Down London Road (On Dublin Street 2)

I hesitated. I had a lot to do today. I had to tell Cole about me and Cam, and it was time to put the clothes Malcolm had bought me on eBay. Just the thought of it made my stomach lurch with guilt about how things had ended between us.

‘Butter or jam on your toast?’ Cam asked loudly.

I sucked in my breath.

‘Was that Cam?’ Joss asked quietly, more than idle curiosity in her tone.

‘Yes.’

‘At nine thirty in the morning? Asking about toast?’

‘Mm-hmm.’

‘Oh, my God, you f**ked him.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘Well, just say it like it is, Joss.’

‘I take it you dumped Malcolm first before you got it on with Tattoo Guy. Poor Malcolm. Oh, well.’

An unexpected warmth flooded my chest at Joss’s summation of the situation. She hadn’t asked me if I’d cheated on Malcolm. She’d just assumed I’d been good enough to be straight with him. It was nice to know she thought so well of me. ‘We broke up last night.’ I was suddenly very aware of Cam’s inquisitive eyes on me. ‘Look, we’ll talk about it later.’

‘Bring Cam to lunch.’

Okay, what? ‘What?’ I tried to squelch the hint of hysteria in that question.

‘If you’re seeing him now you should bring him to lunch. Elodie won’t mind.’

‘You never asked Malcolm to lunch.’

Cam shot me another questioning look.

‘Well, if I’d thought the lunch would be as interesting as this one is definitely going to be, I might have.’

‘We’re not coming to lunch just to entertain you.’

Suddenly the phone was whipped from my ear and I watched wide-eyed as Cameron held it up to his own. ‘Joss, hey, it’s Cam. We’ll be there. Time?’ He nodded at whatever she said. ‘Cool. See you then.’

I took the phone from him and gestured between us. ‘I don’t know what just happened here, but we’ll talk.’ I lifted it to my ear. ‘Joss.’

‘Nice phone voice, huh?’ She chuckled.

‘Funny. Apparently we’ll see you at lunch.’

‘See you then. Oh, and Jo?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Was he good?’

Laughter fell from my lips before I could stop it, remembering how I’d pestered Joss about Braden after I found out they had slept together. Payback was a bitch. ‘What was it you said to me? You can have him when I’m done.’

Her groan caused my smile to widen. ‘I’m such a bitch. Never tell Braden I said that. Please?’

‘I promise.’

‘Good. If you break that promise, I’ll find a way to lock you in a room with Ellie and her romantic drama collection.’

‘You know some of us don’t find that an excruciating prospect.’

‘Fine. I’ll take up smoking just to drive your cravings nuts.’

‘You have a severely sadistic side. Anyway, I don’t have any cravings.’

‘Even when you smell cigarette smoke?’ she asked smugly.

Damn. It was true. Anytime I got a whiff of cigarette smoke, my eyes closed in torture and I had to hunt down the nearest stick of gum to quell the need for nicotine intake. ‘Your point is moot considering I’m not going to tell him.’

‘Moot? Nice word choice. The brain is certainly working well for a Sunday morning conversation. He must have really started those engines, huh?’

‘Goodbye, Joss. Oh, and you tell anyone about me and Cam before I get a chance to and I will tell Braden.’ I hung up with a satisfied smirk.

Cam was staring at me as he held out my mug of coffee. ‘What was that about?’

‘I have some information she’d like me to keep quiet. She threatened to torture me with cigarette smoke if I ever give her up.’

He frowned, pushing a plate of toast towards me. There were slices spread with butter and others with jam. I took some sugary goodness. ‘You used to smoke?’

‘Quit almost six months ago.’

‘Thank God,’ he muttered.

His words caused a pang of anxiety at the thought that something as insignificant as being a smoker would make him less attracted to me. Would it be so easy to diminish his attraction in the future? I covered my insecure thoughts with a forced chuckle. ‘What? Would that have been a deal breaker?’

The corner of his mouth quirked up cheekily. ‘Nah. I’d have convinced you to quit somehow. Just glad I missed the withdrawal. That must have been fun for Cole.’

My whole body relaxed at his answer and when I laughed it was for real this time. ‘I wasn’t that bad.’

‘Yeah, yeah, I’ll get the real story from Cole.’

‘Speaking of …’ I muttered and scrolled through my phone until I found his number. Cole’s phone rang three times before I heard his voice.

‘What’s up?’

‘You on your way home?’

‘Five minutes away.’

‘Okay. I have something to talk to you about.’ I smiled at Cam, but inside I was a little nervous about Cole’s reaction to me and Cam being together.

‘That doesn’t sound good.’

‘We’ll see.’

He grunted and I rolled my eyes.

‘See you soon.’

Another grunt and then he hung up. I sighed. ‘Someone should have written a book by now about interpreting teen language. I was never that monosyllabic.’

Cam grinned into his mug. ‘I’ll bet.’

I smacked him playfully. ‘You know what I mean.’