My Year of Saying No - Maxine Morrey Page 0,44

help I needed to get myself organised when, in reality, I was still a little bit in shock at the fact the relationship I’d just assumed would be the one that would lead to marriage and possibly kids had fizzled out into nothing. I wasn’t sure if I had much to offer her in return, but we got along and loved each other – so long as I didn’t cover her in animal fur – so it worked pretty well and was certainly a lot less dysfunctional than a lot of sibling relationships.

‘Do you mind if I just check in with my parents and Humphrey?’ I said, glancing at the clock on my phone.

‘Be my guest. I’ll take these out.’

‘No, stay. It’ll be much easier that way as, I warn you now, Mum will be super interested in you.’

‘That’s fair enough. Her daughter is staying under my roof.’

‘Yeah, I’m not sure she’s too worried about that aspect. Like I said, she’s kind of always on the lookout for potential suitors and,’ I held my hands up, ‘believe me, I’ve told her that you don’t fall into that category, but you’re a male, in the right age bracket, decent, single, straight and… well, that’s kind of enough so far as Mum is concerned.’

Seb grinned. ‘I like the sound of her.’

‘That’s because she’s not trying to marry you off every five minutes.’

‘I’m not sure she’s trying to marry you off. She’s just looking out for you. She wants you to be happy.’

‘I know,’ I said, pressing the call button on the video chat. ‘It’s all a bit Bridget Jones and the turkey curry buffet at times though.’

‘I can handle it.’

‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you,’ I managed to get out just as Mum answered the call.

‘Hello, love, everything all right?’

‘Yes, thanks. Just thought I’d quickly check in before you went to bed. I didn’t wake you or anything, did I?’

‘No, not at all. We were binge watching something on Netflix actually.’

My parents had a habit of doing this. For someone who barely watched telly, it amused me that my parents were always watching the latest cult series and were up on all the gossip.

‘Humphrey behaving?’

‘As always.’ Mum turned the phone around so that I could see Humphrey spread out like a lap rug across my Dad. I relaxed a little more, knowing that my dog clearly wasn’t pining for me.

‘You sure it’s OK for you to have him a bit longer?’

‘Of course. Are you all settled back at the house now?’

‘Yes. The car’s outside on the road and Seb’s friend is due round first thing to come and take a look at it. Hopefully he’ll have better luck than the garages.’

‘He will,’ a deep voice to my right said, an unmistakeable air of confidence in the words.

‘Is that Seb?’ Mum asked. The curiosity in her tone was also unmistakeable.

I glanced across at him. He was grinning and he gave a quick eyebrow raise in amusement. There wasn’t much that got past Seb Marshall. Damn. He scooted himself up the sofa a little and I angled the phone.

‘Hi, Mrs Wentworth,’ he gave a little wave and that slightly crooked smile that always gave me tummy flutters.

‘Oh, call me Tara,’ my mum waved his formalities away with a smile that I knew meant Seb had already won her over with that killer smile of his. ‘Thank you for helping Lottie out this evening.’

‘My pleasure, Tara.’

I tilted the phone back towards me before Mum could begin questioning Seb about anything else. ‘OK, Mum. I just wanted to check in. I’ll keep you posted tomorrow and let you know what time I’ll be home.’

‘OK, love. No rush.’

I hung up and looked at Seb. ‘Do you charm every woman you meet?’

‘I try.’

I rolled my eyes and he gave my shoulders a quick squeeze before settling back. ‘Do you want anything else?’

‘No, thanks. That chocolate was delicious though. Where did you learn to do that?’

‘It was another treat Mum used to do when Dad was away.’ He shifted a bit on the sofa, getting comfier. ‘I think sometimes she felt she had to make up for him not being there.’

I nodded. ‘Or maybe it was a way of distracting herself too.’

He thought about that. ‘Actually, I think you’re probably closer to the mark. I suppose when you’re a kid you don’t think about it like that. It’s all about you, isn’t it?’

‘I don’t think we see our parents as real people with feelings and needs until we’re much