Read Online Always With Love by Giovanna Fletcher - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Giovanna Fletcher
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Billy to be there with me in the kitchen that I don’t know – even if it’s just to pass me baking trays or to find the baking powder and butter.
‘Are you having fun?’ Billy asks over the top of his glasses. ‘Do you like LA?’
‘Of course I do. It’s impossible not to enjoy the sun, the food and meeting your family,’ I say, sticking a ring of calamari into my mouth.
‘They can be overpowering.’
‘They’re great,’ I say, although tempted to completely agree with him.
‘That too,’ he smirks.
‘Do you think they’d ever move back?’
‘To England?’ he asks with surprise, even though it’s a topic he must have thought about before, having spent the last few years apart. ‘Maybe kicking and screaming,’ he laughs.
‘They certainly seem nicely settled,’ I agree with a nod, picking up a lemon chunk and squeezing it over the top of my lunch.
‘I think Mum’s the one who’d find moving back mostdifficult. It’s not even that she’s settled here, but her life is so hugely different.’
‘The staff?’
‘No!’ Billy laughs. ‘Well, in part. She’s just got no stress. No responsibility. Sometimes I’m not sure if what I did for them is a blessing or not. Fancy placing someone on a permanent vacation. I think I’d go mad.’
‘Excuse me?’ asks a young girl in an orange bikini, flanked by a younger boy who could possibly be her sibling. Her eyes widen when Billy looks up at her, clearly nervous now she’s dragged his attention away from his lunch. ‘Sorry to interrupt your food, but can we grab a quick selfie with you?’
‘Sure,’ Billy smiles happily, wiping his hands on the napkin and jumping off his sunbed as though it’s not an inconvenience at all, even though we’re halfway through a conversation and eating our lunch.
The two youngsters are gone within seconds, but their coming over seems to have sparked the interest of other sunbathers who’d previously been unaware of Billy’s presence amongst them. They are now peering across at us over their phones, or through their dark sunglasses as though trying to be inconspicuous. Maybe they’re deciding whether it’s actually him, making judgements on what he looks like in the flesh or wondering whether to come over.
A few do. All pleasant and lovely people, of course, but our cosy day for two on the beach quickly turns into Billy being surrounded by a dozen or so other sunbathers. I still find it completely odd, unable to marry together the public perception of Billy with the man I love. Back home,Billy can walk through Rosefont Hill with ease, but over here he’s watched like an animal in a zoo. What an odd way to live. Not that he seems to mind. Despite his protests, it’s clear that part of Billy enjoys the attention. Not in a big-headed way, of course, he simply exudes a humble warmth that draws people to him and makes him instantly likeable. And that’s what makes him wonderful.
He doesn’t really complain about this side of fame. He takes it all with a pinch of salt. I, on the other hand, am the one who finds it all alarmingly scary.
We quickly finish our lunch and decide to head to the privacy of his home.
8
‘Now,I can make a bed in ten seconds flat, I can polish silver so hard you’ll be able to see your reflection in it for weeks – but one thing I cannot do is make those pesky English cakes,’ Dee declares in her thick accent while grinning widely and welcoming me into the kitchen.
It’s the morning of New Year’s Eve and before the chaos reaches its peak, Dee, Billy and I have gathered to whip up some treats for the party, while teaching Dee how to make a few home comforts for the Buskin family in the process.
‘There’s nothing to worry about, Dee. It’s easy. Even Billy can do it,’ I say, nodding in his direction as he climbs up on to a bar stool and sits at the kitchen counter.
‘Him?’ Dee shrieks, letting out a howl of laughter at the thought of it.
‘Hidden talents,
‘Are you having fun?’ Billy asks over the top of his glasses. ‘Do you like LA?’
‘Of course I do. It’s impossible not to enjoy the sun, the food and meeting your family,’ I say, sticking a ring of calamari into my mouth.
‘They can be overpowering.’
‘They’re great,’ I say, although tempted to completely agree with him.
‘That too,’ he smirks.
‘Do you think they’d ever move back?’
‘To England?’ he asks with surprise, even though it’s a topic he must have thought about before, having spent the last few years apart. ‘Maybe kicking and screaming,’ he laughs.
‘They certainly seem nicely settled,’ I agree with a nod, picking up a lemon chunk and squeezing it over the top of my lunch.
‘I think Mum’s the one who’d find moving back mostdifficult. It’s not even that she’s settled here, but her life is so hugely different.’
‘The staff?’
‘No!’ Billy laughs. ‘Well, in part. She’s just got no stress. No responsibility. Sometimes I’m not sure if what I did for them is a blessing or not. Fancy placing someone on a permanent vacation. I think I’d go mad.’
‘Excuse me?’ asks a young girl in an orange bikini, flanked by a younger boy who could possibly be her sibling. Her eyes widen when Billy looks up at her, clearly nervous now she’s dragged his attention away from his lunch. ‘Sorry to interrupt your food, but can we grab a quick selfie with you?’
‘Sure,’ Billy smiles happily, wiping his hands on the napkin and jumping off his sunbed as though it’s not an inconvenience at all, even though we’re halfway through a conversation and eating our lunch.
The two youngsters are gone within seconds, but their coming over seems to have sparked the interest of other sunbathers who’d previously been unaware of Billy’s presence amongst them. They are now peering across at us over their phones, or through their dark sunglasses as though trying to be inconspicuous. Maybe they’re deciding whether it’s actually him, making judgements on what he looks like in the flesh or wondering whether to come over.
A few do. All pleasant and lovely people, of course, but our cosy day for two on the beach quickly turns into Billy being surrounded by a dozen or so other sunbathers. I still find it completely odd, unable to marry together the public perception of Billy with the man I love. Back home,Billy can walk through Rosefont Hill with ease, but over here he’s watched like an animal in a zoo. What an odd way to live. Not that he seems to mind. Despite his protests, it’s clear that part of Billy enjoys the attention. Not in a big-headed way, of course, he simply exudes a humble warmth that draws people to him and makes him instantly likeable. And that’s what makes him wonderful.
He doesn’t really complain about this side of fame. He takes it all with a pinch of salt. I, on the other hand, am the one who finds it all alarmingly scary.
We quickly finish our lunch and decide to head to the privacy of his home.
8
‘Now,I can make a bed in ten seconds flat, I can polish silver so hard you’ll be able to see your reflection in it for weeks – but one thing I cannot do is make those pesky English cakes,’ Dee declares in her thick accent while grinning widely and welcoming me into the kitchen.
It’s the morning of New Year’s Eve and before the chaos reaches its peak, Dee, Billy and I have gathered to whip up some treats for the party, while teaching Dee how to make a few home comforts for the Buskin family in the process.
‘There’s nothing to worry about, Dee. It’s easy. Even Billy can do it,’ I say, nodding in his direction as he climbs up on to a bar stool and sits at the kitchen counter.
‘Him?’ Dee shrieks, letting out a howl of laughter at the thought of it.
‘Hidden talents,
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