Only You - Lord of the Manor book 1

Chapter 16

I practically crawl through the front door in an exhausted heap. I find Beth in the kitchen, hanging out of the window having a cheeky fag.

'You need to pack that in.' I scorn her. She doesn't smoke much, just a couple here and there, but it's a bad habit, nevertheless.

She takes a last drag and throws it out of the window before hastily climbing down from the worktop. 'It helps me think.' She defends herself. Yes, she claims this whenever I catch her having a sneaky puff. Now, I'm supposed to ask what she's thinking about, but I already know the answer to that question.

'Where's the wine?' She grabs my bag from me, pulling it open, before looking at me in disgust. I've just committed a cardinal sin – I forgot the wine.

I shrug. I've had other things on my mind. 'Sorry.'

'I'll go to the shop, you get changed. Fish and chips?' She grabs her purse from the table as she shoves her feet in her thongs.

'Just chips.' I make my way down the hall to my bedroom. I feel completely deflated.

–

I sit with Beth on the couch, picking at the chips on my plate. I have absolutely no appetite, and I'm only half watching the re-run of Friends. My mind is all over the place, and I'm so furious with myself for letting it be.

'Come on then, spit it out.' Beth demands.

I turn to face my fiery friend with a chip half way to my mouth. I was an idiot if I thought I could get away with mooding in peace. I give her a non-committal shrug, popping the chip in my mouth and chewing lazily. Talking about it will only emphasise the fact that I am actually mooding over it – "it" being a man.

'You like him.'

Yes, I do. I don't want to, but I do. 'He's bad news. You saw him today.' I grumble.

She makes a dramatic display of rolling her eyes and throwing herself back on the sofa. 'You stood him up for your ex-boyfriend,' She puts her plate on the coffee table in front of the sofa. 'Louis, what did you expect?'

I frown at her. 'He didn't know why I stood him up. As far as he's concerned, I just stood him up.'

'Well, he doesn't like being stood up then, does he? She laughs. 'Oh, by the way, I'm seething with you.' She turns all serious.

What have I done? Oh, yes. She must be talking about my little Nate grenade. 'Would you have preferred it if I hadn't of told you?' I ask.

'You've not left me much time to leave town!' she wails at me.

Oh, the drama! 'You're overreacting. You don't have to see him.'

'No, I don't. And I won't!'

'That's okay then, isn't it?' I go for subject change. 'Ian?' I raise my eyebrows.

'Isn't he yummy? Harry came back to the bar – with a face like thunder, by the way – so I left them to it. He took my number.'

'You're a tart Beth Horne!'

'I know!' she shrieks. 'How were things left with the Lord?' She looks at me carefully, weighing up my reaction to her question.

'He was still mad, he stormed off.' I shrug.

She smiles. 'He's pretty intense.'

I start laughing. 'Pretty? I lose all cognitive thought when I'm around him. When he touches me, it's like I hand over all control of my mind and body to him. It's frightening.'

'Wow.'

'Yes, it's pretty wow.'

She turns back to the television. 'I like him,' she says quietly, almost like she's afraid to admit it, like it's wrong to like him. 'I'm just saying.' She shrugs but doesn't look at me. 'He's rich, steaming hot and obviously well into you. A man doesn't behave like that when he's just fucking about, Louis.'