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Like an adult.
Go me.
“Look, Miles. I know you don’t like me.” I turned so I was facing him and stared at the side of his head. “Honestly, I’m not sure why. I don’t know if I’ve done anything to offend you at any point or if you’ve found my questions annoying, or if you just don’t know me enough to like me. No matter what you think of me, you should know that I’m not a horrible person. I don’t like to see anyone hurt or worried, and that includes you, regardless of how you may feel about me. You’re clearly terribly worried about your grandfather and would feel better if someone checked on him, and I can make that happen. I see no reason for you to worry unnecessarily, and if your grandfather does need help, he can get some.”
He stared into the flames that were roaring inside the fireplace for what seemed like forever until he turned to look at me. His eyes met mine, and a shiver danced down my spine before it fizzled out.
The intensity in his gaze, however, did not, and it seemed like an age passed until he spoke. “You think I don’t like you?”
I pushed my hair behind my ear and broke eye contact for a fleeting second. “It’s not hard to figure out. You’re rude to me more times than you are kind, and you dismiss me more often than you entertain me. And that’s fine, really. If we all liked everybody, this would be a horribly boring world, but I just want you to know that my wanting to help you isn’t contingent on you liking me or being a member of my father’s staff. I genuinely would like to help you, if you’d let me.”
Miles’ throat bobbed. “He lives at number four. I would appreciate if someone could check on him and that bloody menace of a cat of his.”
I held his gaze and forced a small smile. “No problem.” I turned to my phone and opened my text thread with Adelaide and Evangeline. I didn’t have a whole bunch of signal, something I was reminded of as another bout of hailstones smashed against the windows as if they were trying to break in, but it was enough to send a quick text or two.
ME: I need a favour.
ADDY: I am not getting a spider out of your bathtub again. Not in this weather.
EVA: What she said.
ME: Funny. I’m flooded in with Miles.
EVA: I’d like to be flooded in with Miles.
ADDY: EVANGELINE
ADDY: Same, though, let’s be honest.
ME: I’m being serious.
EVA: Then why are you texting us and not getting busy with him?
ME: I don’t want to sleep with him.
Lies.
Mostly.
EVA: You’re a stronger woman than I. If I wrote down the things I’d do to that man, I’d be arrested for solicitation.
ADDY: I think it’s just called whoring yourself out these days.
This was why we weren’t allowed to work on projects together in school.
Our tangents had a tangent.
ME: Oh, my gosh. Can we focus, please?
ADDY: Yes. What do you need? Condoms? We’re a bit far away from that.
Clearly, I’d made a grave mistake here.
ME: His grandfather is at 4 Bramble Lane with his cat. He needs a hip replacement and Miles is really worried about him. Are you flooded up there or could your dad drive down there to check on him?
I stared at my phone waiting for the response, and I was all too aware of Miles’ eyes on me, too.
ADDY: On our way. Give us 20.
I looked over at Miles. “They’re on their way. Give them twenty minutes and they’ll let me know.”
He nodded, but his attention was fleeting. Instead of turning back to the fire like I’d expected, he picked up the cricket book he’d selected from the shelves earlier. In all honesty, I was grateful for that. If he was reading, it meant I didn’t have to talk to him.
That didn’t mean the twenty minutes or so didn’t drag. They did. Like a sad squirrel’s tail. Right along the floor getting all dusty and stuff.
When my phone pinged, Miles paused, looking up from his book. I pretended not to notice his intense gaze on me as I reached for my phone and unlocked it so I could read the text from Adelaide.
ADDY: Stopped by. He’s ok but no power or hot water, we’ve bundled him and his demon cat into Dad’s Land Rover and brought him to the hotel. We have the generator, so he’ll be fine here until the storm passes.
Of course. I’d forgotten about their generator. It was a petrol one and lived in one of the old stables in case of an emergency—I guess tonight counted as an emergency. I was seconds away from enquiring about the flooding when Eva’s text came through to the chat.
