Just My Luck by Adele Parks (best romance books of all time txt) 📗

man. How dare he judge them. Because it was them, she realized now. Her and Jake. And it seemed as though it wasn’t just Patrick judging and finding them lacking. These messages suggested Carla, Jennifer and Fred were trying to distance themselves, too.

She forced herself to think about things she’d been trying to ignore. It wasn’t just the lottery business, not really, not if she was honest with herself. Lexi recalled Sunday outings that they had not been invited to but had only heard of afterward—trips to National Trust properties or for country walks. “Not outings, just jaunts. Impromptu jaunts,” Jennifer had insisted, the last time Lexi realized she had been excluded.

“What’s the difference between an outing and a jaunt?” Lexi had asked, embarrassed to find herself pursuing the matter, a dog with a bone.

“We don’t plan these things in advance, they just organically happen. It’s because we live closer to one another, you live farther out.” Lexi had thought it sounded almost reasonable at the time. Although, in fact, they only lived five miles away, not what anyone could describe as an insurmountable distance. She wanted to believe they were telling her the truth because the alternative was awful. But then there was the occasion that Carla and Jennifer had gone to London to the Good Housekeeping Show and hadn’t asked her to join them. They’d explained it away. “You were working, we knew you wouldn’t be able to make it.” It would have been nice to be asked, though.

“Honestly, Lexi, Carla never feels left out if we have a coffee when you pick up Emily from our house,” Jennifer had added, reasonably. Lexi felt foolish—was she making a fuss?

Why would they be cutting her out, and was it just her or was it Jake, too? Fred and Patrick had memberships to the same gym, and they played squash together once a week. Jake had looked into becoming a member and periodically brought the matter to the table, but the monthly fees were exorbitant, and they couldn’t justify it. Had they become the third wheel? Lexi felt confused, rejected. She hadn’t felt like this since she was at school. It was a given that kids, teens, did thoughtless and mean things from time to time. Forgot to be inclusive and supportive. They were not fully formed, but coming face-to-face with the same sort of behavior from adults was so much more shocking. It suggested a lack of progress for humankind. Lexi felt depressed.

“Are we not going out tonight, Mum?” Logan asked. It was seven o’clock, and usually by that time Lexi would be on at them to get in the car.

“No, Jennifer canceled. They’re going away this weekend so can’t have us over.”

“Oh.” Logan sloped back up to his room, not too concerned. Playing Fortnite at home or on Ridley’s console was all the same to him.

Lexi threw a glance Emily’s way. She was at the breakfast bar, reading something on her phone. Her head was bent as if in prayer, which struck Lexi as appropriate as Emily worshipped her phone. “Have you any plans tonight?”

“No.”

“Not seeing Megan?”

“No.”

“Did you know Ridley was going away?”

“No.”

“Would you like to watch a movie with me and Dad?”

“No.” Emily’s phone buzzed. A smile spread across her face. Most likely the message was from Ridley. “I’ll be in my room.” Emily stood up quickly and rushed out of the kitchen.

Lexi and Jake watched the film in silence for about twenty minutes. Normally Lexi was the sort of person who gave a running commentary when watching movies at home; she only just managed to suppress this urge when they were at the cinema because she feared being shushed. She liked to guess at how the plot might turn out or she would ask, “What’s she been in before? It’s bugging me.” Tonight she couldn’t concentrate on the plot.

Jake pressed Pause and said, “Well, as I’m not needed to be a taxi driver for the kids tonight, I’m going to have a beer. Do you want a glass of wine?”

“Maybe later. Actually, I’ve just remembered I need to nip out.”

“Out? Where? Why?” Jake looked put out that their quiet night in was threatened.

“I said I’d drop off a book at Diane Roper’s. It will only take me five minutes in the car.”

“You’re going now? On a Saturday night?”

“She needs to read it for book club on Tuesday. I promised I’d get it to her today and I forgot all about it. Sorry. Look, watch the film without me. I won’t be long, and I’ll just catch up.” Lexi stood up, hunted out her car keys and headed to the front door.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” asked Jake.

“Like what?”

“The book.” He looked questioning, unconvinced.

“Oh, oh yes.” Lexi ran upstairs and grabbed a book from the towering pile beside her bed. She took the top one without even checking its title.

Lexi drove along the narrow, winding country roads that she knew so well, a route she had taken hundreds—maybe thousands—of times before. She knew every twist and bump. She was headed toward Great Chester, the smart village where Jennifer and Carla both lived. A village she and Jake had never been able to afford to buy in. It was often featured in articles about Britain’s most beautiful places to live. She wasn’t planning on stopping, she just needed to drive by. To check. Of course, Jennifer wouldn’t be lying to her. Of course, she was at Fred’s sister’s, just as she’d said. But Lexi couldn’t stop herself. She had to see the closed-up house, still and quiet. She wanted to be reassured by the fact that there would only be one car on the drive. Jennifer and Fred had two, but they preferred to use his for long journeys.

She had been planning on driving past at a sedate speed, just taking time enough to ascertain that her friend was indeed away, as claimed. However, she immediately saw that both cars were parked on the drive, the downstairs windows were