AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Just coming,” I yell down the hall. “I’ll be with you in a sec!”
I glance again at my reflection, wondering if I have time to peel off the mask before I open the door. Then, somewhere inside me, the old Lexie raises her head, demanding to be heard.
I know he’s going to fire me, and I know I deserve it, so hey — I may as well have a bit of fun, just to let him know there are no hard feelings.
Grinning silently to myself, I creep down the hall and throw open the front door, as dramatically as I can.
“BOO!” I yell, leaping out into the cold evening air.
The figure on the doorstep jumps in shock, letting out a yell of alarm at the sight of the masked Hannibal Lecter-alike in front of him, dangerously close to flashing him, because the tie on her dressing gown is coming loose.
He’s not even half as shocked as I am, though: because the man knocking on my door isn’t McTavish, like I thought.
It’s Jett.
***
“How’s your ankle?”
Once he’s recovered from the near heart-attack I gave him on the doorstep, Jett follows me back to the kitchen where he watches me fill my hot water bottle from the now-boiled kettle.
“My ankle? Are you seriously telling me you’re here to ask about my ankle?”
Okay, I know I didn’t acquit myself well yesterday. At any point of it, really. But, the more I think about it — and I had alotof time to think during my wallowing session in the bath earlier — Jett isn’t exactly Man of the Moment here either, is he? He spent most of yesterday with me; helped with my ankle, supported me when I met the two dads; generally acted like a stand-up kind of guy who really wanted to do the right thing by me… and the whole time he was either engaged to Violet, or just about to be. Just a few short months after we broke up.
Yeah, I think I might be just alittlebit pissed at him, too, now you’re asking.
“No,” he says, rummaging in the inside pocket of his jacket and pulling out a large brown envelope, which he puts on the table. “I didn’t come herejustto ask about your ankle. I’m being nice, Lexie. I’m a nice guy, remember? I came to give you this.”
“What is it?” I eye the envelope suspiciously. “It’s not a restraining order, is it? Because trust me, you don’t need one: I have absolutely no intention of being anywhere near either you or Violet again. Ever.”
I raise my chin defiantly, the effect slightly ruined by the sheet mask I’m still wearing.
“No, Lexie,” Jett says wearily. “It’s not a restraining order. It’s a DNA test. I said I’d get Grace to organize one for you, remember? Hey, you couldn’t take that thing off your face, could you? It’s kind of freaking me out.”
“Oh. Right. Sure.”
I turn and walk out of the room with as much dignity as I can muster — which isn’t a lot, considering I’m wearing a dressing gown with ears on it — my mind whirring.
He still went ahead and set up the DNA thing, even after yesterday? And he brought it here himself, rather than just sending an assistant? Or a courier, even?
I have a feeling there’s more to this visit than he’s telling me. But I really don’t want to find out what it is while looking like this, so I head for the bathroom, where I get rid of the sheet mask, then quickly pull on some joggers and a sweatshirt, before heading back downstairs, my heart thumping as quickly as if I’ve just done a workout.
Jett’s still in the kitchen, and has helped himself to a glass of my wine. He’s poured one for me too, so I pull out a chair and sit down opposite him, feeling a bit like we’re about to start some kind of official meeting; or like he’s visiting me in jail.
I guess the gray tracksuit I’m wearing doesn’t really help with that, does it?
“So,” I say nervously, pulling the envelope towards me. “How does this work, then?”
If he’s going to pretend this test is the only reason he’s here, I guess I can do that too.
“It’s just a swab test,” he says. “Once you’ve done it, you put it back into the plastic tube, and it goes off to the lab. Pretty simple, really.”
“So I don’t need to go there in person? And I don’t have to see the two … the two men again … until we know which of them it is?”
Jett nods.
“They have the same tests,” he says. “They were delivered today. And I got Grace to deliver them in person, so we can be sure there’s no funny business.”
