“And what did she say?” he asks.
“She asked what your name was and I told her.”
“And what did she say then?”
“She laughed and said I was a very smart girl.”
I drop my head and purse my lips, trying my hardest to keep my laughter inside.
“Something funny, Lexy?” Dad questions in an innocent voice.
I swallow the bubble of laughter in my throat and look up. “Nope, nothing, Dad. Nothing at all.”
Alec nudges my foot under the table with his when Dad winks and distracts Mum.
“What?” I whisper.
“Do you think Bing fancies Jen?” he says in the same, hushed tone I used.
I glance over at them. Jen is grinning and Bing looks annoyed. “Maybe.” I shrug a shoulder. “But Bing fancies an awful lot of girls, so I'm not sure how it's a big deal.”
Alec's eyes flick towards them. “I think he fancies her a bit more than he usually does.”
I half-frown, half-smirk. “Really? That's crazy. We're not in Lilac Bay anymore, Alec.” My heart pangs a little as Grammy's face flashes in my mind. “Bing's home now... It's different in London. He was calmer in Devon because of Grammy, but now we're back...”
“It'll be someone new every weekend,” Alec states.
“Pretty much.” I sigh. “Jen has Carl, anyway, so it's never gonna happen.”
Alec coughs and rubs his neck uncomfortably.
“What?” I whisper harshly. He opens his mouth then closes it again. “What?”
He sighs and leans his head into me until his lips are right by my ear. “I spoke to Carl earlier, before you came over. When Jen left, they weren't on good terms.”
“Why not?”
“He's, uh... He's refusing to come to London to see her until at least half term.”
“But she'll be going home at half-term, won't she?”
“Exactly.”
ALEC
Lexy opens her mouth and closes it again. “He won't come to London?”
Our plates are put in front of us. “It's unlikely,” I reply.
“But why not? Won't he miss her? They were inseparable this summer.”
“I know that, Princess, but Carl's too much of a country boy. He's... He's not like Jen. Jen wants to spread her wings and find out who she really is, and she can't do that in the Bay. Carl would be happy if he never had to leave the Bay.”
Lexy's silent as she takes in what I've said. She begins eating and I take it as conversation over.
I'm wrong.
“And what did you say to Carl?” she whispers tightly.
“I told him he was a prick and Jen would go and see him if it was the other way around.”
She nods, satisfied with my answer. “Good.”
She turns back to her food before Jen strikes up a conversation with her about the university they'll both be starting next week. Jen doing Fine Art and Lexy studying Fashion Design. Bing looks at me and rolls his eyes. I figure we picked the wrong seats, here. I should have guessed that after a week of mere daily texts discussing the same university, they'd need time to talk about in person.
“Haven't you two been discussing university all week?” Si smirks.
“Yep,” Lexy replies. “But the thing is, Dad, is it's a big thing, and we need to be prepared. Both of us have waited years to get into this uni for different reasons, and I'm not gonna go in there not knowing where I'm going or what I'm doing. This is the start to the rest of my life.”
Emily beams at her and Si smiles proudly. “Of course, darling, I was merely suggesting you leave the university talk until tomorrow and just enjoy dinner. Do you think you can do that?”
“Don't discourage her, Simon,” Emily admonishes him playfully. “It makes me proud when she speaks like that.”
“I'm proud too, Emily, but one night relaxing won't hurt her.” Si winks at me. “Besides, I'm glad she hasn't thrown it all away for love.”
“That's because you only get one shot at your future dream but you can have several at love,” Jen interrupts. “If love was the most important thing, I'd be at Exeter University right now, not ready to start a new life in London.”
“And Carl?” Bing tilts his head to the side.
“What about him?” Jen stabs some pasta with her fork.
“Doesn't he mind you being so far away?”
“Why, Samuel.” Jen cocks her head to the side. “If I didn't know better, I'd say you almost sounded like you actually care.”
Bing snorts. “Not likely, Jennifer. I was being polite.” He smiles at her.
“Oh, you can be polite?” Jen raises her eyebrows and looks at Emily. “Did aliens abduct your son overnight? Because I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a polite bone in his body. At least, not where it concerns me.”
“You don't have a polite bone for him either, Jen,” I remind her. “You two go at each other like an old married couple.”
“He has a point,” Si agrees and nods his head.
Bing snorts again. “The day the idea of even kissing Jen – let alone marriage – crosses my mind, I'll put a gun to my head.”
Jen batters her eyelashes and smiles sweetly at him. “If that ever crosses your mind, let me know, and I'll pull the trigger.”
Lexy puts a hand on my thigh and leans into me. “On second thoughts,” she whispers. “You could be right about those two.”
Chapter Two
JEN
“At least the décor is in better condition than Alec's.” Lexy leans back against the kitchen counter, wrapping her hands around a mug of tea. “Your wallpaper is actually attached to the walls.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Yeah, but it's not exactly tasteful. Dad said he'd transfer some money into my account tomorrow for me to go shopping to redecorate so I don't have to dip too much into my loan. It'll take ages for me to paint this whole place, but at least it'll get done.”
“Ha! Like you'll be doing it alone. Alec will help, and Bing will too.”
“Your brother will not help redecorate my flat. I'm pretty sure he'd rather have his balls run over by a tank.”
She shakes her head. “My brother's balls are way too precious to him.”
“His crown jewels.”
“He'd like to think they were worth as much.” We both giggle. “Anyway,” she continues. “He'll help, because I'll tell him to. Alec doesn't start work until next week and Bing doesn't even have a job yet, so there's absolutely no excuses. Alec can drive us to B&Q or Homebase-”