If I Can't Have you

(42) Sabini

"He hasn't told you anymore than he's told the rest of us, has he?" Polly queries as she and Jemima sat in the snug, drinking with Mariana. The boys had returned from London late yesterday night, and not once of them disclosed what had happened.

"No," Jemima shakes her head, "he has not."

"He's doing it because he believes it'll keep you safe, am I right?" Polly says.

"That's what he tells me, yes," Jemima confirms.

"But it's just pissing you off?" Mariana asks.

"Yes, it feels like we're going backwards," Jemima says, "he says people come to me because they trust my opinion, but he won't. Everything that's happening he's kept to himself, yes I knew of the expansion, that's it. No details just that he wants London."

"He tends to retreat when business gets heavy," Polly says, "quite unpleasant to be around."

"We've been together for two years, now there's bad business, he's retreated to secretion and bluntness in response to questions, it's frustrating," Jemima replies.

"Have you considered... not asking him? Just staying silent and seeing what happens," Mariana suggests.

"I don't want to play with his head," Jemima says.

"It's not playing with his head," Polly responds, "not when he's playing with yours just as badly."

"He's not playing with my head." Jemima dejects.

"Making you think you're going backwards in your relationship, making you think he doesn't trust you. Purposefully keeping things from you. That doesn't play with your head?" Mariana questions.

"It's just not asking him about business, it's not never speaking to him," Polly adds.

"I don't think that would affect him, I think he'd just be less stressed about my question, if anything it'll positively impact him... maybe it is a good idea? What if I'm just making it worse? Stressing him out further?" Jemima replies.

The woman share a look as they hear a group of men enter the pub, familiar voices meeting their ears, and soon enough the brothers, and Max were entering the snug.

Tommy takes a seat beside her, kissing her temple with a smile, as he entwines their hands beneath the table.

"Guess who the fuck we saw in the marquis," John says, "Logan and Margaret."

"And did he behave himself?" Polly queries, nodding her head in Tommys direction.

"He?" Tommy repeats, "behave myself? I wasn't going to chop his fucking hands off in the middle of a pub."

"So the setting was the only reason you behaved yourself?" Mariana teases.

"It's the only reason I behaved myself," Arthur admits.

"He's irrelevant," Tommy states, "the fuck do I have to worry about him for?"

"You said you wanted to decapitate him with a rusty blade," Max replies.

"I still have many issues with him," Tommy shrugs, his thumb gently circling the pad of Jemimas thumb.

-

"Do you actually want to decapitate Logan?" Jemima asks as she and Tommy walk home.

"Yes - as you said, people hold grudges for a long time, the way he acted after you ended things with him is inexcusable and the fact he only ever left you alone when another man told him to, tells me everything I need to know about what sort of person he is," Tommy states, "but so long as he doesn't try to come near you again, I guess he can keep his head."