I handed over the mug.
‘Thanks.’
I took a sip from my own and then looked back at Tilly. She appeared to be waiting for me to say something.
‘Have I done something wrong?’ She had by now paled a little and an anxious expression creased her cute pixie-like features.
‘I took the paperwork and laptop to Charlie on Saturday so that he could go over those queries we had.’
‘And? Have I made a mistake on some accounts stuff?’
‘No. Not at all. That was fine.’
‘So why are you looking at me like that?’
‘Like what?’
‘Like you want to explode but you’re too nice to do so.’
I laughed in spite of the tension filling the air. ‘I don’t want to explode, don’t worry.’
‘But there’s something?’
‘OK. Remember the photo the camera took when I fell in the sea?’
Tilly frowned. ‘The one when you stood up and everything was a bit, umm, see-through?’
‘That’s the one,’ I said, my voice a little tight.
‘What about it?’
‘I thought I asked you to delete it.’
Tilly dropped her gaze to the counter top. ‘You did. I know. It’s just…’ She returned her gaze to meet mine. ‘Libby, you look super hot in it! I thought that one day, when you meet a guy you really like, well, believe me, he’d like to see it! So, I tucked it away in a folder for as and when.’
‘I see. Well, as and when became Saturday.’
‘You met someone on Saturday?’
‘No. But as you had put that photo in the accounts folder marked “Charlie”, he got rather more than he bargained for!’
Tilly’s hands flew to her face. ‘No! No, I couldn’t have! I…’
My suspicion that Tilly was, like Amy and Marcus, subtly – or not so subtly – trying to push Charlie and me together was immediately dispelled by the look of shock and horror on her face. Apparently, this really had been an accident.
‘Oh, Libby! I’m so, so sorry! I never meant to put it in there. I don’t know what I was thinking! I must have caught it and dragged it in there accidentally when I was preparing the file for Charlie. Did he see it… properly? I mean, were you there and able to close it quickly?’ Her question had a tone of hope in it.
‘Nope. I was the other side of the room. I only knew when he suddenly lost the ability to speak for a few moments, and I took a look at the screen.’
Tilly’s hands went back to her face. ‘I’m so sorry!’ she said again, the words muffled by her hands. Tears began to prick at her eyes. ‘Am I fired?’
I let out a big sigh. ‘No, of course you’re not fired.’
A couple of tears released and streaked down Tilly’s face.
‘Oh, come here,’ I said, rushing round the kitchen table and wrapping my arms around her, as stray tears soaked into my new silk blouse. ‘Don’t be silly. It’s fine. I’m just a little bit paranoid about people trying to set me up lately, what with my father’s attempts. And ever since Charlie came on the scene, Amy and Marcus have been dying to try and get us together. I didn’t know if you’d been roped in.’
‘No, honestly,’ Tilly mumbled miserably against my chest.
