Page 48 of Tears of Glass

“It was never just a fling.” His gaze is fierce as he holds my stare. “So tomorrow? Your lectures?”

I reach down and pull the disintegrated timetable out of my pocket, smoothing it across the table. “Ooh it’s a lie in, followed by.” I peer closer at the small text. “Glass work.” I lift my gaze to meet his. “Is this for real? I’ve done glass work before.”

“Well then, you can practice what you can do for Channel 4’s Fart Off.”

“Angela told you I said that?”

He grins and it’s electric. “Yep. I know everything.” For a moment his smile falters and sobers. He doesn’t know everything. He doesn’t know how broken I was in Brighton, the places it took me to.

I block the thought. I haven’t done anything wrong.

Tell that to my heart though.

“Are you at work tomorrow?” I don’t know why I’m asking—I shouldn’t be interested. But I am.

“Yes.” He doesn’t look overly excited, but I don’t ask anything more. About that...

“When are you going to tell your mother about Tabitha... can I have some warning so I can leave the country before the nuclear bomb goes off?”

A smile ghosts across his lips but he shrugs. “It’s up to her.”

“So that will be never knowing Tabitha. Do you think Philip is going to be okay? He’s been through a lot.”

Elijah studies me for a long hard moment. “You know for a woman who says she’s always liked to be by herself, cut off from intimacy, you certainly do care a lot about other people.”

“Yeah, well I didn’t until you made me look after all those kids.”

He tilts his head to the side. “I think it was before that.”

“Whatever.” I cross my hands across my chest.

“Have you finished your disgusting dinner? I’ll walk you home.” He stands and starts to collect the wrappers and cups onto the plastic tray.

“Hey, you bought me here.”

“Next time I’ll take you to The Ritz.” He winks.

“There won’t be a next time.”

“We’ll see.”

With nothing to say to that comment, I stand and shrug on my coat and he waits for me to shift my way out from my side of the table.

“I can get a cab,” I say when we are outside and darkness is beginning to fall.

“I’ll walk you.”

We fall into step alongside one another. Every so often his arm brushes mine but he pulls away like he’s consciously giving me space.

“Have you ever seen the pelicans at St James’ Park?” he asks, breaking the silence that’s settled between us.

“Yeah.” They were one of the first things I sought out when I moved to London. Pelicans in London. I couldn’t believe it until I’d seen it. “They are amazing.” I sense his gaze watching me intently. “What are you looking at?”

“You,” he says like I’m stupid for even questioning it. “Where are you going to work now you don’t have a studio space?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe I can convince Gerard to give me one again?” I don’t even know why I say it. I guess I want to see his reactions, as childish as that may be.

His face tightens into a hard mask and my stomach drops at the intensity of it. “Is that so?”