Page 110 of The Jealous Girl

Something wasn’t right.

38

THEN

Mid August

‘You’re home late,’ I said as Ryan hung his key on the hook by the door.

‘Yeah, Charlotte and I had some stuff to deal with.’

Charlotte. The mention of her name was like nails on a chalkboard. Grating and impossible to ignore.

‘I saved you some chicken pie⁠—’

‘I ate with my parents,’ Ryan said, cutting me off.

‘And Charlotte?’ The question slipped out before I could stop it.

‘Yeah, she was there,’ he said, dropping onto the sofa beside me.

I gritted my teeth.

‘Don’t make a big deal of it.’

‘I didn’t say anything,’ I objected.

‘You didn’t have to. I can feel the anger radiating from you.’

‘That’s not fair.’

‘You’ve always had an issue with her.’

‘Because she’s always had an issue with me.’

He let out a weary sigh. ‘Charlotte’s not out to get you, Kirsty.’ He didn’t look at me when he said it.

I snorted. ‘No, it’s you she’s after. She always has been.’

Ryan shook his head. ‘Don’t do this, please.’

‘I thought you going back to the stables was so we could bring your parents round to the idea of us,’ I said, shifting to face him. ‘Make sure your dad was okay and our plans aren’t a shock for him.’

‘It is,’ Ryan agreed.

‘But they are never going to accept me as long as Charlotte keeps inserting herself into your life. Our life.’

‘Look, I know you were upset she joined us for Sunday dinner the other day⁠—’

‘That was supposed to be about us, Ryan. A chance for your parents to get to know me. The real me. Away from the stables. Away from all their assumptions about me. But, with Charlotte there, Denise is never going to be able to see me any differently than she aways has…’ I sucked in a breath. ‘Inferior to Charlotte.’

Two Years Ago – Mid September

‘You abandoned us,’ Denise’s voice was loud and sharp as I stepped through the front door. ‘You left your father to handle everything alone, while you gallivanted on some beach with that girl.’

‘Her name is Kirsty,’ Ryan corrected flatly.

I peered around the kitchen doorway at him; a smile tugged at my lips as warmth flooded my body.