The Back Road by Rachel Abbott Read Free Book Online

frustrated misery pierced the silence, and the now empty glass was hurled into the sink where it shattered on impact.
    * * *
    ‘I need a drink,’ a weary Ellie muttered as she plonked herself down on the bed.
    What a day! She could have done without going into work, but in view of the circumstances she’d had little choice. There had been no chance to catch up with Leo, and she’d barely seen the twins. And after last night…
    No. She mustn’t think about that. It was too terrible. Too awful. For tonight, at least, she had to push it all to the back of her mind.
    She had somehow managed to go through the motions of preparing everything for tonight’s dinner - all she had to do was drum up the enthusiasm to get herself ready. The babysitter had arrived - a ridiculous extravagance in Max’s mind, given that they weren’t actually going out - but at least the twins were occupied and all she had to worry about was the food.
    Staring disconsolately at her wardrobe and hoping it would provide some magical solution to what she should wear, she heard the bathroom door opening. She could see Max’s reflection in the large mirror that hung over their dressing table, and couldn’t resist watching him as he rubbed his thick dark hair on a towel, another one draped around his middle. Not an inch of fat on him, she could see the muscles in his stomach from where she sat, despite the thin covering of dark hair. He’s so hot, she thought. Was she really losing him?
    She sighed.
    ‘What’s up, my lovely Ellie Jelly Belly’
    ‘Don’t call me that - you know I hate it,’ Ellie said, scowling at his reflection.
    Max laughed.
    ‘I’ve been calling you that since you were seventeen, and you loved it then.’
    ‘Of course I did - principally because it wasn’t true. Now it is, so think of something nice to say or don’t say anything.’
    A brief tap came on the door, and it was nudged open to reveal Leo, dressed in nothing more than a black T-shirt that just about reached the top of her thighs and clung to her slim hips. Her slender legs were enviably long and lightly tanned.
    ‘Leo - do you
have
to wander in here naked - or as near as, damn it?’ Ellie said.
    As Leo opened the door fully, Ellie saw her glance sideways at Max.
    ‘Sorry Max. I didn’t know you were here. I thought you were with the twins. And I’m perfectly decent, Ellie. People walk around the centre of Manchester in fewer clothes than this. I came to see if I could borrow your straighteners. I forgot mine, and my hair looks a complete mess if I leave it curly.’
    ‘Max could have been naked himself, but I don’t suppose either of you would have been bothered.’
    Ellie wasn’t surprised to see a look of puzzlement pass between Leo and Max. She knew she was being a grump, but seeing her svelte sister made her feel more frumpy than ever, and she was sure Max couldn’t fail to make a comparison. Leo had always been tall and slender; even as a child she had been taller than her older sister. But with her long dark hair and her preference for wearing black - when she was dressed, that is - with her lips painted a bright crimson, she had a vamp like appearance that was at odds with her personality.
    Max had been quiet to this point, but in an obvious attempt to lighten the atmosphere, he started to sing the well known opening notes of “The Stripper”, throwing the towel that he had been drying his hair with to one side in a flourish. To Ellie’s dismay he started to tease open the towel around his waist. She knew what he was going to do, and she had no way of stopping him. He had never had the slightest of inhibitions about his body - and why would he? But she wanted him all to herself. He wasn’t to be shared - she couldn’t bear it.
    Before she could utter a word of protest, Max ripped the towel from round his waist, to reveal a pair of tight black shorts which in many ways were even more sexy than if he’d been naked.
    Leo gave a slightly