Chapter Twenty-Two
Darcy
“Good morning. You made up I see,” Milo said with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face as he tried, and failed, to sip his coffee nonchalantly while leaning against the back door of Lick It!.
He’d clearly been waiting for us and had been for some time. Otherwise, his coffee mug wouldn’t have been nearly empty.
Which it clearly was, considering how far back he had to tip it.
“We did,” I said, offering him a serene smile as I squeezed Owen’s hand and tried to pretend Milo hadn’t heard us fucking last night.
We’d ended up spending the whole day together—talking, making out, fucking, and napping on the sofa.
The only time we’d left was to venture out to find some food, and that was because Owen had insisted on getting some fresh air.
Apparently, it was good for me.
I’d have rather spent the time kissing.
“Good. About time you both got your heads out of your arses,” he said. Like he was one to talk. Although I supposed, in this instance, he did have a point. And I was very grateful for whatever he and Alfie had said to Owen, as well as what they’d done for me.
“Just how long have you been lurking out here?” Owen asked, shooting Milo a casual smile. “Not exactly a nice day for coffee outside?”
Milo shrugged, looking up at the grey, overcast sky where thick clouds moved slowly in the early-autumn breeze.
There was a slight chill in the air, the suggestion of a bite where it was blowing in off the North Sea.
The wind casually nipped at my cheeks, reminding me summer was virtually over and winter was not far over the horizon.
It made Owen’s suggestion to jet off to other parts of the world even more appealing, because the thought of months of rain and dark, sunless skies and freezing wind was enough to make my skin crawl.
I’d never been the biggest fan of winter, and the more I thought about escaping and following the sun, the more tempted I was to say fuck it and start looking at flights to Australia.
But before I dug out my passport—which I was pretty sure needed renewing—I had to talk to Alfie and Milo about everything and run all the numbers.
I couldn’t abandon them, or our business, for several weeks, or even months, without their approval.
Not only would that make me a shitty business owner, but a shitty friend too.
And after everything they’d done for me, I wasn’t going to repay their kindness with flippancy and disrespect.
“Eh, could be worse,” Milo said as he drained the last of his coffee.
It looked like he was going to say something else, when the sound of hurried footsteps sounded on the cobbles of the alleyway which ran down the side of the shop.
I assumed it was Alfie, but when I glanced to the side, I realised it was the ever-elusive Rupert, owner of the sweet shop next door and Milo’s sworn enemy.
Which was likely why I didn’t see him very often. He probably thought I approved of Milo’s behaviour.
I’d have to drop in and apologise, because I didn’t want this ridiculous feud spilling over into next year. And if I had to kick Milo’s arse about it, I would.
Rupert was wearing a red jumper and checked trousers, his dark hair slightly askew in the breeze and his round glasses sliding slightly down his nose.
He was carrying a large, cardboard box and looked surprised to see us, which was fair since the three of us didn’t usually hang around outside the back door at this time of the morning.
I smiled as he stopped in his tracks, looking between us with concern.
“Morning, Rupert,” I said, really hoping I sounded friendly. “Do you need a hand?”
“No, thank you. I’ll be fine,” he said, shifting the box in his hands, a slightly uncomfortable look on his face. Like it was heavy and he was struggling with the weight.
“Are you sure?” Owen asked. “I don’t mind holding the box while you get your keys out.”
“It’s fine, honestly.” He stepped around us, walking over to the back door of the sweet shop and trying to balance the box on his hip while he rummaged in his trouser pocket for his keys.
The box wobbled slightly, his fingers straining and scrabbling against the edge, and I was two seconds away from stepping in to help, whether he wanted it or not.
“Take this,” Milo muttered, shoving his empty mug in my face and letting it go before I’d really processed what he was asking. Luckily, I grabbed it before it slipped through my fingers because it smashing on the floor would have been a real distraction.
I watched in fascination as Milo strode over to Rupert and reached for the box, his voice soft as he said, “Give me that.”
“What… no, I don’t need—”
“You’re going to drop it. Give me the bloody box, Rupert.”
“Fine,” Rupert said. He released his grip on the box and allowed Milo to take it while he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.
“Jesus Christ this is heavy. What the hell have you got in here?” Milo asked quietly, like he didn’t want us to overhear him. I glanced up at Owen and realised he was staring too.
“You’re seeing this too, right?” Owen asked, leaning up so he could whisper the question in my ear. I hummed a soft confirmation. “I thought they hated each other?”
“I thought so too,” I said as quietly as I could.
“Did we miss something?”
“Apparently.” The pair of them were still talking, despite the fact Rupert had opened the door. It seemed like Milo was arguing with him about taking the box in. “Did we go down a rabbit hole or was there a portal I missed us walking through?”
“Beats me,” Owen said. “Come on, let’s go inside before they realise we’re watching.”
“But I want to know what happens.”
“You know he’s not going to tell you.”
“Fine.” Even though I knew Owen was right, I didn’t want to admit it. Milo could be strangely coy about his personal life when he wanted to be and pushing him always made him clam up.
Maybe Alfie would know something. I’d have to ask him as soon as he appeared.
I followed Owen into Lick It!’s kitchen, putting Milo’s empty mug in a rack to go through the dishwasher while Owen started to look through the stock list and tasks for the day.
We hadn’t yet reduced our opening hours, but business was definitely slowing down and our workload reflected that.
A thought struck me as I watched Owen looking through the printed lists, pen in his hand as he hummed Dolly Parton and hair pushed back off his face with an old hairband he’d found somewhere, and a smile crossed my lips.
“What?” Owen asked as he turned and saw me watching him. “Have I got something on my face?”
“No, I was just thinking.” I strolled over to him slowly and slid my arms around his waist. He was warm and solid, in the same way he’d always been, but this time it didn’t feel like he was about to slip through my fingers like a ghost on the air.
“Yeah? What about?”
“That we get to have this every day now. There’s no countdown hovering over our heads.”
“We do. Although technically, I had sort of quit, but I’m pretty sure you said it didn’t count.
But my contract does still run out at the end of the month.
” He grinned, like it wasn’t a big deal.
Maybe to him it wasn’t. But I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten such an important detail.
My mouth fell open like a fish, strange spluttering noises stumbling off my tongue as I tried to think of something to say.
“I-I… I… How… Shit! I’m so sorry. I need to fix that.”
“It’s fine,” Owen said. “I’m used to not having a permanent job. I think I’d kinda find it weird if I did have one to be honest.”
“But you need something!”
“You can just restart my contract in the spring or something. That doesn’t bother me.”
“I’ll talk to Alfie. He might have some idea of the best way to do it. Or he might know someone who does. I don’t want to leave you totally unemployed for the whole winter.”
“We’ll figure it out, I promise. Even if we’re closed, maybe we’ll want to do a few hours here or there. Or I can find another seasonal job.” He shrugged. “Or maybe I’ll take a few months off. That would be awesome! Plus, if we’re going to go travelling, I’m not going to need a job.”
“I guess… I just don’t want you to feel like…
I don’t know, like you don’t have something to come back to.
And I don’t want you to worry about money or anything.
” It was hard to put my feelings into words, because our experiences were so different, as was the way we approached things.
But if Owen was comfortable with this, and as long as we kept talking to each other, then we’d be able to work it out.
“I won’t, I promise. I’m good at saving and I live pretty cheaply. I travel pretty cheaply too. Hmm, that’s something we’ll need to figure out. I’m guessing you’re not super down with hostels and basic hotels?”
“Er… how basic are we talking? Because I’m too old to be sharing bathrooms. And I’d like a mattress that doesn’t totally destroy my back.” I snorted. “God, I sound so old.”
“Nah, I feel like I’m getting the same way. Remember a couple of weeks ago? When I slept slightly funny and fucked up my neck for, like, a week? I want to pretend I’m still twenty-two and invincible, but let’s be honest, that was never the case. I mean, look at my legs.”
“Yeah, well, jumping off of cliffs was never going to be a good idea.”
“It sounded like it at the time.” He grinned casually, igniting a fire in my chest which spread slowly through my body and enveloped me in warmth.
It was a feeling that had been growing every time I was with Owen.
At first it had been strange and unfamiliar, and I’d pushed it away as much as possible because I’d been so sure we couldn’t stay together.
They were the sort of feelings I didn’t want if I couldn’t keep him… if he didn’t choose me.
But now that he had, I was ready to embrace them. Dive in headfirst like I was launching myself off a diving board.
Because even in my own head I couldn’t bring myself to consider cliff jumping.