Page 56 of Pretender

I clear my throat.

“Maybe we can have a safe word.”

“No.”

“What do you mean?”

“I won’t manage you, Linnea.” He sighs turning his head to me.

Oh. There it is. The expression.

I bite the inside of my cheek and face the other way. I hate how much he knows. Does he feel sorry for me? Has he seen more than what happened on Halloween?

Animated. That’s a Henry-euphemism for me being too much.

“Hey,” he says, his voice much closer. When I turn back he leans across the middle, another waft of his warm and spicy cologne hits me and it’s got a strangely calming effect on me.

“We’re friends, right?”

I nod. That’s what I want. I need a friend.

“So, let’s have fun today. Just relax. That’s easy with Mum and Will.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

whiplash

LINNEA

“You’re here!” Amara greets us outside the door as we arrive. I accept her hug, and her near-cheek kisses. She’s careful not to smudge her red lipstick on my face.

Last night she was dressed up for her engagement party, but today is brunch, and still she’s ravishing in her turquoise wrap dress.

“Mum, you look gorgeous as always,” Aiden says, bending for a hug and kiss on the cheek. She wipes the lipstick off his skin.

“Gioia mia,” she croons. Her smile resembles Aiden’s but her face is small and heart-shaped, so his strong jaw and dented chin must be from his father.

She gestures for us to follow her through. Aiden walks behind me and I turn to him with a smile, celebrating that the first thirty seconds went well. But his gaze is on the floor as he walks and seems to be chewing the inside of his cheek. Where is his mind?

We come out the back to her stone-paved, tree-lined courtyard, the sun beating down on the space from high in the sky.

“Hey, Will,” Aiden calls out from behind me, and I’m startled by the sudden shift. From the pensive expression inside when he didn’t see me looking to this over-the-top greeting. Aiden gives a wide-eyed Will a large hug, and laughs as he pats his back after.

“Did you already start your Aperol, Aiden?” Will says, laughing, patting Aiden’s back reassuringly.

“No, but I could really do with one.”

“I’ll go make some. Linnea, lovely to see you,” Will adds and gives me a polite peck on the cheek.

“You too.”

“Aperol Spritz for you as well?”

“That’d be lovely, thank you.”

Amara has opened the parasol over the wooden lounge, and we all take our seats in the shade.

“Why don’t you get a housekeeper, Mum? She could make your drinks for you. Do all this stuff.” Aiden waves at the pillows Amara is straightening in the outdoor sofa opposite us.