Chapter Thirty
Late that night, Erin was woken by sounds coming from Jack’s bedroom.
She heard his voice, then a higher one. He had a girl in there.
Erin pulled her duvet over her ears, wishing they’d been quieter, or that she’d remained obliviously sleeping.
Since he’d become an adult, she’d asked that he was at least in a committed relationship before what they’d both called ‘sleepovers’, for want of a better expression.
Since he wasn’t in a relationship, whoever was in there was clearly someone he’d met when he and Riley had gone on to The Crown after Joe’s party, and that seemed a bit quick to already be performing bedroom shenanigans to her.
Feeling like a prude, and disliking herself for it, she eventually fell back to sleep.
Grogginess made her eyes scratchy when she dragged herself out of bed at six the following day.
She walked blearily into the kitchen, stopping abruptly at the sight of Riley standing next to the sink, her tulle skirt touching the units on both sides of the narrow room.
Erin’s mind put the noises from last night and Riley’s presence in her kitchen together, and the result made her brain stutter.
‘Morning,’ she said. It was all she could come up with, and was certainly better than, what on earth were you two thinking?
‘Morning boss.’ Riley sucked air through her teeth. ‘Might be a bit late in this morning, unless you want me working in this?’ She fingered the black netting. ‘I’m just grabbing a quick glass of water before I get the bus home. I’m parched. We caned it last night.’
‘Righto,’ said Erin, still unable to quite get her head around her friend and her son spending the night together.
‘Morning.’ Jack appeared in the doorway, his hair sticking up in all directions.
It reminded her of when he was a small boy, and he used to want to brush his own hair before playgroup.
He’d only ever brush through the front, leaving the back like a dark bird’s nest. How had that little boy grown so quickly into a man who brought a woman three years his senior home after a late-night drinking session?
Erin watched to see how the pair interacted. Was this the start of a love affair?
‘Right, I’m off.’ Riley glugged the last of her water. ‘See you later.’ She left the kitchen, and walked past Jack, saying, ‘Thanks for last night, it was exactly what I needed.’
When she heard the door close, Erin widened her eyes at her son. ‘Was that a good idea?’
He dropped his gaze to the floor and laughed. ‘It felt like a good idea at the time.’
Erin was disappointed by his response. ‘Christ, Jack. I hope you—’
‘It’s no biggie,’ he interrupted. ‘She feels exactly the same way I do.’
‘How do you know? She’s probably all over the place. She only came out of a long-term relationship yesterday. Yesterday,’ she repeated.
‘I am aware.’ He pointed in the direction of the door. ‘But you heard her say that was exactly what she needed.’
Erin did not want to think about what that was. ‘She’s three years older than you.’
Jack came into the room and switched on the kettle. ‘To be fair, that was only relevant before I was a grown-arsed man myself.’
‘Yes, well …’ Erin paused, not quite sure what to add. She just knew she had an uneasiness in her gut about this. ‘How does it end?’
Jack turned and leaned back against the sink.
‘I don’t know.’ There was exasperation in his voice.
‘It might already be over. It probably is. I’m happy to be her rebound guy for one night.
Not everything has to be an epic saga. Some things are short stories.
Some are poems. Hell—’ he lifted his arms ‘—this might even be a haiku.’ He grinned at his own cleverness.
‘And I’m pretty sure we’re both okay with that. ’
‘But I worry—’
‘You worry about everything,’ he said. ‘But please believe me when I say you don’t need to worry about this. I’m fine. Riley is fine. Nothing is going to change.’
He’d said the magic words and they helped. ‘Okay. As long as you’re sure no one is going to get hurt.’
‘No one will be emotionally damaged. I promise.’ He smoothed down his moustache and gazed down at his feet. ‘We were pretty drunk, though, and … I might have said something I shouldn’t.’
Erin tensed. ‘What’s that?’
‘She was asking why I’d gone back to working at The Crown and I have a hazy recollection of telling her you couldn’t afford to keep me on at The Bookmark. I think I let on that the café is in trouble.’ He bared his teeth. ‘Sorry.’
‘Bloody hell, Jack.’
He held a hand up. ‘I know, I know, I’m an idiot. I’m sorry.’ He stepped forwards and hugged her. ‘I am sorry, but I do think it’s time you stopped trying to carry the worry about that on your own. People want to help. You should let them.’
‘I’ve got no choice, now, have I?’ said Erin, her mind whirring. How would Riley feel now her job was in jeopardy so soon after the end of her relationship?
‘No.’ Jack stood back and looked her in the eyes. ‘And I think that could be a good thing. I’m not just saying that to get out of trouble. I think you should talk to the others at the next book group.’
Erin saw the sincerity in his bloodshot eyes and found it hard to be cross with him. He was right. The burden of anxiety was too heavy to carry on her own. She would share her load with the others.