“When you think about Pete, about telling him about your flat, what do you think he’s going to say?”
I smile because that’s easy. “He’ll be happy for me.” I can already picture his face.
“There.” He jabs a finger atmyface.“You only ever smile like that when you’re thinking or talking about Pete.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
He gives me thatlookagain, and I’m quickly coming to hate it. “You also look sad and confused a lot of the time, but nothing—and I meannothing—makes you smile like that.”He sits back and crosses his arms like he’s made his point.
“You know I like him. That’s not the issue.”
“Then what is? Enlighten me.”
Now it’s my turn to give him alookof my own, because we’ve been over this so many times I’m sick of talking about it.
His expression softens; so does his voice. “Humour me. One more time. Why aren’t you getting in your car right now and driving up to Charnwell to spend New Year’s with the man you so obviously lo—like a hell of a lot?”
I narrow my eyes. Surely he wasn’t about to throw the L-word out there.
“It was three weeks, Seb.”
“So?”
“That’s not long enough to get to know someone.”
“Bollocks.” He looks thoroughly unimpressed with me, and yeah, fine. He has a point.
“You know what I mean.”
“No, I’m not sure I do.” He holds his hands up.Fuck me, we’ve reached the counting stage. “One, you’ve technically known him for a year.”
“You can’t count twenty minutes?—”
“Two, not only did you stay in his annexe, you slept in his bed. On multiple occasions.”
I keep my mouth shut because that part is absolutely true. A shiver runs through me just thinking about it.
Seb notices and smirks. “And three,” he says softly. “You rescued a fuckingdogtogether.How much more proof do you need that the universe is telling you Pete isit?”
Well, when he puts it like that.
But I’m still me, and I can’t help myself. “What if all that was a consequence of being forced into such close proximity. If the pub roof hadn’t leaked, would we still have got together?”
Seb sighs, exasperated. “No one can answer that.”
“And what if we discover that actually we don’t have anything in common and it was just circumstantial?”
“Then you call it a day and stay friends. Or not.”
I huff. “Just like that?”
He smiles. “Yep. Just like that.” When he stands, he grips both of my shoulders and waits for me to look him in the eyes. “Do you miss him?”
“Yes.” Of course I do.
“Do you get yourself off thinking about fucking him?”
“Seb!”
