Free A Brit on the Side (Castle Calder Book 1) by Brenda St John Brown Page A

hoping to avoid him upstairs, too. Not because our interactions since my failed attempt at flirting were awkward, but because they were nonexistent and I don’t want to face another blow off tonight or worse, a stilted conversation in front of Scarlett.
    The powers that be must have decided I’ve paid in full waiting on Angela Fisher tonight because I don’t pass anyone on my way upstairs and, even once I enter the family apartment, the rooms are blessedly empty. I slip my shoes off inside the door and pad through the living room and down the small hallway to Scarlett’s room. She and Claire aren’t here yet, so I plonk down on her bed, lying back on the pile of white eyelet pillows.
    Scarlett’s room here is very different from her room in our Atlanta apartment. Here, everything is white and airy with hints of pale blue. There are a few photos tacked up around the edge of her mirror, but there’s no art apart from a drawing of a bird beside a lake. It’s one of Scarlett’s; her signature is visible in the bottom corner. But it’s so different from what she draws now, it makes me wonder what changed and why. I asked her when I first came up here yesterday, but she didn’t answer, even though I know she heard me, so I let it go.
    I close my eyes and when I hear voices in the living room, I’m not sure if a few minutes have passed or an hour. Either way, I’m groggy, not waking fully until Scarlett and Claire barge in laughing.
    “Are you sleeping?” Scarlett asks, standing over me with her hands on her hips.
    “I guess.” I push myself up until I’m more vertical. “What took you guys so long?”
    “We had to rescue Will,” Scarlett says. “One of the guys started talking trash on his football team, so Claire and I got Jasper to take over before there was a brawl.”
    “Jasper’s a Liverpool fan, but he’s not rabid about it like Will is,” Claire says. “We sent Will to cool off in the cabin. I hope you don’t mind.”
    “Not at all,” I say, shaking my head.
    “And Claire, being the love she is, is giving him some breathing room, but she’s going to check on him momentarily,” says Scarlett. “So it’s only you and me for voodoo tonight, I’m afraid.”
    I sit up straighter and raise my eyebrows. Claire hasn’t said a word about any feelings for Will and I don’t know her well enough to ask. But I’m relaxed enough to tease and say, “Do you want to leave a sock on the door handle or something if I’m not supposed to come in?”
    “If you’re not supposed…” Claire’s face reddens. “Will and me? Oh, I don’t think we’ll be… I mean, we’re not…”
    Scarlett laughs. “Yet. Bea can stay here anyway.”
    “Honestly, it’s not like that,” Claire says, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
    She looks so uncomfortable, I have to say, “I’m teasing. Really. Go and have fun, and if I end up crashing here it’s because Scarlett’s bed has claimed me as one of its own and refuses to let go.”
    Claire laughs, but it’s still strained. “After today, I think it’s a definite possibility. Especially after you have a little of that red wine.”
    I reach for the bottle I put on the bedside table. “Speaking of, the sooner we crack this open, the sooner I can go back to sleep.”
    “Uh, uh. We have an Angela Fisher voodoo doll to make first,” Scarlett says.
    “And on that note, I’m off,” Claire says. She shuffles her feet and looks at me. “Please don’t worry about coming back. Really.”
    “I’ll be back unless I’ve had enough wine to ignore Scarlett’s snoring.”
    Claire laughs and shuts the door behind her as she walks out. Scarlett shimmies her skirt over her hips and peels her tights off before flopping down on her bed beside me. “Better. God, tonight was murder.”
    “Well, luckily not, but I felt like I came close a few times. It’s a good thing there wasn’t any meat on the menu requiring actual knives.”
    “You with the steak knives and