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‘You had sex with my brother,’ Si shouts. ‘Are you serious? After all that talk about how you weren’t looking for a relationship – why not be honest with me? You were into me before he turned up. If you wanted him instead, just be honest, don’t lie to me.’

‘Okay, give her some space,’ Adam says as he grabs Si by the shoulder. Drunk and furious, Si takes a swing at Adam, which Adam easily dodges, causing Si to fall through the coffee table. I rush over to help him, offering him my hand to pull him up from the broken glass, and to check his body for cuts, but he bats my hand away.

‘Just get out of my house, Lia,’ he says quietly. I hesitate for a moment, which only makes him shout. ‘Now! You’ve done enough damage.’

‘It’s okay, go,’ Adam tells me. ‘I’ll make sure he’s okay. He’s drunk, he’ll be calmer when he’s sober.’

‘Okay, just be careful,’ I tell him.

Alone in the hallway together, we risk a peck on the lips.

I run upstairs, throw on some clothes, and head outside.

There’s only one person I can think of to call right now…

44

Rory and I sit in his car, the hum of the engine barely audible as we drive slowly through the quiet streets.

‘So, are you going to tell me what happened?’ he asks.

I take a deep breath, trying to find the right place to begin.

‘Si… he… he wanted to be with me, and I did have one date with him – sorry, I know this is awkward,’ I quickly add. ‘But the truth is, I didn’t want him. I didn’t think I wanted anyone, not yet, but with Adam… the chemistry is undeniable. He’s the one I want… but it’s all such a mess.’

Rory doesn’t say anything, he just gives me space to talk.

‘And then I found out something… something awful from his mum,’ I continue. ‘Si wasn’t really after me because he liked me. It was for revenge. He wanted to get back at you for stealing Sally – thanks for telling me about that, by the way. God, Rory, I’m just… I’m stuck in the middle of this, and the two of them are falling out, and I don’t know what to do.’

Rory’s hands tighten on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just lets out a long, slow breath.

‘Lia… look, for what it’s worth, I don’t think Si would do that to you,’ he says – I wasn’t expecting Rory to defend him. ‘Yeah, he’s been through a lot, and maybe he didn’t handle losing Sally well. But he’s a good guy, deep down. I know him. He wouldn’t use you like that.’

I shake my head, feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes.

‘Somehow that’s worse,’ I blurt. ‘Because if he did really like me, but I like Adam, and Adam likes me – well, what does that mean for the two of them, as brothers?’

Rory pulls the car over to the side of the road. He turns to face me fully, his expression softening.

‘Look, Lia, you just need to be straight with both of them,’ he tells me. ‘You can’t keep going like this, torturing yourself. You have to talk to them, tell them how you feel. As for what goes on between them, that’s for them to sort out, as brothers. It’s not your problem. It’ll be okay. You’ll see.’

I smile. I’m not sure Rory has ever given me advice before.

‘Thanks,’ I tell him with a smile. ‘You’re not as dumb as you look.’

‘Come on, you can sleep in our spare room, so you don’t have to explain anything to Mum and Dad,’ he replies.

God, I appreciate that.

I just… I can’t shake the feeling that Lorraine was right. Her words echo in my mind, heavy and inescapable. I’m coming between two brothers – whether I have intended to or not – and that’s… that’s not right. Just like when I was in London, you can be innocent of any wrongdoing, but still need to take responsibility for your actions. I need to leave them alone, let them fix things between themselves, even if that means I don’t get to be with the person I want.

I really am getting sick of doing the right thing.

45

I rush into the meeting room at Blossom HQ thinking that I’m late, but when I get there, Adam is waiting for me.

It’s strange, leaving the hustle and bustle of the office, stepping into the quiet meeting room with him. It’s like there’s only the two of us on the earth – which, very sadly, isn’t true.