Free Hopelessly Devoted to Holden Finn by Tilly Tennant Page A

look…’ Max’s sentence trailed off again.
    ‘Lovely? I’m sure that’s the word you’re looking for,’ Linda called from the kitchen.
    ‘I mean,’ Max continued as if Linda hadn’t spoken, ‘not that you don’t always look nice… it’s just that….’ He shook his head again.
    Bonnie couldn’t work out whether he approved or not. But then, she thought somewhat peevishly, it was her hair and she could do what she bloody well liked to it.Why should she be bothered that Max may not like it? Equally, what did it matter to her if he did?
    Linda appeared at the kitchen doorway wiping her hands on a teacloth. ‘Max, if that’s your animal magnetism and easy going charm you’re displaying there, it’s a wonder Sarah didn’t drop her knickers the minute she clapped eyes on you.’ Max seemed to come back to himself and grinned widely. ‘How’s it going with Sarah, by the way?’ she added as Bonnie sloped off to open the fridges.
    ‘Good, thanks. I think we’re coming up to our three-week anniversary.’
    ‘Oooh, get you. Next we’ll be talking weddings.’
    Bonnie listened to the exchange as she stepped into the first walk-in fridge, her good humour dissipating. The cold never failed to surprise her no matter how many years it had been and, immediately, her skin prickled all over, her breath rising in a white plume. She dragged out a tray of Spanish plums and hauled them into the stockroom, glad to be back in the warm.
    ‘When you’ve finished organising Max’s love life, a little help here, Lind?’ Bonnie snapped as she emerged from the fridge.
    Linda shot a confused look at Max, who shrugged silently as Bonnie took the fruit out to the shop.
    ***
    Try as she might, Bonnie hadn’t quite managed to shake the dour mood that had settled over her that day at work, despite all the compliments and admiring looks from regular customers. By lunchtime, Linda had complained about her being less fun than a mass funeral, and stalked off to the Bounty to get lunch alone while Bonnie had sat in the kitchen of the shop nursing a cup-a-soup and a foul temper.
    Linda’s irritation only ever flared momentarily, so after her usual ten minutes of idle banter with Stavros, she was back to her old self. Busy all afternoon with customers, she hardly paid any more attention to Bonnie’s dark mood and bid her a cheery farewell at home time.
    As Bonnie had promised her mum she would call after work, she thought she’d better honour that promise. Jeanie had been less than enthusiastic about seeing her recently and Bonnie figured she’d somehow managed to upset her too.
    ***
    Bonnie let herself in at Jeanie’s house and shouted down the hallway. ‘Hey, Mum, it’s just me.’
    Jeanie’s head popped out from the kitchen doorway. ‘On your own tonight?’
    ‘Paige is at Annabel’s for tea. They’re planning world domination, starting with the radio station next week. I’ve got to pick her up on the way home when she’s created her masterplan.’
    ‘Right.’
    Jeanie’s head disappeared again and Bonnie frowned. That wasn’t the reaction to her joke she had been expecting. She entered the kitchen to find her mum sitting at the table with a magazine open and a cup of tea half drunk.
    ‘What’s that mag?’ Bonnie asked.
    Jeanie flicked the magazine shut and pushed it across the table to where Bonnie was sitting herself down. ‘I’ve finished with it if you want to take it home with you.’
    ‘Oooh, ta, Mum.’ Bonnie pulled it over to look at the cover.
    ‘Cup of tea?’ Jeanie asked, pushing herself up from her seat. Bonnie watched her carefully as she went over to the kettle without waiting for Bonnie’s reply.
    ‘Are you feeling ok, Mum?’
    ‘Hmmm?’
    ‘You seem a bit… distracted.’
    ‘No, no, I’m fine.’ Jeanie flicked the switch to the kettle and reached for a mug from the cupboard.
    ‘Mum, sit down.’
    ‘I’ll make your drink first…’
    ‘Mum, the drink can wait. Just sit down and