Read A Brit on the Side (Castle Calder Book 1) for Free Online

at ten.”
    As Lou answers, I realize aside from the chocolate cake, I haven’t eaten all day and suddenly six-thirty seems far away, even though it’s less than an hour. I hear Lou say chicken marsala and then she says, “Since we’ve got three couples at seven tonight, I’ll put your tea on for about six-fifteen. Do you know if anyone else will be eating at the house tonight?”
    I catch myself before I ask, “What house?” as Scarlett shakes her head. “Jaz has his very important phone call with Emory, and Mum made something at theirs.”
    “Don’t your parents live here?” I blurt out.
    “Yes.” Scarlett furrows her brow, then evens it out with a grin. “Oh, right. The apartment has a small kitchen. Mum and Dad used to eat Lou’s cooking all the time, but Mum said she either needed to stop or resign herself to becoming half-ton Hannah, so she makes them eat salads and shit. But my dad likes to come in and pinch a bite of real food every now and then.”
    “Resistance is futile,” Claire says. “I always put on at least half a stone every summer.”
    Half a stone? I scramble my tired brain to remember how much a stone is. Ten pounds? Twelve? I know it’s in the double digits. Ugh. I run three times a week to maintain my current weight and it’s a struggle as it is. My mother always says I’ve got her Ellicott genes to thank and used to bemoan my hereditary thighs to the point I wouldn’t even wear shorts. When Theo got me into running, it was another point in his favor. Not only was he such a nice boy, but such a good influence, too. And, well, Bea, it’s so important to take care of your body. After all, it’s the only place you have to live in.
    Alas, wishing doesn’t make it so. If I didn’t give in to the combined pressure of boyfriend plus mother, I’m quite sure I’d do yoga a few times a week and sit on my ass the rest of the time, resigned to my size fourteens. I wouldn’t be happy about it, but I suspect I might be happier on some existential level where size genuinely doesn’t matter. Instead, I alternate yoga with running to squeeze into size ten jeans like I’m the PE teacher, not my ex.
    Scarlett’s known me and my weight issues long enough she knows exactly where my head goes. “Half a stone is seven pounds. You don’t have to put on half a stone. In fact, you don’t have to put on a single pound. I usually gain more weight my first week back in Atlanta than I do all summer, making up for all of the chips and guacamole I’ve missed.”
    “Not me. I lose it as soon as I leave because the food at uni is so bad.” Claire laughs. “It all evens out, don’t worry.”
    “Jaz will run with you if want,” Scarlett says with a shrug, like why I’d want to run, let alone with Jasper, is beyond her. Scarlett is one of those willowy naturally thin people who could eat cake three times a day and be no worse for it.
    “Or you girls could skip pudding?” Lou says. “My mum swore by skipping seconds and only having pudding twice a week.”
    Twice a week? Try twice a month and only if I run regularly. Dessert twice a week sounds like an absolute treat. Theo only ever allowed himself a single square of dark chocolate daily and my mom’s idea of dessert is sugar-free jello, so dessert has always felt decadent and forbidden.
    I feel my stomach rumble. Six-fifteen can’t get here fast enough. I say, “All this talk of food and dessert is making me hungry. Distract me and show me what else I need to do for tonight.”
    Claire, Scarlett, and Lou all somehow agree I’ll follow Claire until dinner. “To get a feel for the cadence of the restaurant,” Claire says. I follow her to the bar where a middle-age couple sits, glasses of wine on the gleaming wood before them. No one else is in sight and I wonder if it’s an honor bar type of thing until I see Scarlett’s dad come around the corner.
    Paul St Julien is one of those guys who you see and you have to smile. No kidding. He’s