“So I hear, they all want you though.”
“And I only want you,” he admits, as he pulls the neck of my t-shirt down to give him better access to my collarbone.
My head rests back against the wall as I enjoy the feeling of his lips and hands on me. My desire from earlier resurfacing full force.
“Thank you, Addison,” he says sincerely when he pulls back. “For what you did for Sinead.”
“It was nothing.”
“No, it’s everything.” His earlier emotion resurfaces. He stares into my eyes before leaning forward and kissing me until my head spins. “Right, I thought we should order Chinese. What do you think?” he asks, stepping away from me and marching down to the kitchen.
“What the fuck?” I mutter, as I squeeze my eyes tight and will my brain to start functioning. “We could skip dinner,” I suggest when I join him.
“Here,” he says, handing me a refilled glass of wine. “What’re your favourite dishes?” he asks, as if the previous few minutes didn’t happen. Two can play at this game, I think as I scan the menu, specifically looking for spring rolls or anything similar I can tease him with.
By the time the food gets delivered I’m suitably tipsy, which I think was Blake’s intention because he’s very quick to keep refilling my glass.
Eating the spring rolls followed by some chicken balls has the desired effect because Blake forgets all about the food and ends up eating me on the dining room table instead.
“I always preferred cold Chinese anyway,” Blake comments when he pulls out of me and looks over at our discarded plates at the other end of the dining room table.
“Did you have a good night, sweetheart?” I ask when I reach the bottom of the stairs late the next morning to find Sinead putting her stuff down in the hallway.
“Yes, thank you. Did you?” My eyes flick over her shoulder to the dining table we christened last night as images of us naked and sweaty play out like a dirty movie in my mind.
“Yeah, we just ordered Chinese and watched TV.”
“Where’s Dad?” Sinead asks, looking around.
“He’s wandered outside on the phone. Why don’t you go and put your stuff upstairs? I’m sure he’ll be done soon.”
“Okay, what time are we going to Gran and Grandad’s?”
“Uh,” I stutter, because Blake hasn’t said anything about meeting his parents so I’m guessing I’m not invited.
“Oh, I thought you were coming with us for Sunday lunch?”
“No, not this time, sweetheart.”
“Oh please, I’ve told Gran all about you, she’s dying to meet you.” At that moment, Blake reappears, looking pissed off. “Dad!” Sinead exclaims excitedly as she gives him a hug.
“Hey, short stuff, did you have a good time?”
“Yeah, but Addison just said she’s not coming to lunch. Tell her to come, Dad.”
“I didn’t know if you’d want to come,” he admits after a staring at me in panic for a second or two.
If I’m honest, I’m not sure if I want to either. The last time I met my boyfriend’s parents it was a train wreck. Edward’s mum spent the whole time grilling me about what I saw my future being, when I wanted to get married, how many kids I wanted. I can only assume I didn’t come off that badly seeing as she allowed Edward to marry me. “It’s up to you,” I say in the end. “I understand if you don’t want me to go.”
“Sinead, could you please take your stuff upstairs?” he asks, not taking his eyes off me. Sinead doesn’t argue. She can obviously tell we need some time. We’re both silent as she leaves the room and climbs the stairs. Blake comes to sit next to me on the sofa and grabs my hand. “Of course I want you to come. I was concerned you’d think it was too fast. You’ve already got Sinead to deal with; I didn’t know if you’d think meeting my parents would be too much.”
I really want to say no, to run back to Aunt Addy’s house and hide in the kitchen making cakes, but the hope I can see etching its way onto Blake’s face stops me. “I’d love to meet them,” I say instead, with as much enthusiasm as possible.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Addison, it’s so good to meet you,” Steph, Blake’s mum, says when I get ushered into her kitchen by Blake and Sinead. Her accent hits me immediately; it’s not what I was expecting because it’s not Irish but American. I guess that explains Blake’s slightly sketchy accent.
“You too,” I say, trying not to let my nerves show. I was relieved when we arrived to a gorgeous and homely old farmhouse. I felt comfortable before I’d even entered. “You have a lovely home.”
“Thank you. Rick should be here in a minute, I just sent him out with an armload of recycling to sort through. Do you all wants drinks?”
“I’ll do it,” Sinead announces. “Do you want tea, Addison?”
“Yes please, sweetheart.”
“Blake, you help Sinead. I’m going to give Addison the tour.”
“Be nice,” Blake warns, but thankfully he’s smiling and his mum seems lovely. If I’d had the same offer when I met Edward’s mum I think I’d have run a mile. Even once I knew her I didn’t want to be stuck alone in the same room as her.
“Those two have told me so much about you,” Steph says as I follow her to the garden room but she continues before I get a chance to think too much about both Blake and Sinead talking about me. “How are you finding being back?”
“I love it. I missed this place and my aunt. I think I was always destined to come back eventually.”
“Blake said you were a lawyer. This must be a bit of a chance of pace from that.”
We chat away as if it’s not the first time we’ve met as we wander in and out of the different rooms. This is a world away from my only prior experience of meeting the parents.
“Sinead said you grew up with Kayleigh,” Steph says, dragging me from my thoughts.
“Yes, she was a couple of years younger but we were as close as we could be.”
“Such a lovely girl. I remember the first time Blake brought her home. She was so shy, I was sure she was going to burst into tears at any moment,” she says fondly. “It was such a terrible time when she passed. It was way before her time.” Steph waves her hand about. “Anyway, enough of the sad stuff. It’s so nice to see Blake enjoying life. There was a time I didn’t think I’d see him smile again.”
“He’s quite a guy,” I say with a smile.
“That he is. He told me about the bakery. I think it’s a wonderful idea. I’m sure you’ll do very well.”
“I hope so. I still can’t quite believe it all.”
“I have to be honest, I was a little sceptical when he said he was going to give it to you just like that, but now I’ve met you and can see that wonderful things Blake and Sinead have said about you are all true, I know he made the right decision.”
My words get stuck in my throat. I had no idea I needed to be accepted properly into Blake and Sinead’s family, but the fact I have been means the world to me.
“Hey now, don’t go getting all emotional on me. Let’s go and see how those two are getting on with the drinks.”
“Is Uncle Jason coming?” Sinead asks when we start taking our places at the dining table. When I look up I see there’s an extra place setting. Now I’m confused. Uncle Jason? I wasn’t aware they were related.
“We never know really, do we?” Steph says with a laugh as she begins removing the lids from the dishes in the middle of the table. My stomach growls loudly, reminding me it was a long time ago I made pancakes this morning. “We’d better get you fed, Addison.”
We all have full plates and are ready to dig in when the sound of a door slamming makes us all look up. A few seconds later, there’s a figure I recognise in the doorway.
“Afternoon, fam,” Jason announces before taking the remaining seat at the table and immediately filling his plate. I watch in amusement as everyone else at the table continues eating like nothing happened. “Umm, amazing as always, Step
h,” Jason says around a mouthful of food.
When I look around the table after deciding that since I’d already seen Jason’s food on his plate, I didn’t need to see it in his mouth as well, Blake catches my eye. I think there maybe an apology in his for not warning me about this—not that I needed warning, but this is a little odd to say the least.
“Right, boys, the washing up’s calling,” Steph announces once we’ve finished. “Pudding is going to have to wait a while, I’m stuffed.” Everyone agrees before Rick, Blake and Jason all get up, grab plates and bowls and disappear into the kitchen like a well oiled machine.
“I…uh…wasn’t expecting Jason.”
“Oh, that boy’s part of the family now. Like a bad smell, he just doesn’t go away.” She laughs fondly like she wouldn’t have it any other way. “Do you know him?”
“We went to primary school together. He seems…different now though.”
“His teen years were rough, Addison. He was bounced from pillar to post, causing trouble everywhere he went. It was totally understandable with what he was going through. My heart bled for him, which is why we offered him a place to stay. He’s lived with us on and off for years now. He’s a lovely lad but I think it’s about time he began to grow up now, maybe find a lovely lady to reign him in a little.”
I don’t get to ask questions about any of that because Sinead starts talking to Steph about something that happened at school. I zone out wondering, what Jason could have possibly been through and if that’s why he’s the way he is. Are his childish ways just a cover up for something lurking beneath?
By the time we leave Steph and Rick’s, it’s late and Blake’s pissed off to find out Sinead still has homework to do. He begrudgingly drops me off at Aunt Addy’s before promising to see me soon and taking a sad looking Sinead home. She was desperate for me to stay but Blake’s doing the right thing, even if it doesn’t feel like it.
“Hey, sweetheart, did you have a good weekend?” Aunt Addy asks when I poke my head into her studio.
“Yes, thank you. We went to Steph and Rick’s for dinner,” I say when I realise most of what we did isn’t repeatable.
“Aw, they’re a lovely couple, aren’t they?”
“Yes, and their home’s gorgeous. Do you know anything about Jason Duffy?” I ask on the off chance.
“Nothing in any great detail, just the gossip that went around town. His dad was caught cheating on his mum. She didn’t cope very well and left. His dad had already run away with his new woman. From what I’ve been told, Jason got up one morning and she was just gone. With no other family, he had to be put into the system. He caused no end of trouble. I understand why Steph and Rick took him in; the whole town felt for him but they were braver than most, allowing him into their home.”
“Why? What had he done?”
“You name it, he’d done it…and those were just the things he was caught doing. Robbery, criminal damage, arson—”
“Arson?” I ask, shocked.
“Burnt his old home to the ground.”
“Wow.” That explains a lot, I guess.
Chapter Five
“Oh my God, this place looks incredible,” I announce, as I walk into the bakery a week later. The walls are freshly painted and papered and there’s a new oak counter ready for my cakes to sit on. The seating area is currently full of boxes that contain my new table and chair sets, along with other packages full of everything from cake stands to napkins.
I hear banging coming from the kitchen, so after appreciating the new look, I head that way to find Blake and Jason putting my new kitchen units together.
“Hey, baker girl, whatcha think?” Blake asks when he looks up and sees me.
I don’t respond straight away because my attention is too taken with how he looks. He’s currently holding a cupboard up against the wall for Jason. The muscles in his arms are bulging and his t-shirt has risen up above the waistband of his jeans, showing me his slim waist. Just that little bit of skin gets me going.
“Hot,” I mutter, continuing to stare.
“What?” he asks with an amused smirk.
“She said you look hot, now will you please keep it still,” Jason remarks.
I shake my head, trying to keep my thoughts inline. “It looks amazing. I can’t believe how much you guys have done.”
“We both had a couple of free days so we’ve gone for it.”
“I can see that. I don’t know how to thank you enough for all this,” I say, more to Blake than Jason, but he decides to chip in his two pence worth anyway.
“Oh, I have a few suggestions, Kenny,” he says suggestively. “Hey, that could have really hurt,” he complains when he just about dodges the screwdriver that comes flying towards his head.
“Don’t,” Blake growls.
“Sorry, man, I was totally joking,” he says with his hands up in surrender. “Not my type anyway, she’s too…” he stops to think of the right word.
Blake, who’s already looking a little pissed off, raises his eyebrows as he waits to see how he needs to react to the next word that comes out of Jason’s mouth.
“Normal.”
I see Blake let out a huge sigh of relief, I presume because he now doesn’t have to hit his best friend.
“That’s true, you’ve been with some right head cases, mate.”
“Truth. I kinda like crazy though, keeps me on my toes.”
“Sorry, I need to get this,” Blake apologises when his phone starts ringing.
Jason and I both watch as he walks out into the eating area before lifting his phone to his ear. “What?” he snaps, catching my attention. “No…no, I already told you it’s not happening anymore.” Something about his tone tells me this isn’t about work, but Jason distracts me from listening to any more.
“So, you and Blake then. It’s about time he found someone to dip his dick into,” he says, jumping up onto the newly fitted stainless steel units.
“Nice. It’s good to know you see me as no more than a hole!”
“Oh no, Kenny, you’re way more than that,” he says, staring at my tits.
“Jason,” I snap to pull his attention back up to my eyes.
“Sorry,” he mutters, before jumping off and going to open a box.
“I’m sorry,” I feel bad for snapping at him. He was only having a laugh.
“I’m only messing with you. It’ll take more than that to hurt me,” he says with a beaming smile and a laugh. Something tells me that he’s being less than truthful there.
“What can I help with?” I ask, trying to make it up to him.
When Blake returns, we have another two units up. “How long was I gone for?” Blake asks, surprised by our progress.
“Well, when you have a partner who does what they’re told, it’s much easier.”
“Fuck off, Jase,” Blake says, taking over from me.
“So, I spoke to my solicitor this morning. She’s given me the go ahead to start sorting stuff in the apartment. I was wondering if we could maybe go at the end of the week?”
“I’ll need to check what I have booked in but that should be okay. I’m sure either Mum or Addy will have Sinead.”
“Or I can,” Jason adds, but we both ignore his offer.
“How long do you think you’ll need?”
“As little time as possible. I was thinking maybe going Friday to Sunday.”
“Aw, man, I thought we were going out Saturday night with Nate,” Jason complains.
“That’s the week after, dipshit. Nate’s away this weekend.”
“Oh yeah, his Geeks R Us convention,” Jason says. He sounds bored even saying the name.
“What’s that? Cara said she’s away at some design event this weekend.”
“Whatever it is, it’ll be the same one,” Blake mutters while Jason tuts and rolls his eyes.
“What?” I ask, feeling like I’m missing something.
“Those two have the longest running on-again off-again relat
ionship known to man. They swing from hating each other to loving each other faster than the fucking weather changes.”
I presumed Cara was single. She’s mentioned going on a couple of disastrous dates recently. I had no idea she has something going on with Blake’s friend.
“Do you remember Nate?” Jason asks.
“I don’t think so.”
“Nathan Malone. I think he moved here not long before me so you would have missed him.”
“Ah mate, I’ve got to go,” Jase suddenly announces. “Off out with a lady tonight,” he says, thrusting his hips as he walks over to the door.
“Lucky lady,” I mutter to myself, but Blake must hear me because he starts laughing.
“Don’t forget to wrap it up; the world doesn’t need any more Jasons running around,” Blake shouts after him.
“Fuck you, arsehole,” are Jason’s parting words.
“He really is something else,” I comment once the door slams shut behind him. After finding out a little more about Jason from Aunt Addy last week, I asked Blake about him on the phone the next day and he basically reiterated what Aunt Addy had said with a little more detail. The whole thing sounded horrendous. No one wants to foster a naughty teenager and those who were up for the challenge only lasted a few weeks at most, because Jason seemed to make it his sole mission in life to prove no one wanted him. That was, until Steph and Rick agreed to take him in. Thankfully, Blake and Jason were good friends, because Blake said himself that if they weren’t he probably wouldn’t have lasted long there, either. Eventually, Steph and Rick won him around by showing they wouldn’t kick him to the curb like all the others, and he started to turn his life around. He got himself a job labouring on a building site and managed to channel his aggression into boxing. Apparently, he’s pretty good, according to Blake. He now lives with Nate who works in IT and sounds like the complete opposite of Jason in every way possible.
“He’s a good friend.”.
“I can see that. He seems like a decent guy deep down, but I can understand why he doesn’t want to show it.”
“He sees that as a weakness, so he puts on that act to keep people at bay. I totally get it, even if it can get a little tiresome.”
The Lies (Luck of the Irish Book 2) Page 6