What the Lightning Sees: Part Two by Louise Bay Read Free Book Online Page B

handle and doesn’t know how to be with us. We are a family, Jake. It might be just you and me, but we’re still a family and you made that happen.”
    “Beth,” I warned. She knew I didn’t want to get into this. I never did. It was too painful.
    “What, you can start pushing me on dating, but I can’t call you on your shit? I mean it. I think you deliberately pick women you know it’s not going to work out with so you don’t have to feel responsible for anyone else.”
    I let Beth’s words sink in. Was she right? I knew I picked women who didn’t require much emotional investment from me but I’d never really thought about why. “Jesus, I need a drink. Why the fuck don’t we have a single bit of booze in this apartment?” I asked, grinning at her.
    “Because I’m an alcoholic, dickhead.”
    “Oh yeah. That must be it.” We both laughed. “Wow, we can joke about it. Who’d have thought?”
    She threw a cushion at me. I stood, ruffled her hair and headed to bed. I’d never connected my short-term relationships with anything other than being a guy. Was Beth onto something? Perhaps I held off on anything I couldn’t control.
    Maybe I’d given up on Haven too easily.

 
    Haven
    “Morning, Haven,” Jake said as he sat down opposite me for our usual Monday morning meeting.
    “Hi Ja—Harry.” I’d lost track of what I should be calling him and why. He was Jake to me, but somehow that felt too intimate to say.
    “Have a good evening on Saturday?” he asked.
    “Yes, thank you. Did you?” Did you kiss her, touch her, take her to bed?
    “Yes, very enjoyable,” he replied.
    “I’m sure,” I mumbled. Jake grinned and I couldn’t bear to think about what had caused his smile. I tried to catch my breath, to push down the panic in my chest. He wasn’t hers . . . 
    “When’s your next date?”
    “Tomorrow night, if you’re free, and the final one on Thursday.” I tried to sound breezy. I wanted to get this over with. Dating with Jake hovering just made my feelings for him refresh. I needed distance from him.
    “You’re packing them in.”
    “It’s work, Harry.” For some reason I wanted to reassure him these weren’t proper dates—even if he seemed relaxed, as if we had never been anything, part of me wanted him to understand that I could never be so casual, I could never move on so quickly.
    “And when’s the super date?” he asked.
    “Saturday. I need to write it up on Sunday. Our big celeb feature for next week has pulled out and Robert asked me to move this up.” Finishing off this article so quickly would be a challenge, but I was excited that Robert had trusted me. I wanted to be the one he could rely on to get him out of a hole. The more he felt that, the better my chances of promotion. “I might just see if Gerald is free, then if he can’t make it, choose one of the others.”
    “You’re keen on Gerald then?”
    I shrugged, trying to keep my eyes on my to-do list. How did he switch into friends mode so easily with me? Asking about my dates as if we were nothing to each other. As though we had never had anything.
    Robert took his seat between Jake and me.
    “Great job on the Sandy Fox piece, you two. Did Haven tell you the first part is running next week?”
    “No, she didn’t. I’m glad you’re pleased with it, but Haven did all the hard work,” Jake replied.
    “I wouldn’t have got the story if you hadn’t been there, Harry, we both know it,” I said.
    “Well, it’s an excellent job. If you ever want to give up making millions to come and be a full-time staff photographer, consider yourself hired.”
    Jake laughed. “Thanks, I’ll bear it in mind, but no promises. In fact, I’m out from the end of next week, I’m afraid. I’ve got to fly to Palo Alto again, and then all my attention has to be focused on Elemental Energy.”
    I swallowed at Jake’s announcement. I’d known it was coming. The new guy was about to start. But now the time had arrived