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“Or you could spend it with your dad, me, and Jess’s parents. We’ve booked Outdoor Bowls, tennis, and then we’re going to go into the depths of the forest to spot the different trees. You’re too late to book the sports, but watching is exciting too,” her mum said enthusiastically. It would have been endearing, but the faux excitement was for her dad’s benefit. The activities had him written all over them. “And it’s always nice to learn about the trees. You could help us spot the different types.”
She needed to spend the day with Chris. An unexpected ache filled her chest.
The handsome waiter from the previous day said hello as they were paying the bill at the till. “No chocolate chips today?”
“No.” Lucie blushed. Her face heated as her family stared at her.
“She’s too old for chocolate chips,” her dad responded. “She’s not a child.”
The waiter offered a reassuring smile. “You’re never too old for chocolate chips,” he said as her dad used the card machine.
“That’s true. I shall make a smiley face on my pancake with chocolate chips next time,” Lucie said loudly, grinning when her dad huffed and headed for the door without leaving a tip. Emma and her mum followed him while thanking the waiter.
It wasn’t right that her dad didn’t leave a tip when he could afford it. Lucie fished through her purse and popped some money next to the till. “Thank you,” she said to the waiter, who smiled back as she rushed to follow her family out the door, trying to stop them before they saw Chris.
She reached them as they left the dimmed lighting of the pancake house. Sunshine glinted off the pathways and briefly blinded her. Would Emma cover her if she pretended she wasspending the day swimming with her and Jess? She glanced at the beach again as trembles filled her fingers.
The ache of not seeing Chris intensified as her mum rambled, “It sounds like a fun day, doesn’t it? What do you say? Are you going to spend it with us?”
Her eyes watered. Surely this wasn’t over some boy? It must be because of the sun in her eyes. Her mum and dad waited for her answer, both their brows furrowed. How do you lie while looking in someone’s face?
“I’m—I’m not,” she stuttered before blustering through her lie. “I’m going to go swimming with Emma. That was an excellent idea of Dad’s.” Fluffy brown hair caught her eye, but she held her gasp inside and hid her grin as Chris stepped closer. Lucie shook her head briefly to force him to stop. “Aren’t I, Emma?”
She stared at her, imploring her to join in with the lie.
Emma stood to her side, staring back, her brows furrowed in suspicion. Lucie blinked in Chris’s direction. Surely all their years spent together had given them telepathic abilities.
But what if Emma chose not to support her? What if her dad grounded her and she never saw Chris again?
Panic gripped her heart as Emma eyeballed her.
Emma briefly looked to where Chris stood before returning to Lucie. Her eyes were wide in surprise. This was it. No moment mattered more than this. What would Emma say?
“I’m swimming with you and Jess. Aren’t I, Emma?” Lucie repeated, beseeching her.
Emma’s silence was longer than the wait for a presenter on a reality show to announce its winner.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Was Emma ever going to speak? Her future with Chris and maybe her entire happiness depended on her little sister. Lucie gritted her teeth and stared at her, silently begging her.
“Yeah, she is,” Emma eventually replied, deadpan.
“Hold on. I know this was my idea, but you haven’t got your costume,” Lucie’s dad grumbled as Lucie began to tremble. Chris was stepping closer again. “I guess you want the key. I suppose we can wait here while you run there and back. Maybe we can go and sit on the beach for a bit.”
The pancake was climbing up Lucie’s throat. How could her one lie catch her out instantly? She’d never be allowed to see Chris again or leave the lodge if her dad found out her plans.
Lucie desperately tried to communicate her need for support to Emma. How was she going to get out of this moment? Tears brimmed her eyes, but she clenched her fists, fighting against her body as it tried to betray her.
“I brought her costume with mine on the off chance she’d join us,” Emma said half-heartedly. Lucie could kiss her, even if her lie hadn’t sounded wholly convincing.
It was enough, because her mum threaded her arm through her dad’s. “Come on, David, let’s leave them to it. And don’t forget, we’ve got to get to bowls, or we lose our deposit.”
Her dad hesitated, but unsurprisingly the threat of losing money was the real catalyst, and soon they were rushing in the direction of the outdoor bowls with a shouted goodbye.
“Don’t forget your special dinner,” her dad added as he rushed away.
When he was gone, Lucie found Chris sharing a hint of a smile as he gave a tentative wave.
