Dinner Friday night? La Scala?
La Scala. Only the top restaurant in Wellington.
It was a yes. A definite yes. But she tapped the phone against her thigh ten times before she allowed herself to reply.
‘Is that Dan?’ asked Jen.
Lucy shook her head.
Jen’s eyes widened. ‘Not that… dude from earlier?’
‘Yep.’ Lucy decided she’d waited long enough and typed.
Yes. Thank you. Polite enough?
His reply came quickly.
It’s fierce I like, remember. Say 8pm?
She didn’t bother texting back words. Instead she hovered between a heart and a snorting bull emoji.
She chose the bull.
Chapter Three
‘Dan!’ Lucy opened her apartment door wide.
‘You sound surprised!’ Dan said, stepping past her into the apartment. ‘You summoned me, and so here I am.’
‘Yeah, but I didn’t expect to see you at this hour.’
‘What’s so special about the hour?’ he asked, heading straight for the kitchen and peering into the fridge.
‘It’s after six on a Friday night. The time most people are at home, eating, watching the news, wrangling kids — that kind of thing.’
‘I don’t have kids,’ he said, pulling out a half-finished bottle of wine and reaching for a glass.
‘Clearly. And neither do I. So… how are you?’
He glanced around, and Lucy watched him closely. Jen was right. Maybe because of everything that had happened to Jen, Lucy was more sensitive to changes now. She’d seen Dan so often over the years she hadn’t really noticed the difference creeping in. But now… he did look lost.
‘Yeah, great, thanks, Luce.’ He gave her a quick hug that felt oddly lacklustre.
‘What’ve you been up to?’
He shot her a sideways look, his gaze too perceptive. ‘Nothing much. So, this is why you want to see me?’
She ignored the question. ‘Everything OK?’
He sighed. ‘Who’s asking? You or Mum? Or Jen, come to that?’
She sighed back. ‘What gave me away?’
‘You. You’d be a hopeless spy. You always say what you think, and you’re so easy to read.’
She scowled. She didn’t like seeing herself that way.
‘Plus, you asked three questions in a row. You usually stick to one.’
