After Felix - Lily Morton Page 0,49
you again,” he says with a hushed intonation like he’s making a royal proclamation.
I wrinkle my nose. This revelation is hardly a surprise. “Oh yes,” I say carelessly. “Any particular reason?”
“I don’t think you’re that interested in me.”
“And how did you work that out?”
“The fact that since you ran Max over, you seem to have come to life. And he’s the same. The two of you seem very bright together and suddenly the most alive people in the room.”
I stare at him, lost for words. “Well, I suppose running a person over does tend to make you appreciate the life coursing through your veins,” I finally say.
To my astonishment, he laughs. “Felix, you are funny. You took him to the hospital and stayed and drank coffee while they set a cast. It’s not exactly the Battle of Britain.” He surprises me by reaching out and giving me a hug. “Maybe there’s still something there between you?”
“There is. It’s called snark and bitterness,” I inform him.
He hugs me again and ruffles my hair. “I don’t think we suit at all,” he says solemnly when he steps back. “But I want you to know that my time with you has never been boring.”
“You have no idea how many men have said that.” I sigh and smile at him. He’s not a bad sort. Patronising as fuck and the hair ruffling was getting really annoying, but he means well. “Have a safe trip back.” He kisses my forehead and starts towards the exit. “Oh, and if the hotel bills you for the dressing gown and slippers, I’m sure it’s just a terrible mistake,” I call after him.
He laughs and raises his fingers to his forehead in a salute and vanishes out of the door.
I hesitate and then wander out onto the hospital forecourt. I pull out my phone and ring Zeb.
“Felix?” he says as he answers the phone. “How’s Max? Did you get the signature?”
“Not exactly,” I say cautiously. “He couldn’t really sign the papers today.”
“Why? Was he drunk?”
“Oh no, completely sober, but… I sort of fractured his arm and concussed him when I ran him over with a car.”
There’s an exceptionally long pause that seems to stretch into eternity. “Have the two of you been arguing again?” he finally asks, his tone cautious.
I remove the phone from my ear and stare down at it for a long second before bringing it back to my ear. “No, of course not. For God’s sake, do you think I’d just run him over if he’d annoyed me?”
He says matter-of-factly, “Well, yes, if he was in your way.”
“This is totally his fault.”
“Of course,” he replies loyally and patently untruthfully.
“Anyway, I’m going to have to stay the night to check if he’s got a concussion. God knows how I’m supposed to do that. His behaviour is erratic at the best of times. Can you cover me at the office tomorrow? I’ll ring Bev, and she’ll take over from you.”
“No problem.” There’s a long pause and his voice is soft when he speaks again. “Maybe this is good. You need to have a talk. It’s long overdue. Only, be kind to each other,” he adds quickly. “You both need it.”
“I’ll try,” I say. “But I’m not committing to that because Max has a way of winding me up that nobody else in this world possesses.”
“Maybe you should think about why that is,” he advises me.
He smartly rings off before I can reply, leaving me standing on the hospital forecourt with more questions than answers. I sigh. Fucking Max. It’s a normal state of affairs around him.
Chapter Eleven
Max
I’m hovering at my bedroom door, trying to work out where Felix has gone, when I hear his footsteps on the stairs. I immediately throw myself onto the bed and try to look pitiful. To tell the truth, I feel a bit pitiful. I don’t remember a broken bone hurting this much before. Maybe I’m getting old.
Felix walks into the room, and instantly my heartbeat picks up, beating fast and heavy the way it always does around him.
I remember as clear as day meeting him that morning in the bookshop. My walk into the biography section of Waterstones had changed everything about my life’s trajectory. There, leaning against a pile of my books like a present for me, was the man I now know is the love of my life.
It was his voice that had drawn me first. Warm and posh and, as I learnt later, the product of a scholarship to