Always With Love by Giovanna Fletcher Read Free Book Online Page A

seeing back in Rosefont Hill, where he’s largely managed to blend in with the locals. This feels alien to me, but I can’t help but smile at the friendliness of it all.
    The chatter between the Buskin family seems to have simmered down and is a lot calmer and more enjoyable too. For a start, the twins are in much higher spirits (even though they’ve sat and watched everyone but Julie eat plates of delicious meatballs) and no one appears to be trying to wind anyone up. It’s lovely.
    ‘So what do you want to do while you’re here, Sophie?’ asks Clive, who has managed to splatter tomato sauce everywhere, decorating his white shirt in bright red freckles (much to Julie’s dismay). Not that he seems at all fussed – he’s far too laidback to worry about how he might look.
    ‘Oh, I haven’t really thought about it. Just get to know you lot,’ I smile sheepishly, looking back down at my plate, while kicking myself for feeling shy around Billy’s family.
    ‘That’s it?’ asks Jenny, screwing up her face in dismay. ‘We’re fairly boring.’
    ‘That’s fine by me,’ I shrug, realizing they’re probably all aware that I’m not the wildest girl Billy’s brought home to meet them.
    ‘There must be something you want to see. The Hills, Rodeo Drive, Venice Beach? The Walk of Fame?’ suggests Julie, listing the various tourist sites with her fingers.
    ‘Or there’s Disneyland?’ shrugs Lauren.
    ‘Oh, yes!’ says Julie, seeming surprised she hadn’t thought of it before.
    ‘I thought Disney was in Florida,’ I say.
    ‘This is the original one,’ nods Julie, eagerly.
    ‘It’s magical,’ adds Lauren.
    ‘Aren’t you a bit too old for all that?’ asks Hayley grumpily.
    ‘Disney is for all us dreamers in the world who believe anything can happen …’ smiles Lauren.
    Hayley raises an eyebrow in response but remains quiet, clearly biting her tongue.
    ‘It’s a wonderful place,’ declares Julie, siding with her youngest daughter.
    ‘You hate it there,’ Billy exclaims, looking at his mum as though she’s gone mad.
    ‘No, I don’t!’ she gasps. ‘I used to hate going there with five screaming children who all wanted to go in different directions, but me and your dad dip in every now and then and take in the atmosphere … it’s really quite magical watching people’s faces light up in wonder.’
    ‘That’s so sweet,’ I say, imagining the two of them wandering hand in hand in front of the iconic castle.
    ‘Vom,’ says Jenny, unable to stop one side of her mouth rising into a smile.
    ‘I always wanted to go to Disney in Paris when I was younger, but …’ I stop, realizing the reason we didn’t end up going on the holiday that so many children dream of was because my dad died. I look at the people I’ve only just properly met with my mouth wide open, pausing mid sentence. ‘… but we never got around to it,’ I mumble into my glass, hoping my discomfort hasn’t resonated too loudly among the group.
    From the silence that’s descended on this usually chatty bunch I guess they’ve managed to fill the void of my sentence for themselves anyway. These days everyone knows my heart-breaking past thanks to it being used as a piece of idle gossip in the tabloid papers last year. It’s common knowledge now. Just an incidental fact about the girl Billy Buskin is dating.
    ‘Billy!’ we hear someone shout across the restaurant, thankfully deflecting the attention from my awkwardness. I look up to see a grey-haired man in his late fifties striding over to our table, his face pink and jolly, clearly excited to be bumping into Billy.
    ‘Richard,’ Billy smiles, standing up briefly to shake the man’s hand. ‘How are you?’
    ‘I’m good, buddy,’ he says, gently patting Billy’s arm as he smiles at the rest of the table. ‘I heard you were coming home for the holidays.’
    ‘Well, here I am,’ Billy laughs. ‘This is Sophie,’ he adds, placing a comforting hand on my knee.