“So …” she replied. Come on, Lucy. Be a grown-up. “You were right about me seeming a little distant today, and I’m sorry.”
“Was it me?”
“No.”
“Are you sure? Did I do something wrong?”
She’d give anything to wipe that miserable look off his face. “No, Will, I promise. I just …” Lucy realised there was no way to say what she needed to say without throwing Jules into the muck. She took a sip of hot chocolate. Goodness, that’s delicious. When she looked up a Will, he was watching her intently.
“I like you … rather a lot, as it turns out.” His face split into a grin.
“You did say that last night, but I wasn’t sure … you were, uh …”
“I was completely off my trolly.”
“I haven’t heard that expression before, but yes, you were.” He smiled at her gently, which gave her the confidence to keep going.
“Well, as they say, ‘in vino veritas’. And those things I said—and I do remember—I meant them. You’re quite extraordinary and I know you think of yourself as a Miles, and in a way you are, because he is so thoughtful and lovely, but you’re also a Graham, truth be told, because I think you are absolutely gorgeous.”
She dropped her gaze and took another sip of the delicious hot chocolate. Will was grinning at her when she summoned the nerve to look at him again and she involuntarily smiled back—until her stomach twisted at the thought of what she had to say next.
“But …” His smiled faded and a crease took hold between his brows. “I let it slip when I spoke to Jules early this morning that I’d kissed you, and she didn’t seem particularly pleased with me.”
Will’s head cocked to the side and his frown intensified. “Hold on, what? Jules …? What did she say exactly?”
There was no way Lucy was going to repeat verbatim what Jules had said. “She just seemed shocked, that’s all, and not in a good way. She made it quite clear that you and I being together … well, she made me feel a bit rubbish, to be honest.”
“Well, yeah. I mean, I’m feeling ‘a bit rubbish’ too, now that I know what’s going on.”
“Maybe she was just being protective.” Lucy now found herself in the odd position of defending Jules to Will.
“I’m twenty-nine, Lucy. I have my own place, my own company. I don’t need my older sister to step in and protect me. She’s out of line. Oh, hey, that’s why you didn’t talk to her when she called.”
“Yes.”
“And then I went and gushed to her about you.”
Lucy’s eyes widened. “You did?”
“Yeah, I did. But I didn’t know then that she’d given you a hard time. Do you want me to handle this?”
“Perhaps, but what if …”
“What if what?”
“What if we …”
“Lucy, say it.”
“What if we fall for each other, I mean, properly, and it all goes pear-shaped and you get hurt again? I don’t want to be the person who does that to you.”
“Lucy, what are you talking about? What did Jules tell you?”
“It wasn’t Jules; it was your mum.” Lucy realised too late that she’d revealed far more than she should have.
“My mom? Geez, Lucy, who else have you been talking to about me?”
“No, I … that’s not how it was. Will … Oh, I don’t know how I’ve made such a mess of things.”
He stood. “We should just go. Let’s find the others.” Before she knew what was happening, Will had zipped up his parka and was out the door, the tinkling of the bell sounding more ominous than welcoming. She quickly gathered her things, shoving her hands into her gloves and pulling on her beanie as she slipped on her coat and hurried after him.
“Will,” she called to his back. He stopped but didn’t turn around.
She ran past and stood in front of him, placing her hand on his chest. He seemed both hurt and frustrated and he wouldn’t look at her. She dropped her hand, dismayed.
“Oh Will, I’ve completely messed things up and it was the last thing I wanted to do. Jules and your mum, they love you. And yes, Jules was a cow to me, but it’s only out of love for you, I’m sure of it. And yes, I was cross with her—furious actually—but I think I understand her motivations now, even though I’m still not sure what to do about it. Anyway, that’s why your mum sought me out, because she knew that something wasn’t quite right, and all she said was that Jules was probably worried you’d get hurt like you did with your last serious girlfriend. That’s all. She didn’t want to say anything else, because it’s your story to tell, if you want to—and I agreed, so I didn’t press her. Your mum, I mean. Oh, bollocks, did any of that make sense?”
There was a long moment when Will didn’t speak, his face creased into a frown. Then the frown lessened, and he met her eyes.
“Yes, Iris, that all made perfect sense.”
A smile lifted the corners of Will’s mouth, and he seemed about to say something else when they heard, “Hey, you guys! I’ve been looking for you.”
They turned together and saw Briony jogging up to them. Lucy saw Will flick his wrist towards him and check the time. He’d said they would be an hour and it had been far less than that. When Briony reached them, Lucy realised there was panic in her eyes.
“It’s Bradley,” she said, out of breath. “This way.” Lucy glanced quickly at Will, seeing the concern on his face, before they followed Briony into the crowd.
Chapter 21
Chloe
“So, I won’t be too long, two or three hours at most,” said Archer as he packed up his leather satchel with essentials. “There’s the photo shoot first, then the interview, and they’ll drop me back here afterwards.”
“Cool,” said Chloe, standing on her tiptoes to
