The Car Share: A BRAND NEW utterly delicious romantic comedy by Lucy Mitchell

Author:Lucy Mitchell [Mitchell, Lucy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloodhound Books - romantic comedies
Published: 2024-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Mateo

‘M

ateo, you do realise I am on the school run right now, which involves seven children, seven lunch boxes, four PE kits, a lot of chaos and a mental breakdown?’ Claire shouted down the phone at me. I was in the café, waiting for my coffee before I went to meet Lia and Stella.

Lia’s cat Burrito had been on my mind all night. He looked exactly like the cat Harry and Claire had fostered called Dave. I remembered staring into those huge eyes years ago and hearing Harry joke that his cat would guard the house against burglars. The urge to call Claire and check was strong. It never crossed my mind that she was on the school run. In the background I could hear a noisy school playground, a father yelling at his son to stop hitting his school friends, and a child crying about their lost PE kit.

‘I know, sorry,’ I said, tapping my card and paying for my coffee. ‘This is important.’

Claire groaned. ‘Reggie, please put your coat on, and don’t drag it across the floor. Mateo, how important is this query – on a scale of one to ten?’

‘Nine point five.’

‘Go on then. What is it?’

‘Dave the cat. Do you remember which home he went to?’

‘Mateo, do I sound like someone who can remember, during the bloody school run, who a cat was adopted by three, maybe four years ago? I couldn’t even remember that my fourth son was on a school trip today and needed a signed permission slip.’

She chuckled down the phone. ‘Mateo, I will text you later, goodbye.’

‘Morning,’ Lia called out as I approached Stella’s meeting point. ‘Did you and Ghost make it home safe?’

‘We sure did. Ghost is still not talking to me,’ I chuckled. ‘She glared at me out of the window as I left this morning. What about the big guy?’

Lia giggled. ‘He spent the night sulking under a bush, and refused to come inside. This morning he must have forgiven me as he came in for his breakfast, but when he saw his new diet portion, he was not happy at all.’

‘Poor Burrito.’ I took a sip of my coffee and we grinned at each other.

‘It was a nice surprise seeing you in the vets last night,’ she said, twirling a strand of coppery red hair around her finger. I spotted Stella’s pink car coming up the high street and my heart sank. I wanted more time alone with Lia.

‘Wonder how Stella’s date went last night,’ Lia muttered as we watched a thunderous looking Stella pull up alongside us.

‘Morning, both,’ Stella grumbled as we climbed in.

After the fifteen minutes of music, Stella turned down her Oasis album. ‘Ed, how’s Roman?’

Ed nodded. ‘Still the same, but all good. I can’t believe this is my last car share.’

‘We’re going to miss you, Ed,’ said Stella.

I leaned across and shook Ed’s hand. ‘Glad we got a chance to get to know you, mate.’

Ed grinned. ‘The feeling’s mutual.’

‘I’ll miss you, Ed,’ said Lia, ‘it won’t be the same looking in the back and not seeing you asleep.

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