“We talked. A lot. Christina wasn't so wrong about him after all.”
Josh didn't look nearly as happy at this news as I’d hoped and I said, “This is a good thing, Josh. A really good thing.”
He nodded. “I'm pleased for you.”
“Right,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “You look it too.”
“I'm not going to pretend that I like him, Leah. Not after what he put you through over the last few months. But if you think it's worth giving him a chance, I wish you luck.”
He sounded more sceptical than supportive and it annoyed me. Josh's opinion was important and without him backing me, there would be a dark cloud shadowing my good mood for the rest of the day.
Sensing my thoughts, he said, “Don't look at me like that. I don't have to like him.”
“But you did like him.”
“Before he messed you around.”
“So you're not even going to give him a chance?”
“I won’t make things hard for you,” Josh said. “If this is what you want, fine. I can’t forget that he hurt you though.”
I knew he wanted to say more but I could tell by the uneasy look on his face that Radleigh was on his way over to us. I turned and greeted him with a smile. As he reached us I said, “Everything sorted out?”
He nodded. “Yeah, you have a place to stay tonight.”
“Thank you.”
In response, he smiled then looked nervously at Josh.
“Hey.”
Josh surveyed him for a second. “Hello.”
The tension was unbearable and eventually Radleigh broke the silence.
“Listen, man,” he said. “I know I’m probably the last person you want your little sister to be with but I wanna … I'm gonna take care of her. If she'll let me.”
Once, my reaction would have been to tell him I could take care of myself and even if I did need someone to take care of me, he would be my last choice. And while I was perfectly capable of being on my own, I knew I didn't want to be.
And Radleigh was never your last choice.
“You'd better look after her,” Josh said. “Because she’s been through enough.”
“I have to persuade her to let me first,” he said. “She's pretty stubborn.”
“Careful,” Josh corrected. “She's careful.”
“Okay,” I said, stepping in between the two of them. “It's very flattering to be argued over by two men, even if one is my brother, but this isn’t helping.”
Josh nodded, grudgingly and I gave him a hug. He’d always been protective of me, and it meant a great deal to me that he accepted my decision without too many protests. As we let go of each other he said, “Leah, I think Freya's trying to catch your attention.”
Turning my head, I saw her, standing awkwardly by the lift. She’d promised to come and say goodbye to me and I knew that Will, Bree and Miguel would be along soon too.
“I'd better go and tell her what's happening,” I said, “Can you two please try not to kill each other while I'm gone?”
“We can do that,” Josh answered.
I gave Radleigh's hand a quick squeeze as I passed, then made my way over to Freya, trying not to think about what the two of them might say to each other when I wasn't there to separate them.