Read Online Calling Me Away by Louise Bay - Free Book Online

makes.” I’d been cooking most of the day. I was looking forward to seeing Ashleigh, and I wanted to make something nice.
    “Do you want to do the wine while I deal with snacks?” I indicated to a cupboard where I kept the wineglasses and picked up an oven cloth. It was nice to have her here, near me, doing things we normally did, even if the venue was new.
    I slid the hot tray onto the counter. The straws looked like they did when Haven made them. Awesome.
    “The flat came furnished? You’ve not bought all this stuff?” Ashleigh set the wineglasses beside the cheese straws and headed back to the refrigerator.
    “No, everything came with it. Except my sheets and things like that.”
    “And you’ve put the sofa in storage?”
    I chuckled. My obsession with my old college sofa must have seemed ridiculous. It did to me now. “No, the sofa has gone to sofa heaven.”
    Ashleigh turned to me, her eyes narrowed.
    “I threw it out. It was knackered.”
    “Wow, you loved that thing. I mean, it was ugly and thank God it’s gone, but how come?”
    I shrugged. “It just didn’t seem important anymore. Time to let it go.”
    Ashleigh focused on unscrewing the wine. I could see her words bubbling beneath the surface. She never held back. What was she contemplating? I wanted to pull her into my arms and kiss her until she told me what she was thinking. The smooth, creamy skin of her neck seemed to be waiting for my lips. My fingers buzzed with frustration at not being able to touch her.
    She poured the wine—it seemed to take more concentration from her than it should. Her unblinking eyes and her fixed frown suggested she was performing brain surgery for the first time, not pouring two old friends a drink.
    “So, that’s a big change,” she finally said.
    “What? The sofa? Not really. Or maybe it was, but now it’s gone, I realize I should have thrown it out years ago. It doesn’t feel like a big thing. It was time to move on.”
    I grinned, aware of what I was saying and the implications it had for us. She remained silent.
    “Can you bring the wine through if I take this?” I pointed to the tray of snacks I’d prepared. “Shall we eat on the balcony?”
    She nodded, her lack of words adding to the viscosity of the air between us.
    I held the balcony door open and tilted my head, indicating she should go before me. As she stepped through, her hand brushed my torso and set the skin under my shirt alight. It was deliberate and flirtatious and the kind of thing I was used to from Ash, rather than Ashleigh. Was she trying to go back to before? Or was she deliberately making me want her? Instead of catching my eye, she took a seat and slid a glass of wine across the metal table to me.
    “Wow, you can see the Shard. This place is great.” Relieved she’d finally spoken, I relaxed back into my chair.
    “God, I meant to show you around.”
    “It’s fine. Later.” She sank back into the chair, looking over the view, relaxed.
    “I’ve cooked duck,” I said, proudly.
    “Double wow. Duck? Are you sure it’s not from the Chinese place?” She raised her eyebrows at me.
    “I’m sure.” I rolled my eyes. “Heard from Haven?” She was more likely to have spoken to my sister than I was and talking about Haven felt neutral.
    “Yeah. She’s enjoying the city. Beth is dragging her around, showing her the sights. I think so Jake can spend time with his dad.”
    “Haven can fend for herself.”
    “I know, but you know how sweet Beth is. She’s trying to keep her occupied, I think.”
    “Yeah.” I knew everything there was to know about keeping occupied.
    “How’s the running?”
    “The training’s good. I went out this morning.” Exercising in the morning created a calmness in me that stayed with me for the rest of the day, which helped my productivity at work and stopped me from calling Ashleigh every time I thought of her. “I’m trying to train six days a week.”
    “Wow, are you eating more?” She