing the roll. “Sorry, I was off in my own world and I forgot you were there.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not your fault.”
“Is everything okay?” Alfie asked, his chair scraping across the floor as he stood. “You seem a bit on edge.”
“It’s fine,” I said as I mopped up the puddles of chai custard, the smell of the spice blend filling the air. It was one of my favourites, but one that was a little underappreciated.
“Really? Because you know you can tell me.”
I did and I hated the fact I’d been lying to him by omission. Alfie hadn’t hidden his relationship with Jonathan, or his struggles, because he trusted me. And while I knew he’d say I wasn’t obligated to share anything about my life, it felt shitty to keep things from him considering he was one of my best friends. That wasn’t how things should work between us.
And maybe he’d have some magical insight into this whole mess I was missing. His advice certainly couldn’t be any worse than Milo’s. Although he’d also been strangely quiet about the situation lately, which was concerning. I hoped he wasn’t planning some ridiculous stunt to get Owen and me to talk to each other.
Or something to do with Rupert, who owned the sweet shop next door. The pair of them had gotten off on the wrong foot in the spring when we’d opened, and it’d led to some, frankly, childish pranks and playground pettiness, but things seemed to have cooled between them as the summer ramped up. Mostlybecause they both had better things to do. But since it was practically September, they’d have more free time to snipe at each other again.
Unless they decided to grow up and call a truce.
For my sake, I hoped Milo didn’t start shit again, because I really didn’t have time for that nonsense.
“It’s… there’s a lot,” I said, not looking at Alfie as I spoke. “And, er, I’ve been hiding some stuff from you.”
“Is it about Owen?”
I must have looked surprised because he chuckled softly and continued. “You’re not as subtle as you think you are. Either of you.”
“How did you…? When?” I stared at him, sodden lump of blue roll in hand. He shrugged.
“A couple of weeks. I had my suspicions but the way you act in the kitchen together changed, and both of you are always looking at the other person when they’re busy. It’s sweet, actually. The tiramisu tasting mostly confirmed it.” He smiled. “Plus, Theo saw you out and about together holding hands, and he told Jonathan, and Jonathan asked me about it. And Milo is awful at keeping secrets, although I promised him I wouldn’t tell you I knew or that he’d spilled the beans. He felt terrible about it.”
“I… I… Fuck’s sake!” I groaned exasperatedly, stomping over to the bin to chuck the blue roll away. “What did Milo say?”
“Will you ask him about it?”
