Fauxmance (Showmance #2)(24)
We drank our coffee in silence and the shop door opened. A middle-aged man walked in and didn’t spare us a second glance as he headed for the History section.
“Can we talk about the elephant in the room?” Julian ventured, and I blinked at him, bristling.
“No, I’d actually rather not.”
“Why though? I’m honestly fascinated.”
“What am I? Some sort of sideshow? Do you take pleasure in ridiculing crazy people?”
“I’m not ridiculing you, not at all. And besides, if anyone here is crazy, it’s me.”
I eyed him speculatively and chewed on my lip. “What do you mean?”
“My mother has been living in an assisted care facility for the last thirteen years. I also suffer from the same illness, however I manage to function in the outside world far better than she.”
Mental illness? Was that why he was here trying to befriend me when anyone else would’ve run a mile? I wanted to question him, but I didn’t have it in me. Despite the fact he’d shared the information, it still felt too personal.
“You’re very candid,” I said and placed my cup down on the counter.
“I try to be.”
Hmm, perhaps I should take a leaf out of his book. “Why are you so interested in me?”
His eyes held mine captive. “Don’t sell yourself short, Ellen. You’re a very unusual person. Not at all what most would imagine at first glance. That’s why I’m here. I like interesting people and that is what I find you to be. Besides, we live close to one another, frequent the same coffee establishment. It’d be a shame not to become friends.”
I gave him a look. “You only want to be my friend because of Elodie. If you saw me on the street, the real me,” I gestured to myself, “you wouldn’t give me a second glance.”
“There are plenty of people I wouldn’t give a second glance. That doesn’t mean they aren’t worthy of friendship. It simply means we’re all too busy with our own lives to stop and say hello. How lucky we are that through Elodie we’re now aware of one another’s existence.” He gestured between us with his hands and smiled.
Damn, he really had a way with words. I forced myself to look him in the eye.
“Cards on the table, Elodie is…was a total glitch. I am the most boring person you’ll ever meet, and I have every intention of going back to being as boring as possible.”
He leaned close to whisper, “I don’t believe you.”
Tingles skittered down my spine at the warm look he gave me. I glanced at the man who’d come into the shop, just to make sure he wasn’t trying to steal anything. He had his head buried in a thick hardback, not paying Julian or I any attention.
The shop door opened again and a group of five or six tourists walked in. Judging from their accents, they were American. They spoke excitedly about going to see the house from Notting Hill and visiting the markets. I watched them wander down the aisles, oohing and aahing about how quaint the shop was.
I looked to Julian and noticed he was watching me watch them.
“What?” I mouthed.
He looked like he was about to say something, then thought better of it. “How are Skittles and Rainbow today?”
I was surprised he remembered their names. “Skittles was being feisty this morning. Rainbow is the well behaved one. Skittles sometimes bullies him.”
“Do they require a lot of care?”
“Yes, you need to handle them every day to keep them tame. My grandmother had a pair when I was little, Toto and Leaf. I loved those two birds so much I decided to get two of my own.”
“I’ve never had a pet,” Julian confessed, and I widened my eyes at him.
“Not even when you were a kid?”
He shook his head. “Mum didn’t like animals in the house, which was ironic since that was the word I’d use to describe many of her boyfriends.”
I frowned, not knowing how to respond to that, nor understanding how he could so casually reference personal subjects. “Well, um, you should consider getting one. If you live alone, they’re great company. Skittles and Rainbow always get so excited when I come home. Rainbow likes to sit right on top of my head, and Skittles bites on my hair.” I gave a soft laugh. Most people didn’t realise what characters birds could be. They each had their own personality. Even though Skittles and Rainbow were practically identical, with their green, yellow, and peach feathers, I could always tell them apart.
Before Julian could reply, several of the tourists walked up to the counter. “This place is just adorable,” one of the women exclaimed and I smiled politely.
“Yes,” another added. “I was just saying I could spend hours looking through your shelves.”
I forced another smile as I started to clam up, drumming my fingers on the countertop. It wasn’t that they were being in any way scary or intimidating. Quite the opposite, in fact, they were nothing but friendly. I was the problem. When I had to speak to more than two or three people at a time, I choked. Heat built up inside me and I just couldn’t get the words out. School had been a nightmare. Whenever a teacher called on me to speak or answer a question, I became mute, even when I knew the answer.
Hence, why being Elodie was so liberating.
“Are you the owner?” a man asked. All six of them had gathered around the counter now, including Julian. I hadn’t spoken to this many people all at once in years. Normally, Bernice was around to converse with customers, but today she had a doctor’s appointment.