“Sure,” I said trying desperately to think of a topic that didn’t have anything to do with babies.
Phoebe sucked at her lips. “We should go home; lovely as this all is it’s going to be the only way you’ll be able to start piecing together your past. Plus, I really need to be around my own things right now… I miss my own bed. I miss my goddamn toilet!”
We laughed together and just for a split second it felt like old times, before our lives were filled with great balls of chaos.
“Fine, but you’re totally gonna miss the croissants,” I said, as that was the only food she was able to keep down.
***
Typically, and as if on cue, when we arrived back in England, the heavens opened and we were greeted with a lovely spring shower, and not even the nice kind. The cold, miserable kind. It was as if we were being punished for leaving such a warm climate.
“Too late to go back?” Phoebe muttered.
I rolled my eyes at her and gave an exaggerated sigh. “Hey, I’m not the one who wanted to come home,” I teased. I was perfectly happy keeping my head buried in the sand. But now we were back in the land of reality, and it felt like I couldn’t put off the inevitable.
Steve, Lex’s driver, picked us up from the airport, and heavy ominous clouds followed us all the way back to Oxford.
“He’s kinda cute,” Phoebe whispered once we were seated in the back of the car.
“Who? Steve?” I asked.
“Shh!” Phoebe hissed.
She couldn’t be serious. But for a brief moment the unlikely possibility of her and Steve together flashed before my eyes. Not so unthinkable, perhaps.
“You’re having me on aren’t you? And in your condition too!” I snorted, not really meaning to tease her so much.
“Well, he is. He’s got that je ne sais quoi.”
“Oh, hear you and your fancy French accent!”
She continued, as if she weren’t even listening to me, in a dreamy far off voice, “So rough around the edges… rugged, and that sexy suit… I’d have it off in a flash,” Phoebe licked her lips and I nudged her playfully.
“I think you have more important things to consider right now, don’t you?”
She blew out a hard rush of air. “Spoil sport.”
We pulled up to Phoebe’s building.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in? Or you could stay at mine? I wouldn’t mind.”
“Nah, thanks though. Getting away really helped, even for just a short while. Tell Lex thanks when you hear from him.”
I nodded. Steve opened the passenger door and held out his hand for Phoebe to take. Phoebe raised her eyebrows and gave me a sneaky smile, I could tell she was loving every minute of this.
As she got out of the car, she popped her head back in, her features were serious and her eyes narrowed at me.
“Promise me you’ll at least try to call Loretta?”
As much as I didn’t want to speak to her, I knew Phoebe was right. It was the only way forward; I had no other leads to go on.
“Promise me!” she repeated.
“Eugh, fine. I promise.”
She beamed, getting what she wanted. “Call me… keep me updated.”
“I will, hun.”
The door closed and Phoebe linked up with Steve as he escorted her to her front door. The actually did look good together, I mused.
***
The apartment was quiet when I got home and there was a stale scent in the air. Lex had persuaded his father to allow me to keep the little apartment in Oxford even though I was no longer his step–daughter. Mind, from what I heard from Lex, Michael hadn’t needed much persuading; he was a sweet old guy, really. I felt sorry that my mom… Argh! I did it again… Loretta, I corrected myself, had taken him for a ride, and me along with her.
I put my cases away and stared for a good long while into the open fridge, trying to figure out what to do next. The fridge was bare, save for a couple half–eaten jars of Branston pickle, but that didn’t keep me from gazing despairingly into the white abyss, trying to find answers.
I wished Lex was there to encourage me on my next step, to tell me everything would be all right. To be by my side when I made that dreaded call. God, how I missed his scent, his protective arms; everything seemed perfect when I was wrapped up inside them. And the world seemed a less scary place, but it all felt like it was going to fall apart the longer he stayed away.
Surely any important business matter should’ve been sorted and wrapped up by now. Not to mention the droves of people he had on payroll that were supposed to take care of the details of his empire. So why was it taking so long? And why was it preventing him from calling me? My overactive imagination kicked into high gear as images of scantily glad women surrounding Lex intruded into my thoughts.