Read Online My Map of You by Isabelle Broom - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Isabelle Broom
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He was scrutinising her now with what felt like distrust. ‘But you are her niece, right? You are Holly?’
‘Apparently, I am,’ she replied. He may have unblocked her loo, but there was no way she was ready to tell him all about her family history.
‘She told me that she was leaving this place to you,’ Aidan continued, placing his mug carefully on the table. ‘As soon as she found out about the cancer, she knew exactly who was going to get the house: it was always going to be you.’
Holly fiddled with the frayed bottom of her shorts and fought the tears that had inexplicably welled up at his words. So it had been cancer that had taken away her aunt. Clearly Aidan assumed that she already knew all about it, but she was damned if she was going to let him know just how much his accidental bombshell had affected her. She’d spent years keeping her true emotions well hidden, even from those she felt closest to, and she’d only just met this man. Sniffing loudly and giving a shrug, she snapped, ‘Listen, I’m just here to clear this place out and sell it. I don’t know why Sandra left me her house – and I don’t care, either.’
Aidan flinched as though he’d been slapped. ‘Wow, you
don’t mince your words, do you? I’m glad Sandy isn’t here to see this.’
Ouch, that hurt. Holly glared at him for a moment while she tried to quell the ugly froth of anger that she could feel rising up inside her chest. The last thing she wanted was to give in to her horrible, irrational rage – the same rage that she’d been struggling to control since losing her mum.
‘Listen, I don’t care what you think of me,’ she told him calmly. ‘I don’t even know who you are. You come round here at the crack of dawn, banging on the door like a madman, mocking me—’
‘You swore at
me
!’ he interrupted.
‘I swore at the bloody table!’ she argued.
‘And I fixed your fecking toilet!’ he said, his voice rising an octave.
Infuriatingly, he then seemed to steady himself and even smiled again, although not at Holly. Retrieving the keys from the pocket of his shorts, Aidan stared at her for a few seconds before throwing them down on to the table, where they slid along to the vase of flowers and stopped with a soft clunk. As the front door clicked shut behind him, Holly realised with dismay that it must have been him who put the flowers there in the first place – and now he thought she was a complete cow.
The tears were threatening to fall now, but that only hardened Holly’s resolve not to care. It didn’t matter what Aidan thought of her. In a matter of weeks, she’d be back in London, having sold this weird mausoleum, and she could forget all about Sandra
and
Aidan.
He had unnerved her, though, the way he’d made her anger almost come to the surface like that. She’d been with Rupert for almost a year and he’d never seen even a hint of her bad temper. Whenever Holly felt even a rumbling of that side of her start to appear, she always made an excuse to be by herself, whether it was an afternoon run, or a trip to the local shop. She was afraid of what would happen if she ever let herself ride the waves of that anger – and with Aidan, for the first time since she was a teenager, she’d almost lost control of herself.
Nope, he was definitely bad news. She would have to do everything in her power to avoid him for the rest of her trip.
7
‘Darling!
At last! I thought you’d been abducted.’
Holly cringed into the phone. ‘I’m so sorry. I forgot to pack my charger and it’s taken me this long to buy another one.’ It was amazing how easily she could lie to Rupert sometimes.
‘Oh, you poor thing. Has it been awful?’
Holly reflected that yes, given the toe stubbing, creepy dead person’s belongings, toilet explosion and several dozen mosquito bites, it had been pretty awful so far – but she decided another lie would be far easier.
‘It’s been fine,’ she told him. ‘A bit weird, I
‘Apparently, I am,’ she replied. He may have unblocked her loo, but there was no way she was ready to tell him all about her family history.
‘She told me that she was leaving this place to you,’ Aidan continued, placing his mug carefully on the table. ‘As soon as she found out about the cancer, she knew exactly who was going to get the house: it was always going to be you.’
Holly fiddled with the frayed bottom of her shorts and fought the tears that had inexplicably welled up at his words. So it had been cancer that had taken away her aunt. Clearly Aidan assumed that she already knew all about it, but she was damned if she was going to let him know just how much his accidental bombshell had affected her. She’d spent years keeping her true emotions well hidden, even from those she felt closest to, and she’d only just met this man. Sniffing loudly and giving a shrug, she snapped, ‘Listen, I’m just here to clear this place out and sell it. I don’t know why Sandra left me her house – and I don’t care, either.’
Aidan flinched as though he’d been slapped. ‘Wow, you
don’t mince your words, do you? I’m glad Sandy isn’t here to see this.’
Ouch, that hurt. Holly glared at him for a moment while she tried to quell the ugly froth of anger that she could feel rising up inside her chest. The last thing she wanted was to give in to her horrible, irrational rage – the same rage that she’d been struggling to control since losing her mum.
‘Listen, I don’t care what you think of me,’ she told him calmly. ‘I don’t even know who you are. You come round here at the crack of dawn, banging on the door like a madman, mocking me—’
‘You swore at
me
!’ he interrupted.
‘I swore at the bloody table!’ she argued.
‘And I fixed your fecking toilet!’ he said, his voice rising an octave.
Infuriatingly, he then seemed to steady himself and even smiled again, although not at Holly. Retrieving the keys from the pocket of his shorts, Aidan stared at her for a few seconds before throwing them down on to the table, where they slid along to the vase of flowers and stopped with a soft clunk. As the front door clicked shut behind him, Holly realised with dismay that it must have been him who put the flowers there in the first place – and now he thought she was a complete cow.
The tears were threatening to fall now, but that only hardened Holly’s resolve not to care. It didn’t matter what Aidan thought of her. In a matter of weeks, she’d be back in London, having sold this weird mausoleum, and she could forget all about Sandra
and
Aidan.
He had unnerved her, though, the way he’d made her anger almost come to the surface like that. She’d been with Rupert for almost a year and he’d never seen even a hint of her bad temper. Whenever Holly felt even a rumbling of that side of her start to appear, she always made an excuse to be by herself, whether it was an afternoon run, or a trip to the local shop. She was afraid of what would happen if she ever let herself ride the waves of that anger – and with Aidan, for the first time since she was a teenager, she’d almost lost control of herself.
Nope, he was definitely bad news. She would have to do everything in her power to avoid him for the rest of her trip.
7
‘Darling!
At last! I thought you’d been abducted.’
Holly cringed into the phone. ‘I’m so sorry. I forgot to pack my charger and it’s taken me this long to buy another one.’ It was amazing how easily she could lie to Rupert sometimes.
‘Oh, you poor thing. Has it been awful?’
Holly reflected that yes, given the toe stubbing, creepy dead person’s belongings, toilet explosion and several dozen mosquito bites, it had been pretty awful so far – but she decided another lie would be far easier.
‘It’s been fine,’ she told him. ‘A bit weird, I
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