“All the more reason for me to spend some time with them. I don’t want to cause issues between you and your family.” Idly, he ran his fingers over her hair.
“It was me who caused problems, not you. I should have kept my mouth shut.”
Noah pressed his lips together to stop from commenting that her dad should never have put her in that position in the first place.
“You should get together with them and clear the air,” he said. “It’s going to play on your mind otherwise. Why don’t you see if they want to have lunch with us?”
“Are you sure you’re up for that?” she asked, looking at him intently.
“Yes.” He kissed her softly before she sat up and reached for her phone. Holding the bedding at her chest, she tapped on her phone for a moment before swearing under her breath. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Her eyes were full of anguish when she looked at him. “The last time I messaged Dad was the day they turned up on the doorstep insisting they’d come to check on me because I hadn’t been answering calls or messages … Do you remember? I was annoyed because I’d messaged and told them I’d see them another time.”
“It rings a bell …”
“I didn’t actually send the message.” She held the phone out as proof. “I wrote it but didn’t hit send.”
“So?”
“So I thought he was lying about not getting my message. I was angry with him for no reason.”
“He did still get you to pay for dinner and ask you for money,” Noah pointed out hesitantly.
“Yes, but I think they probably were also worried that they couldn’t get in touch with me.” She sighed as she began to type out a message, then sat staring at the phone while she waited for a reply. “Dad’s working today,” she said when a message came in reply. “Mum says tomorrow would be good.”
“Great.” He slipped his arms around her when she snuggled into his chest again. “Do you feel better now?”
“Yes. I thought they might have made up an excuse and said they couldn’t. Maybe I was overreacting and it’s not as big a deal as I thought. I had it in my head that Dad was going to disown me.”
Again, Noah kept his thoughts to himself. It was frustrating how much guilt she had when it should be her dad who felt guilty.
“I’m sure it’ll all be fine,” he said.
She shifted her weight, propping her chin on his chest. “What do you want to do today?”
“Do you have to work?”
“I don’t know,” she said, looking genuinely puzzled.
“How can you not know? I thought you needed to work this weekend. I can get out of your way for a while if you want.”
“I definitely don’t want that.” She hesitated for a moment and seemed to be collecting her thoughts. “Work has been crazy busy, but no one actually tells me to work evenings and weekends. I don’t get paid any extra for it.”
“What will happen if you don’t do it?”
“I have no idea. It’s not as though the project is just down to me. We work in groups – it’s supposed to be a team effort.”
“Do you think the others work less because they assume you’ll pick up the slack?”
“No.” She gave a small shake of the head. “It’s not like that. But I’m starting to think that maybe I always do more because I constantly feel the need to prove myself. I think I have a fear of losing my job and not being able to pay my rent.” She let out a sigh which was part laugh. “I suspect no one would notice whether I work this weekend or not.”
A smile pulled at his lips. “That sounds like you might ditch your plans to work and spend the weekend keeping me entertained.”
“I think I might,” she said happily. “So what do you want to do today?”
“I’m quite happy here,” he said, quirking an eyebrow.
“You want to stay in bed all day?” She inched her face closer to his.