Mattie knocked into a man as he perused one of the book tables, but she seemed oblivious.
“Sorry,” Nell said. The man glared at her and appeared set to say something in response, but she needed to keep tabs on Mattie as she speed-walked across the store’s ground floor, between tables of books and people milling around them. Shemanaged to glimpse the top of Mattie’s head as she hurtled through the revolving door and onto the street.
Nell rushed to the exit, and then realised the store’s security guard was assessing her. Fair enough. She’d be suspicious if she’d seen two women running out of a shop. She slowed her pace and approached him. “My friend’s not a thief. She’s having an anxiety attack.” Her stomach churned with worry. She needed to find Mattie.
The invasive sounds and smells of the city hit her as she pushed her way out of the store. She let out a whoosh of breath when she spotted Mattie about ten metres away, leaning against a store window. Her head was tilted skywards, and her hands covered her face. “There you are.”
Mattie dropped her hands and folded them across her chest. She didn’t look at Nell. “Sorry. Had to get out of there.”
“Needed fresh air?”
Mattie nodded, just as a white van trailed past in a fog of exhaust fumes.
“There’s fresh air and there’s that,” Nell said. Her distraction worked, because Mattie managed a thin smile. A bus passed by and leaned on its horn. Mattie jolted at the sudden noise, and Nell rubbed her shoulder soothingly. “We can stay here and do this for as long as you need.”
Discreetly, Nell checked the time. It was gone eight. The plan had been for her to meet Mattie and her friends at La Trattoria near Piccadilly Circus at 7:45p.m., but the afternoon conference session had finished early, so she’d taken the opportunity to wander through Covent Garden and Chinatown on her way to the restaurant. She’d seen the stack of Jon’s books in the window, and curiosity sparked. She hadn’t been able to resist a sneaky peek at the launch party. Heat flared deep inside her as her eyes feasted on Mattie, as gregarious, and stylish, and on-point as the rest of the media crowd. Mattie held court, peopleobviously eager to talk to her, and she tilted her head to the right in that gesture of hers as she listened and nodded.I want you.Did Mattie still want her like that? It was hard to be sure. Did an invitation to dinner which included Mattie’s two closest friends make it a not-date? Neither Nell nor Angie had come to a conclusion when they’d discussed it over coffee last weekend.
Aware that spying on Mattie was bordering on stalking, Nell had been about to leave when she’d caught a look flash across Mattie’s face. Nell had seen it once before, when Mattie came around after fainting at Cove House: fear and panic. Her suspicion had been confirmed when Mattie had glanced her way, and their gazes locked. Two things had been abundantly clear: one, Mattiewas faking it, and two, she was very close to tumbling over the edge of an emotional abyss.
“Mattie?”
Nell looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman of a similar age to Mattie jogging up to them.
“Shit, are you okay?”
Mattie managed a half-smile. “Shona.”
“I tried to get here as quickly as I could. Bloody trains.”
Shona was a little breathless herself, but clearly for different reasons from Mattie. She suddenly seemed to become aware of Nell, because she looked at her with a quizzical expression, so Nell introduced herself.
Shona smiled. “Sorry, I should have recognised you. I had you down as a good Samaritan from the bookstore.”
Nell saw Shona’s fingers surreptitiously measuring Mattie’s pulse. Was she a doctor?
“Too much drink?” Shona addressed her question to Nell.
Nell shook her head. “Too much stress.”
Mattie groaned. “I’m not a child, and I’m able to answer for myself.” She looked around. “Where’s Lisa?”
“She went straight to La Trattoria so we didn’t lose the table.” Shona frowned. “Your pulse is crazy.”
Mattie snatched her wrist away. “Can we go to the restaurant? I don’t want people seeing me like this.”
Shona’s eyes narrowed. “I’m inclined to hail a black cab to take you home.”
Mattie shook her head. “Not home. Restaurant. Walking.”
“Little Miss Stubborn is alive and kicking, I see,” said Shona.
“Mattie was like this after she fainted in Devon,” said Nell.
“I bet she said something along the lines of no hospitals and repeated, ‘I’m fine’ a dozen times,” Shona said.
Nell laughed and nodded.
“No ganging up on me.” Mattie pushed herself off the wall and wobbled. She glared at them. “I’m absolutely fine.”
