Page 5

My voice trails off.

‘What’s happened?’ he asks.

The kindness in his voice almost unzips my emotional baggage on the spot.

‘I lost my job,’ I say, cutting to the chase.

Ron’s expression changes.

‘Oh, Brooke.’

He walks straight over and sits down on the sofa next to me, pulling me into his chest to hold me close.

He smells like aftershave, the cool night air and something faintly sweet.

‘I’m sorry,’ I mumble into his shirt.

‘Don’t be daft,’ he says, rubbing a hand up and down my back.

For a moment, I just hover in his arms. He doesn’t push me to tell him more; he waits.

‘Simon made me redundant,’ I say eventually.

He listens while I tell him everything, not saying a word, letting me get it all out.

When I’m done, he cups the side of my head with one hand, his thumb brushing lightly over my cheek.

‘It will all be okay,’ he reassures me.

‘I’m trying to believe that,’ I say, nodding like I mean it. ‘It’s just… everything is going wrong at the same time. The flat, now this. My gran always used to say that these things came in threes – I forget what the antidote was.’

‘You don’t believe in all that rubbish,’ he reminds me.

I don’t, not really, but… why risk it? Why not salute the magpie? Why take a chance on walking over three grates in a row? If you spill some salt, chucking a little over your shoulder is a split second out of your day, so why not?

‘Well, I’m going to be proactive, I’m not going to sit around and mope, I’m going to get out there and look for another job. There must be something, right? Even if it’s not as good, or doesn’t pay as well, I just need to get a foot through a door…’

And now I’m babbling. See how my confidence was there at the start, then faded to nothing by the time my voice faded out?

Then he takes my face in both hands and kisses me. It’s a warm, comforting kiss. Just what I need right now.

‘Someone had a milkshake with their burger,’ I say with a giggle.

‘Huh?’

‘You taste like vanilla,’ I point out.

He pulls away.

‘Enough about my guilty pleasures, I might have the answer to your problem,’ he tells me. ‘Again.’

‘How so?’ I reply.

‘I was going to tell you about this anyway, actually, in case you knew anyone who was interested,’ he starts, tucking my long blonde hair behind my ear. ‘Leeds Lions are looking for someone.’

‘I think I’d make a pretty shit…’ My voice trails off as I realise I don’t know any rugby positions to fully commit to the joke. ‘…rugby player.’

He laughs.