The Right One

Twenty seven

It was finally happening, and Hope was a mix of both excited and terrified. While it would be great to openly be in a relationship with Raymond with the full support of her family, just imagining the thousand ways things could go wrong . . .

But it had to be done, she assured herself. She only had a few weeks until resumption and the last thing she wanted was her mum or Sophie finding out about them some other way. Now, that would be a disaster, and the fact that Alex had so easily figured them out only reteirated the fact that neither she nor Raymond was very good at keeping secrets.

So yes, ultimately, it was the best decision. But why could she still feel her intestines boiling?

"Nervous?"

Hope would have expected to see Raymond, but was only mildly surprised to see it was Alex who approached her, a teasing smile on his face.

Was the sky blue? Why else would she be hiding away in the kitchen while her mum was with Raymond in the sitting room, discussing only God knows what.

"A little?" She chuckled dryly at his obvious look of disbelief. "Okay, a lot," she admitted.

He chuckled, reaching out to pat her shoulder encouragingly. "You don't have to be, you know. Your mum's really sweet, and she adores you."

Sweet? Her mum? Was he talking about the same woman here? The one who'd raised her the whooping twenty one years of her life? "Are you sure you've even met her?"

"She's a bit protective of you, yes, but that's only normal," Alex insisted, chuckling when she looked everything but convinced. "Besides, if there's anyone you should be scared of, it should be me. I'm the one letting you have my only brother for free."

A breathy laugh escaped her lips, her hand coming to rest on her face. Pondering it now, she realized he was maybe right. Funny how she'd never even thought of him as a potential threat; probably because he'd made it so easy for them.

"Everything okay over here?" Raymond asked as he walked into the kitchen, his gaze jumping between them both.

"I like to think so," Alex replied, turning to Hope. "Right, Hope?"

"I'm fine," Hope assured, surprising herself 'cause it was true. She had an amazing family, and it had always been like that. So what if her mum said no? They'd only have to work harder to change her mind."What about mum? What did she want to talk to you about?"

Raymond shook his head amusedly, recalling his conversation with Hope's mum. It had been . . . something, to say the least. "She wanted to know the progress of things between Val and I. I mean, of all days, she chooses today to be direct."

Alex chuckled, obviously finding the whole situation entertaining. "So? What did you tell her?"

"What else?" Raymond asked, shrugging. "I told her nothing's going on between Val and I."

"And?" Hope prompted.

"In her exact words, she said and I quote, 'It'll happen in due time, don't worry,'" Raymond replied, his amusement now matching his brother's.

"And she didn't find it strange you came with Hope to see her on a Saturday morning?" Alex asked, thoroughly entertained indeed.

Raymond responded with another amused shake of his head. "At all. She even thanked me for looking after her."

"Oh, lord." Hope was about to ask them what they both found so funny until she realized she was smiling as well. "This is not supposed to be funny."

"Right?"

"Maybe today's not a good day to tell her," Hope suggested, already losing her bravado from a few seconds ago. Yes, she was that fickle.