Free Always Yours (Lagos Romance Series) by Somi Ekhasomhi Page B

think?”
    His eyes had been on my face the whole time, but now they widened as he turned to his mother, giving her a look of disbelief, then he turned back towards me. “You look exceptional, Sophie” he said with a smile.
    Even though he had given the compliment under duress from his mother, I practically melted at his words.
    I don’t think my love struck face escaped his mother’s notice. She turned her smile back in my direction. “We were just about to eat” she looked archly at her son. “I had almost given up on you coming back.”
    Dinner was great, the food was fabulous. There were about sixteen of us, guests and family. The conversation flowed nonstop as we ate. Mrs Ade-Cole had seated me beside her and opposite Michael on the table. She kept up a constant conversation with me whenever she wasn’t busy carrying out her hostess duties. She asked me so many questions, about my family, my work, the magazine. She had this intimate way of talking, like I was the only person in the room. She made me so comfortable, I felt I could tell her anything.
    “Remind me to show you Michael’s baby pictures before you leave.” she whispered to me as the final plates were cleared.
    “What have you and my mother been whispering about?” We were all returning to the parlour and he had come to walk beside me.
    “Oh nothing” I said, smiling. Seeing the dissatisfied pout on his lips, I decided to tease him a little. “Just how you were so afraid of the dark you used to cry if someone switched off your light.”
    “What!” He exclaimed. “That’s not true”
    “She said you’d say that”
    He laughed. “My mum loves to embarrass me.”
    He steered me towards one of the windows facing the garden, away from the general conversation in the room. Mrs Adegbite , in whose honour the dinner had been given was regaling everyone with a funny story from her stay in the US, everyone was listening and laughing.
    “My parents like you.” Michael said.
    I smiled. “I like them too.”
    When I had been introduced to Michael’s father, Chief Festus Ade-Cole, he had taken my hand and said that I was proof that his son inherited his good taste. Everybody had burst out laughing but at that moment my thoughts had gone to Folake. Why wasn’t she here?
    “Where is Folake?” I asked Michael now, finally giving in to my curiosity.
    “Busy” he shrugged. “She said she wouldn’t be able to make it”
    “Ah!” Strange relationship, I thought silently. I wondered if I had been a speedy replacement date. But then it wasn’t like anyone needed a date to go to their parents’ house.
    “Do you want to see my old room?’ he asked suddenly.
    “No funny business?” I asked with a smirk.
    He looked hurt. ‘Of course not” then he grinned. “Unless of course, that’s what you want”
    I laughed. “Dream on.” I said nonchalantly.
    He led me through the house, up the wide stairway to the first floor. There was another living room, an open door into a library and some other closed doors. He opened one of the doors into another smaller living room.
    ‘I and Cecilia’s parlour” He explained. “When we were growing up she used to bring all her friends in here. I practically had to climb over them to get to my room.”
    I laughed. “You can’t have minded having so many girls in close proximity” I said.
    “God, I hated them.” He groaned. “They could never stop giggling.”
    He opened the door to his room. “Voila!” He said. It was a big room, surprisingly well kept even though he no longer stayed there, but then I thought of my own room at my parents’ house which my mother kept in good shape too and I understood.
    The room was filled with knickknacks from his growing up years, as well as some things I remembered from his room back in school.
    “Nice room” I said, looking around. “So this is where little you morphed into big you”
    He laughed. “Crazy girl.” He closed the door and leaned on it.
    I