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“How do you know that?”
“There’s nobody else on the estate that could be described as ‘cute.’”
Fred’s lips twitched up. “Mhmm. Ran past the lodge and she was sitting outside. I thought I’d introduce myself.”
I nodded slowly. “And that was purely coincidence.”
“No. I’m nosy. I wanted to know who has you tied up in knots.”
“I’m not tied up in knots.”
“Mm. If you say so.”
I eyed him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He sipped his tea. “You kissed her.”
Shit.
“She told you about that?”
“Not really.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“I said it as a joke, and she froze. She got this little deer-in-headlights look on her face. Bit like yours now, actually.”
I shook my head and turned away from him. “It was a mistake.”
“Max. You’re allowed to like this woman.”
“I’m not talking about this, Fred.”
“What’s your problem? She’s gorgeous, she’s funny, and you’re spending a lot of time with her. You clearly like her—”
“I said I’m not talking about it,” I ground out, heading for the door.
He sighed. “You’re not your father.”
I stopped mid-step and reached out for the doorframe to steady myself. “I said—”
“I know. You’re not talking about it,” he said from behind me. “But, mate… You can’t close yourself off just because he made some bad decisions.”
“He didn’t make bad decisions.” I turned around to face my best friend. “He was a murderer. Mum didn’t deserve what he did.”
“No, she didn’t. But you’re not him. You’re nothing like him.” Fred smiled sadly. “You know if your mum were here, she’d tell you to keep an open mind. That’s what she told us about everything when we were kids.”
I sighed and looked down. “It’s not that simple.”
“It never is. It’s not easy to open yourself up to another person when you know you could get hurt. Look what Charlotte did to me. It wasn’t easy making the decision to break up with her, but I knew that couldn’t continue. I knew I couldn’t continue to allow her to disrespect my family and my friends the way she was. You were the one who opened my eyes to that.”
I stretched my neck on both sides. “That was different.”
“Yeah, of course, but it doesn’t mean it’s any less valid. I’ve only spent five minutes with Ellie and it’s pretty obvious that she’s a great person and is seriously in denial about her feelings for you.”
“Right. Like she feels anything for me except regular annoyance and mild contempt.”
“That appears to be mutual.”
