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Aaron resisted the urge to mutter that some things in the west were a damn sight better than over east. But another barbed comment might bring Oliver back to trawling through the past. The past that Aaron apparently hadn’t sorted. And Oliver had. Urgh.
He was just going to do the right thing and ask how Leonie was when Oliver said, “I saw Alice the other day.”
Aaron’s spine stiffened. He knew that, of course he did, after Alice had mentioned it the other night. He had just been hoping Oliver wouldn’t bring her up. But trust Oliver, always finding a new scab to pick at. He kept focusing on his plate.
“I took some damaged copies of my book to the Book Genie. We had a nice chat.”
Aaron heaped saffron rice onto his fork. “How was she? Haven’t seen her for a while.”
Apart from spread out like a feast on Rowena’s kitchen table.
“She’s looking great. Though she was a bit evasive. How’s things with you two?”
“Same. Why do you ask?”
“No reason. Except you walked out of my talk with your arm around her.”
Aha! Now he saw the great big hook Oliver was dangling. Well, he wasn’t fucking biting.
Aaron shrugged. “She was feeling a bit panicky, you know, with the crowds, so I gave her a bit of support.”
“Funny, that’s not her account of things.”
Shit.“Oh really?”
“Yes. She said it was because of some bet or other.”
A bet? Surely she hadn’t told Oliver about the fake girlfriend/flirting thing? Besides, that was an agreement, not a bet. And then he found himself irrationally hurt that she would want to put Oliver off the scent. Didn’t she want his family to suspect something was going on between them? Come to think of it, she’d certainly given him his marching orders when Jake and Polly turned up. Like she was ashamed to be associated with himthat way.
Aaron shoved a forkful of curry and rice into his mouth and chewed. What did it matter? The last thing he needed was Alice getting a crush on him. Ergo, any little fib Alice had told Oliver was irrelevant.
Forcing a laugh, he flung the fork down. “Ah well, you know me and Al; always trying to get one up on each other.”
Oliver merely waggled his eyebrows. “Andrea’s inviting her for afternoon tea on Sunday, by the way,” he added casually—toocasually. “She’s trialling a couple of new cakes for Gran’s ninetieth and she reckons Alice has the most discerning tastebuds.” Oliver waited, as if for Aaron to own up to something. “You’ll come, of course?”
He could find an excuse. So damned easy. He had a million and one other things he should be doing this weekend. Come to think of it he’d probably have to go in to work and get up to speed on the case before Monday.
He opened his mouth, and out came the words, “Sure, I’ll be there.”
