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Before I can assure him I have no plans to fall asleep over dinner, there’s a soft rap on the front door of the cabin, and, after a minute, Ollie appears, pushing a cart filled with what looks like the entire contents of the Emerald View kitchen.
“Chef sends his apologies,” he says, pretending not to have noticed me sitting there in the chair by the bed. “We couldn’t warm anything up while the power’s out, but he’s done his best with what we had. Enjoy.”
He withdraws tactfully, with a hefty tip from Jett tucked into his pocket.
“What do you want first?” asks Jett, hovering over the food. “I wonder if they have any of those teacake things I like? Oh!”
He straightens up guiltily.
“Do you want me to go find McTavish?” he says, suddenly awkward. “Would you rather have this with him?”
He gestures towards the sandwiches, and the cakes, and the… is that a whole chicken I can see? Have they really sent us anentire chicken?
“McTavish?” I say blankly. “Why would I want to share it withMcTav… oh.”
Of course. My boyfriend, McTavish. Who is, even now, probably trying to persuade Mum to get out of the bar, blissfully unaware of the fact that he’s in a relationship with me.
I’m about to tell Jett it’s not real; that I’m not actually going out with McTavish. Then I remember his message telling me to stay away from him and Violet, and suddenly my entire body goes cold.
“Um, I think he’ll have already eaten,” I say, gnawing my thumb nail nervously. “He… eats a lot.”
Heeatsa lot? This, on top of ‘he’s really tall’ certainly demonstrates the depth of my feelings for the guy, doesn’t it?
“He was really worried about you,” says Jett, turning back to the food. “And your mom seems to like him, too. Especially when she realized he has a nice car now.”
Sounds like Mum.
I watch silently as he heaps food onto a plate and brings it over to me. He’s got all of my favorites. Plus a Tunnock's Teacake for himself, which almost makes me smile.Almost.
“Jett, why am I here?” I blurt, as he sits down on the bed, facing me. His face clouds.
“Oh, shit,” he says, jumping back up and putting a hand against my forehead. “You’re not okay at all, are you? You don’t even remember what happened. That’s it, I’m trying the doctor again; there must be someone who can come out here.”
“No, it’s not that,” I say quickly, grabbing his hand to stop him reaching for his phone. “I’m not confused. Well, Iamconfused, actually. Because, just this morning, you sent me a message telling me never to come near you ever again, and now you’re feeding me Tunnock's Teacakes in your hotel bedroom. So,why? Why am I here?”
Jett sits back down, but doesn’t pull his hand away, so I keep on holding it.
“Emily said we should let you rest,” he says evenly. “And the cabins are all booked out, apparently, so I said you could stay in this one. Like I said, there’s tons of room.”
“Yeah, I got that bit,” I reply impatiently. “I just don’t getwhy, is all. You hate me, right? You think I told Alan all that stuff about you, that he told the reporter? I didn’t, by the way — but if you think that about me, why offer to let me stay here? I’m sure they could’ve foundsomewhereelse for me and Mum. Itisa hotel. Well, a log cabin thingy.”
“I told you, someone has to stay with you,” says Jett defensively. “And McTavish has to go back out to pick up the rest of the crew, so—”
“Mum could’ve stayed with me.”
“Yeah, butIwanted to, okay?”
He says it so quickly I think it surprises even him. He raises a hand to his face as if he wants to take the words back, then drops it again.
“Look, this is the second time you’ve been injured in almost as many days, Lexie,” he says. “You’re terrifying me. The twisted ankle was one thing, but you could have been killed out there tonight. If that thing had hit you…”
He rubs his eyes wearily. He hasn’t opened his Teacake.
“It didn’t, though,” I tell him, squeezing his hand. “I rolled out of the way and hit myself instead. I’m cool like that.”
He manages a weak smile.
“Jett,” I say carefully. “You know I didn’t tell Alan anything, don’t you? You know I’d never do that?”
