Read Online Sweet as Honey (The Seven Sisters) by Caitlyn Robertson - Free Book Online

the house and begged her parents to take her back. Since then she’d got
herself a job working the local supermarket and was trying to make a life for
herself.
    Honey had listened to the sorry story with
rising nausea. She knew the other jurors would think Sarah sounded pathetic, a
victim, too weak to stand up to the bully she’d fallen for. They would find it
difficult to understand why she’d stayed with James, just as Dex and Honey’s
family had found it difficult to understand why she’d stayed with Ian for so
long. She hadn’t been able to explain to anyone that her own lack of confidence
and low self-worth meant she’d constantly blamed herself for the problems in
their relationship. It hadn’t been quite as bad as Sarah’s relationship with
James, but there were definite echoes. Honey sympathised with Sarah and knew
how difficult it must have been for her.
    She stuffed the uneaten chicken sandwich
back in its wrapper and checked her watch. Still fifteen minutes to go before
she had to be back.
    Taking on her phone, she saw she had two
messages. One from the wedding organiser checking the colour of the lilies for
the tables, and one from Dex.
    She texted the wedding organiser back with White,
please! Then she read Dex’s message.
    Ring me and let me know you’re okay , it said, sent about half an hour ago.
    Honey hesitated, wanting to speak to him but
not really wanting to talk about the case. But she missed him, and suddenly
longed to hear his voice.
    In the end, she gave in and dialled his
number.
    It took him about ten rings to answer, and
she was just about to leave a message on his answerphone.
    “Hello?” he said.
    Was it her imagination, or had he made that
one word sound irritable? “It’s me,” she said, flustered.
    For a moment, he didn’t say anything. She
thought she heard the scrape of a chair, a mumbled sentence to someone in the
room. Then he said, “Hi.”
    He sounded strange. Or was it her
imagination?
    “Are you busy?” she asked, as she did
whenever she rang him while he was on duty.
    “Ah, no. Just taking a bit of lunch.”
    Still, his words were stilted. Perhaps he
was working through his lunch break. It wouldn’t be the first time. “I won’t
keep you,” she said. “Just wanted to let you know I’m okay. I did get picked
though.”
    “Shit. I’m sorry.”
    “I know. Hardly anyone turned up! Typical.”
    “Couldn’t you ask the judge to excuse you?”
he said.
    She shifted awkwardly. “It’s a bit late
now. The case has started.”
    “Honey, honestly. You should have told the
judge once you were chosen—I’m sure he would have excused you.” He sounded
irritated that she hadn’t thought of that herself.
    She frowned and scraped at a mark on the
steering wheel. “It’s my civic duty. I wanted to do it.” It was partly true. To
be honest, it hadn’t entered her head that she could have asked to be excused after
she’d been chosen. And now she was stuck there for the next few days. The judge
had said the evidence would be presented over Monday, Tuesday and possibly
Wednesday, and then they would have to make their decision. She could be there
until the end of the week!
    “What’s the case about?” he asked.
    She hesitated. “I’m not supposed to say.”
    He gave a barely suppressed sigh. “Fair
enough.”
    She flushed, even though he couldn’t see
her. “It’s the rules, Dex. I’m not supposed to discuss it with anyone.”
    “Not even the guy you’re marrying at the
end of the week?”
    She couldn’t tell if he was amused or
irritated. “You are a police officer,” she pointed out. “You could have
been involved the night it happened.”
    “I suppose.” Obviously picking up on her
mood, he fell silent.
    Her stomach knotted. They hardly ever
argued, and she wasn’t used to this feeling of awkwardness with him. Yet again,
she worried about the distant look he’d had in his eyes over the past week. She
swallowed down the panic that threatened