You Are So Not a Fallen Angel

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Pleased that I’d managed to put Flora’s back up and unwilling to go upstairs to deal on my feelings, I did what I usually did in these situations, I went for a long swim then lazed about on the edge of the pool with a book, basking in the feeling of a day well spent. Of course, I’d behaved like a crazy person, lied to my mother, and possibly screwed up any chance I’d ever had with Lorris, but at least I was now clear about my feelings. Oh yeah, those were crystal clear now.

I absently rubbed at a sore spot on my arm as I considered my feelings. There was no denying now. I was head over heels in love with my beautiful angel. There was no point in pretending it was just a passing crush, a whimsy that would go away of I left it long enough. I’d had crushes before. Hell, I’d carried a torch for my friend Kimberley’s brother long enough to know the difference. This was the real thing. And that was frightening, and not just because I knew that one day he’d vanish and not come back.

Comforted by that lovely thought, I tried to lose myself in my book again. There was something to be said for making the most of things while they lasted, and worrying about them later.

A shadow fell over me and I sat up, pushing my sunglasses to the top of my head. I looked around and gasped when I saw Ivan standing behind me.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he said.

“I’m beginning to find it creepy the way people keep coming onto the property without permission.”

Ivan frowned. “What?”

“Doesn’t matter. What can I do for you?”

“Sorry about blowing you off this afternoon. I was just too tired.”

Oh, I bet you were. “That’s okay.”

“I’m going to the beach with a friend tomorrow. Do you want to tag along?”

I thought about it. On the one hand, a trip to beach was always a good thing, and it’d be nice to get away from Blackwith. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure Ivan’s motives were entirely innocent. I had a feeling that if I agreed, Ivan’s friend might suddenly discover he had urgent business that couldn’t be delayed but ‘oh no, don’t let me spoil the day for the two of you. You go ahead.”

“That’d be great,” I said. “But I have to ask my parents first.”

This I duly did over dinner that night. My mother reacted exactly as I’d expected, with deep suspicion.

“Who is this friend? What’s she called?”

“Ivan,” I answered, eyes fixed on my food. There was a collective intact of breath. “He lives in the village. Aunt Mandy met him the other day.”

“Oh, he’s a very nice young man,” Aunt Mandy piped in. Mum snorted.

“I don’t care,” she said. “You’re not going off all day with some boy. Not on your own, anyway.” We were getting there. Any minute now. “Why don’t Elijah and Flora go with you?”

There was a chorus of “What?” and “No way” from around the table. I tried to look as if I hadn’t been angling for this all the while. I’d expected her to unload Flora on me. She had a slightly warped vision of our relationship; she had always got on splendidly with her cousins and she imagined Flora and I were the same. Eli was more of a surprise, as she knew what we were like when we spent any amount of time in close proximity, but maybe she wanted to empty the house of children for one day.

“It’ll do you all good,” she announced in a tone that said her decision was final. “Change of scenery and fresh sea air.”

“What is this, the fifties?” Elijah said. “We’re not slum children.”