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He’d expected lots of probing questions about what the hell he’d been doing all this time while his brother had made a staggering success of his life. Instead Linc and Ali kept their inquiries discreet and when he didn’t elaborate they seemed more than happy to take up the slack, telling him funny stories about their family and how they’d first met.
Monroe hadn’t missed the intimate looks that passed from husband to wife during the telling. He also noticed the way his brother never seemed to miss an opportunity to touch his wife.
The gentle, possessive hand resting on the small of her back when she sat down to eat. The way his fingers stroked her arm when she passed him the salad bowl. The love between them was so tangible, Monroe was touched despite his determination to remain aloof.
Monroe liked watching people. It helped him create the pictures he painted. But while he could see the love between Linc and his wife, he was more interested in the reaction of Ali’s sister. He had seen the shadow of longing in Jessie’s eyes.
When Linc and Ali left the table to get the dessert, Monroe kept his eyes on Jessie. She watched the couple walk over to the large open kitchen together, the yearning in her eyes obvious when Linc pulled his wife into a fleeting embrace behind the breakfast bar. What was Jessie thinking, he wondered, with that romantic look in her eyes?
She turned suddenly, and caught him studying her.
‘Will you stop staring at me? It happens to be flipping rude.’
It was the first time she’d spoken to him directly since handing him his beer. The exasperation in her voice made him smile.
‘So’s swearing at the table, Red, but you don’t hear me complaining.’
Would she never be able to get the last word with this man? Jessie thought as her teeth ground together.
To her surprise, the dinner hadn’t been as excruciating as she thought it would be. For an ex-con and obvious reprobate he could be charming when he wanted to be. Although she noticed he’d been cleverly evasive whenever Ali or Linc had asked him about his life. He just said he’d been ‘on the move.’ Well, okay, she didn’t exactly have a spectacular career at the moment, but she did have goals, objectives. At the very least, she did a bit more than just travel around on a motorbike.
She’d also caught him staring at her several times during the meal. That last probing look, when she’d been daydreaming about having a marriage like Linc and Ali’s, had really unsettled her. The strange sense of envy she felt was one of her most shameful secrets.
‘Flipping is hardly a swear word,’ she whispered, so Linc and Ali wouldn’t overhear them. ‘It’s just an expression.’
‘Red, anything’s a swear word when you say it with that look in your eye.’
She choked down her pithy response when Ali appear
ed with a huge lemon pie.
‘I hope you’ve still got some room left, Monroe,’ Ai said, placing the pie on the table.
Monroe leaned back and patted his flat belly. ‘I might just have a little.’
The pie was served as soon as Linc arrived with a gallon of ice cream. Avoiding Monroe’s gaze, which seemed to be fixed on her yet again, Jessie gave Linc her sweetest smile. ‘I thought I’d go into town tomorrow and beg the people at the Cranford Art Gallery for the Saturday job they’ve been advertising. Could I borrow the BMW?’
‘Sorry, Jess.’ Linc scooped some more ice cream onto his plate. ‘It’s making a weird noise. I’m planning to get the guy at the shop to take a look at it.’
‘I’ll give it a look.’
Linc stopped eating at Monroe’s casual comment. ‘There’s no need.’
Monroe forked up another generous piece of pie, sent his brother a level look. ‘Sure there is.’
Jessie could see Linc was on the verge of refusing again, when Ali touched his arm, silencing him. Ali beamed a smile at Monroe. ‘That’s great, Monroe. It’ll save us the trouble of having to call the mechanic.’
Jessie wondered at the sudden tension in the room between the two men. It was also odd that Monroe had made the offer. After all, wasn’t he supposed to be a deadbeat? She shrugged the thought aside; it made no difference to her what he was. She turned to Ali. ‘Are you using the people carrier tomorrow?’
Ali nodded. ‘Linc and I promised Emmy we’d go to the funfair at Pleasance Beach. Maybe we could drop you off in town and then pick you up later. Did you have a particular time in mind?’
‘It’s okay. That’ll take you miles out of your way.’ Jessie couldn’t help feeling a little crestfallen. She’d wanted to get to the gallery tomorrow. She needed to find a job.
‘You can catch a ride with me on the Harley,’ Monroe said. ‘I’ve got to go into town and pick up some groceries. I’ve got a spare helmet.’
Jessie stared at him. Surely he couldn’t be serious. ‘No, really, it’s no problem. I’ll go in another day.’
‘Don’t be silly, Jessie,’ Ali piped up. ‘If Monroe’s offering you should—’
