Alex pouts. “But I want to talk to you. Are you okay? Has that guy bothered you again?”
“What guy?”
“The one... the one outside your house. Digger.”
“Alex.” Lara's voice is low. “It's time for bed.”
“I'm just talking to my sister.” He looks at me with concern. “You okay, sweetheart?”
I hug him tight. “I'm fine, which is more than you'll be when you wake up in the morning. Now go to bed.”
“Et tu, Brutus?”
I bite down a laugh. “It's Brute. You've been watching too much Popeye.” Alex always did spend too much time in front of the T.V. “I love you big brother.”
He pulls me in tightly, burying his face in my hair. “Goodnight.”
He stumbles down the hallway to their bedroom, leaving Lara and me alone in the living room. She takes off her shoes and wriggles her toes, then walks to the kitchen and flips on the kettle. “Have you got time for a cuppa, or do you want me to call a cab?”
“Tea sounds good.” I smile. “I'm not in a rush.”
Lara potters in the kitchen, pulling out mugs and tea bags, spoons and milk. When she looks up she catches my eye and grins. “Thank you for looking after Max,” she says. “I still hate leaving him.”
“He was a good boy. We had to go to Canary Wharf to give something to my boss and he was perfectly behaved.”
“You had to work? What a slave driver, I hope you got paid overtime.” She hands me a mug and I cup my fingers around the china.
Lara has this aura about her that makes people want to open up and spill their secrets. When I first met her I thought it was just me she had this effect on. But as time has passed and I've watched her interact with others—with family, with friends—I've come to realise she brings the best out in everybody. It's why she's so perfectly suited to her job as a counsellor. She listens without judging, which few people are able to do.
“I wanted to help him,” I confess. “He's a nice guy.”
Lara says nothing. Just looks at me with melted chocolate eyes as she takes a sip of warm tea.
“What?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Nothing.”
“You think I like him?”
“Do you?”
I put my tea down and run my hands through my hair. “Yes.” Only three letters, yet I feel every one of them as the admission escapes me. They say the truth hurts, and they're right, because admitting I like my boss is like having my teeth pulled out.
“Yes I like him, but I shouldn't. For one thing he's my boss, and for another I think he might be married.” I drop my head, my brow meeting my palms. “God, I'm such a loser,”
“You're not a loser,” Lara counters. “Office romances happen all the time. It's not unusual.”
“It is when you can lose your job for having a work relationship.”
Lara looks at me. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow.” She raises her eyebrows. “I suppose it's an American company. They get funny about things like that.”
“Yes they do.” I sigh. “So it's just a stupid crush that I'm going to have to ignore.” The words make it sound easy, but the little fire he ignited on Friday is threatening to burn out of control. I've spent most of the night thinking about him, wondering what he's doing, whether his dinner with Daniel Grant is going well. If truth be told I didn't mind going out to meet him this afternoon; quite the opposite
.