Free Sexy Beast by Georgia le Carre

something different. “Are you trying to tell me what I think you’re trying to tell me?” he whispered.’
    ‘I just nodded and watched as he carefully put the shoes back into the box, and put the box on the side table. Then, with a crazy, small boy whoop of pure joy, he lifted me up into the air and whirled me round and round until I was quite, quite dizzy.’
    ‘Oh Lily,’ I breathe. ‘What a lovely story.’
    ‘It was an unforgettable night,’ she says softly, and strokes her belly with a contented sigh.
    ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever find the kind of love you have.’
    She looks me in the eye. ‘Sometimes the man for you is closer than you think.’
    BJ’s face flashes into my mind. How would such an obviously cold and hard man react to the news he is going to be a father?
    ‘One day you’ll be pregnant and when you tell your man you’re carrying his child you will know exactly what I mean. A light, a special light, comes into his eyes.’
    For a while we stop speaking. Each of us lost in our own thoughts. Then Lily breaks the silence. ‘Your mum said you went to a party at Laissez-faire last night.’
    ‘Yeah,’ I admit. ‘It was Ria’s birthday party.’ I briefly consider telling her about BJ, about that slow-motion, sex-drenched dance and the drug-like kiss afterwards. Then I decide not to. Nothing has happened yet. Nothing will if I don’t make it to Pigeon’s Pie.
    ‘Was it good?’
    I grin. ‘It was brilliant. The music was great and we danced all night, but there was a big fight at the end. A guy almost crashed into me, but I was lucky. The manager of the club appeared out of nowhere and pulled me out of harm’s way. He immediately called a taxi and insisted on putting me into it. Very decent of him, I thought.’
    Lily’s eyes have an oddly knowing glint and she looks as if she is about to say something, but at that moment Jake enters the room, and I run off to the toilet. After I brush my teeth and hair, I dress in a pair of old jeans and a huge, comfy jumper. Then I run downstairs to join my family.
    Lunch is fun. It always is when my brothers are around. Jake is the oldest and he took on the role of breadwinner when my father died, making him the lucky one I run to when I am in trouble. Then there’s Dominic. He is a hothead with a hair-trigger temper, but he has a soft spot for me, so I can generally get away with murder with him. He’s the one I go to when I’ve done something I shouldn’t have and need to be forgiven.
    Shane is only a year older than me. He’s the coolest of my brothers, I can totally relax with him and say and do anything I want. He is also the most classically handsome Eden brother and the playboy of the family. He’s got girls everywhere. When we go out together I get a ton of venomous and jealous looks from women. I almost pity the woman he will end up with. It must be hell to be with such a player.
    Shane catches my eye and taps the handle of his knife so it hits the table surface and expertly flicks a pea in my direction. I open my mouth and in it goes.
    ‘Stop it, both of you.’ My mother looks at Shane sternly. ‘Layla is not a child.’
    Both of us erupt into irrepressible laughter.
    My mother turns to me. ‘By the time I was your age I was married with four children.’
    ‘Shane started it,’ I say.
    ‘This is not proper behavior for a lady. Do you want people to think I raised a hooligan?’ my mother asks.
    I cast my eyes down.
    ‘Let her be, Ma,’ Dominic, ever the gallant, comes to my rescue. ‘When she was away you were always moaning that it was like the life and soul of this family went away. All our meals were proper and dull. Now she’s back and you won’t let her have a bit of fun. She doesn’t behave like this when we are out. This is our family meal. Let her have her fun.’
    I look at Dominic with astonishment. My mum said that.
    To my surprise Jake cuts in. ‘It’s true that we spoil Layla rotten, but she hasn’t