The Chocolatier's Secret (Magnolia Creek, Book 2) by Helen J Rolfe

Author:Helen J Rolfe [Rolfe, Helen J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fabrian Books
Published: 2016-06-28T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Andrew

Andrew arrived home from the pub and staggered up the stairs. He’d avoided Louis, avoided Gemma and found comfort in the amber nectar, tipping it down his throat as though it were water. He’d found company too, good company who knew nothing of the latest family saga. He and Michael Harrison had talked sport. They’d talked about the idea of a trip to Europe for Andrew to attend a chocolate conference, and somehow Michael must’ve sensed all was not right because, despite a medical background, he didn’t once mention the kidney transplant.

Andrew fell into bed. Gemma was asleep already, but facing away from her he fell into a fitful sleep. He was awake at two, three-thirty and then again at five a.m., thirsty as hell. He went to the kitchen and downed two big glasses of water and then went into the study and turned on the computer. The only woman he should be thinking about right now was Gemma and how she was handling all this shit that kept getting thrown at her from a great height. But the only girl he could think of was Julia. All these years he’d thought she was a bitch for walking away, a traitor for aborting their baby without a care in the world. Since he’d discovered the truth, those feelings had morphed into something unrecognisable, a fireball of anger, hate, spite, bitterness and regret that he didn’t have a clue how to control.

It took him an hour to write the message to Julia this time. He deleted sentences and rewrote them. He deleted whole paragraphs, added them in again, deleted them a second time. How could you find the words to tell someone how their parents had betrayed them, how they’d supposedly acted in their best interests?

The next morning, Andrew showered away some of the hangover. Emilio was covering for him at the shop first thing so it was a later start than usual, and in the kitchen at home he cooked two fried eggs, toast and mushrooms. No need to be healthy any more … he had no operation coming up. He was free to pile as much cholesterol into his body as he liked, put away as much alcohol as it took to numb the pain. When the eggs were cooked he even shook salt across the tops of the yolks, more making a point than because he needed the hit.

‘What time did you get in last night?’ Gemma didn’t comment on his breakfast, which was a complete contrast to his usual muesli or wholegrain toast.

‘Late.’ He stabbed the square of toast he’d cut, dabbed it in the yolk and watched yellow explode all over the white plate.

‘There’s caramel mixture in the fridge,’ said Gemma.

‘Thanks.’

Gemma pulled out a fruit salad she must’ve prepared the night before. For Louis, Andrew assumed.

He said nothing.

Before she opened the back door, Gemma stopped. She came over to the table and pulled her pale grey cardigan tight around her torso. ‘Can’t you talk to him?’

Face like thunder, Andrew looked up at her.

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