The Lover's Children novel Chapter 34

GEORGIE

"Yes, there are, so long as you don't mind them all being conversations that start and end with..." I press a finger to my lips... "Shhh..."

"I can imagine,” he laughs. He leans in close, then, for no reason I can see, leans back again. His expression morphs to… paternal…

?

???

“I'll admit, you're not the classic image of the museum curator. Or of a librarian. Aren’t you supposed to be a middle-aged battle-axe with horn-rimmed spectacles and an attitude problem?"

I chuckle with him. "That’s the stereotype, isn’t it. But I’m not strictly a curator or a librarian. I do both to bring in some extra cash. My job title is research assistant."

He Aahhhs. "Sounds interesting. So, what's your field? Your qualification?"

“PhD in entomology.”

“Entomology? You study insects? That sounds fairly niche.”

“It is, but I'm hoping that with it being a small field, I’ll be able to rise to the top quickly. And while it doesn't pay very much at my level, there are all kinds of opportunities for consultancy in, oh… agriculture… forestry… pharmaceuticals…"

“Forensics…”

“That too. So, I’m hoping that in a few years, I’ll be earning a lot more. But right now…”

You barely know him…

He’ll think you’re scrounging for money…

“Quite.” Borje nods slowly, his expression thoughtful. "Academic salaries, especially at the lower levels, are notoriously stingy. Is that why you're living in that hotel your father owns?"

"Sort-of…” My face burns. “It's not actually Dad’s hotel. His friend Michael owns it. I think Charlotte has a share too. They have some kind of arrangement. Um… You know Michael and Charlotte, don't you? They were at Kirstie's wedding."

Borje pauses. Caution tiptoes through his voice. "Yes, I know them. I've known the three of them for some years."

My stomach flips. "Some years? How did you meet them? Dad and Michael and Charlotte?"

His expression remains bland. “We have a common friend in Kirstie.”

"Oh, yes… Of course. Er… Do you know about..." The heat in my cheeks intensifies…

His lips twitch. "Yes. I’m aware of the special relationship between James, Michael and Charlotte. "

"Oh!”

He smiles at my surprise. “And… You're okay with that?"

Borje shrugs. "Yes, I'm okay with it. They make a good team. They're well-matched." The tightness in my stomach eases. It must show. He takes my hand, strokes a thumb over the fingers. "Relax, Georgie. Your father's family arrangements are his own business. My interest is in you."

But something remains unsaid…

He’s not lying…

Exactly…

Is it me?

“You’re sure you’re not upset with me about something?”

“No.” His forehead wrinkles. “Why do you ask?”

“I… I don’t know… I always get it wrong, like when you and I met. You didn't like me at first because I kept doing all the wrong things.”

He gives me a lop-sided smile. “Georgie, that was at least fifty percent my fault. You have nothing to apologize for.”

“I was very rude to you.”

“You had cause.” Eyes crinkling, “I imagine attractive women are approached with lame pick-up lines all the time.”

“Yours wasn't a pick-up line.”

That cock-eyed smile again. “You weren’t to know that.”

Without meaning to, I droop my head then, remembering myself, straighten up. “People say I'm bossy. I mean, Dad's bossy. Everyone says I’m like him, but people take notice of what he says. They just ignore me. Or laugh. Or stop talking to me.”

The fingers holding mine tighten their grip. “You get on well with your father?”

“I do now, yes. But we... fell out… when he split up with Mom.” I tug free of the hand, play with a bit of bread. “If I’m honest, I fell out with him. I believed it was his fault. Mom told me some things I later found weren't true. And then… when I met Dad with Charlotte... She's so young. And she was pregnant. I thought he'd dumped Mom for the younger model. Abandoned her, like some men do.”

Borje cocks his head. “James isn't the abandoning kind. And I believe he parted ways with your mother long before he met Charlotte.”

“I know that now…”