Merry Measure - Lily Morton Page 0,63

me. “I’m amazed that I never noticed what was happening between you and Arlo.”

“You were busy with other stuff.”

“Meh, maybe. Or maybe I didn’t want to see.”

I smile at him. Tom is always brutally honest with himself. He doesn’t back away from acknowledging his own silliness or bad behaviour. It’s an endearing trait that the whole Wright clan share.

He looks at me earnestly. “Just please don’t fuck this up, Jack. Don’t hurt him and make me hate you. And if the worst happens, please tell me that I won’t lose you or Arlo.”

“Never,” I say firmly, looking into the eyes of the best friend I have in the world. Someone who knows me inside out and has always stood by me. He caught hold of me the day I met him on my first day in a new school. I’d been standing awkwardly in the playground contemplating tidying up the soft play area when a brown-haired boy with merry eyes came up to me and insisted on bringing me into his warm and funny circle, and he’s never let go. “Never,” I say again, and it’s a vow.

He stares at me for a moment and shrugs. “Okay, then you’d better be going.”

I blink. “Well, that was a bit abrupt. Don’t you want to talk to me some more?”

“Nah, not really.” He stretches. “Besides, my next customer is waiting. It’s a bit like being Boris Johnson for the day. But without the bad hair and confusion.”

I follow his gaze and swallow hard as I see Arlo hovering by the hotel doors. He’s dressed in jeans and a stretched-out grey T-shirt, and I sigh at the fact that he too doesn’t have a coat on. His hair is a mess, and he seems oblivious to the fact that his constant fidgeting is causing the automatic doors to open and shut, sending cold air into the lobby and attracting the glares of an old couple who are sitting reading a newspaper. He catches my gaze and gives me a nervous smile, and I’m helpless not to respond to the sight of that thin face and sharp chin.

“Wow!” Tom says, and when I look back, he’s smiling. “You’ve more than got it bad. Have you told him?”

“Not yet,” I say, standing up. “But I’m going to.”

He stands up next to me and opens his arms, and I fall into his embrace, relief shuddering through me. I would have carried on despite his disapproval, because the draw to Arlo is too strong for me to pull back. But he’s right. I do want him to be okay with me and Arlo.

I step back and move towards Arlo, who is watching us nervously.

“Alright?” he asks.

My heart beats a sudden fast rhythm as I realise that his attention is solely on me. He’s not particularly interested in Tom’s reaction. He just wants to know how I am, and a sweet warmth floods through me to be the object of those pretty eyes and concern.

“I’m fine,” I say, whipping my jumper off and pulling it over his head. I ignore his protestations that I’ll get cold, and, as I look him up and down, heat kindles in my balls at the sight of him in my clothes. The jumper is too big, and the sleeves fall over his fingers, but the black colour brings out the red in his chestnut-coloured hair and makes his pale skin glow like mother of pearl.

“I’ll be in the foyer waiting for you,” I whisper.

“Okay, then,” he says nervously.

I drop a kiss on his beaky nose. “It’s fine,” I say and leave them to it.

Arlo

I roll the sleeves of Jack’s jumper up and look nervously at my brother. He stares back with an enigmatic expression. And I swallow hard. I’m pretty sure that his discussion went okay with Jack, judging from their body language and the hug at the end, but what do I know? He might have demanded that we never see each other again, and Jack could have agreed. My stomach roils at the thought.

“Are you going to stare at me, or shall we actually talk about this?” my brother calls out to me.

I make sure he sees me roll my eyes. “I hope you were nice to Jack,” I say as soon as I come near him.

He shrugs. “Not exactly your business, is it?”

“Yes, it is,” I say. “It’s exactly my business.”

“Why?”

I open my mouth and then huff as he indicates the bench he’s currently holding court on. I fling