I help Harry finish cleaning the pool, and Stella makes us lunch before I head off to Ethan’s to apologise to him and Jessie for hijacking their engagement party.
Jessie is not as forgiving or kind as Harry and Stella, and I have to do a whole lot of grovelling before she begrudgingly tells me that if I hurt her friend again, she will cut off my balls and feed them to me for breakfast.
Next stop is Guy. This one I do via phone, not least because I don’t fancy getting a fist in the face. I call him from the car on the way to Manly to see the progress on the house. He laughs when I explain I’m in love with Greer.
“No shit, Sherlock. You made that blindingly obvious. You know, you didn’t need to tell the entire party I’m a man whore, even if it is true. All you had to do was take me aside and give me a heads-up. I would’ve backed off.”
“I’m sorry. I saw red. And by the way, everyone already knew about you, so …” We both laugh. “Let’s catch up for a beer sometime, yeah?”
“Hmm. Give me a week or two to get over it first, and then sure, let’s organise it.”
I don’t deserve the forgiveness everyone is giving me, but I’m grateful for it anyway.
Now I have to work out how to get Greer to forgive me. What would Matthew McConaughey or Hugh Grant do in this situation?
I mull it over as I head down to Manly to check on the house. Things have moved quickly this week. The painting is finished, the kitchen is in, apart from the splashback and some lighting, and the floors are sanded and ready for varnishing or carpet, depending on the room. By the end of this week, it will be pretty much finished.
As I walk around, I see Greer in every detail, and a bubble of panic starts to rise. What if she can’t forgive me? What if I’ve pushed her too far? She’s never said it, but I know she loves me because this feeling can’t be one way. It can’t be too late. But whatever I do, I know this could be my last chance. It had better be good.
It’s one of those middle-of-the-night thoughts. Finally, I have an idea. I know what I have to do. I had told her we were going nowhere. Told her I didn’t want Harry and Stella and Will to find out. Well, once I’m done, everyone will know.
I’m in the office at the arse-crack of dawn on Monday, knocking on doors and dragging an emergency crew together. My team are all behind me one hundred percent. The media buyers take a little bit of convincing until I explain why I’m doing what I’m doing. It doesn’t hurt that the MD gets wind of it and weighs in on my need to get Greer back. He’s a big fan after meeting her at the awards night.
It’s going to take a week to get it together, so I spend the next seven days on tenterhooks. I’ve told Will what’s happening because I needed some moral support. Harry and Stella are trying to drag it out of me, but other than those who have to know, and Will, I’m keeping this thing under wraps.
In all the excitement, I completely forget about the Melbourne job until I get a call late on Monday. But my decision is made. No matter what happens with my grand gesture, I’m staying in Sydney. I told Harry I would fight for Greer for the rest of my life if that’s what it took, and I meant it. I don’t feel even a scintilla of regret or doubt when I tell them no. Sydney is where I belong. With Greer. And the rest of the Carter family. Soon to be my family. Come hell or high water.
Chapter Forty
Greer
Theweekaftertheparty drags by. Josh doesn’t attempt to contact me, for which I’m grateful. No. Really. I am. The last thing I need is him making excuses and telling me yet again why we can’t be together.
The one saving grace is I don’t have to deal with the Mean Girls anymore. Once Zoe was let go, the other two lost all appetite for tormenting me. And whilst I still see them roll their eyes at me in meetings and hear whispers behind my back, there are no more overt attacks. Which leaves me free to get on with my job. And the new community housing project I’m working on with Jonathan takes up almost all my time.
I miss working on Josh’s house and would give anything to see how it’s looking. But there’s no way I’m going there. I’m not even doing a drive-by. Well, okay. One teensy-tiny little drive-by on the weekend. When I’m sure nobody will be there. The construction fence is gone. The front fence and walkway are repaired, and the carport is finished. The garden is planted, and the façade is painted. It all looks exactly as I imagined, right down to the dormer windows in the new roofline and the restored stained glass in the front door.
I sneak up the front path and peer in the windows. The walls are painted, and the floors are done. There’s no furniture, but I guess there wouldn’t be since Josh is moving to Melbourne. I wonder whether he’ll rent it out or sell it. I hope whoever eventually lives here will love it at least half as much as I do.
I spend the rest of the weekend moping at home. I should be out getting started with my Christmas shopping. It’s my favourite time of the year. By now, I’m normally in full present-buying swing. But I can’t seem to muster up the enthusiasm.
When the weather is good I like to walk to work which, given the North Sydney traffic, is often faster than catching the bus. As though it’s trying to match my mood, Monday morning dawns grey and drizzly, so I resign myself to putting up my brolly and trudge to the bus shelter at the end of my street.
I’ve been sitting there a minute or two when someone taps me on the shoulder.
“Excuse me. I don’t want to be rude, but is that you?” The guy in a three-piece suit points to the end of the shelter.
And right there is a full-colour poster of my face, with the words #joshlovesgreer.
The two teenage girls in school uniforms squeal.
“Yes. It is. It’s her. You’re Greer.” And before I can think anything of it, they’re snapping my picture and typing furiously on their phones.
What the hell?
I fish my phone out of my handbag and realise I’ve had it on silent since my meeting on Friday. At least that explains why nobody called over the weekend.
I’m about to bring up Josh’s number when the bus arrives. And there, on the side of the bus, is another photo of me. This one says,If you see this woman, tell her #joshlovesgreer.
