‘Sorry?’
‘Yes, I think we should try again,’ he said.
They stayed staring at each other for a moment. Nora had no idea what the correct protocol was or if there even was one. She’d expected to feel something but perhaps that came later. And anyway she was still decompressing from the encounter with her parents. ‘Great. OK. Then I guess we’re dating,’ she said.
‘I guess we are,’ he said, taking her hand.
After the most stilted meal out ever, they had walked to their cars, kissed each other on the cheek and gone back to their respective homes. It wasn’t the romantic and passion-filled reunion she had envisaged, but she was still feeling good about things.
She’d messaged Jay as soon as she’d got to her car. She didn’t need his approval but he’d been on the 37-per-cent-rule journey with her and she wanted him to know that her process had come good. It mattered what he thought.
He’d sent back a thumbs-up emoji, which had left her deflated. She had definitely shown more enthusiasm for his relationship with Tasha, so she was a little irked by his dismissive response. A thumbs-up was for ‘Shall we have pizza for tea’ or ‘That thing you like is back on TV tonight’, not ‘I’m embarking on a relationship with my ex who might just be the one’. The latter was also bothering her. They had made the next move but at what point would she know it was the right thing to do and that Liam really wasthe one? She had filed thatquestion under ‘currently too difficult to answer’ in the hope that it would resolve itself quite quickly. Going forward would anyone she dated have to measure up to Jay? Right now her feelings for Jay trounced how she felt about Liam. But Jay wasn’t an option. It was all very confusing.
Back at home Nora updated her spreadsheet and called Dixie to check how she was and how things were going with getting Elsie towed. She’d been half expecting to see the campervan on her drive when she got home from work but then if she was coming from somewhere miles away like Northumberland it would likely take a while.
‘Hey, Dixie, how’s things? Are you on your way back to civilization yet?’
‘Things are simply delightful. Renee couldn’t get Elsie fixed but she fixed me and Ned so it’s all fine,’ said Dixie.
‘Are you staying where you are? Exactly where are you?’ asked Nora.
There was a pause. ‘I’m in Belton. About eighteen miles away.’
‘Dixie! Have you been there all this time?’ asked Nora, flummoxed by the revelation her friend was so close by.
‘Yeah. Sometimes things don’t go to plan but they are exactly how they should be.’
‘That’s profound,’ said Nora.
‘I know, right? Ned says I’m full of insightful stuff. The things about me that I thought were just plain weird he sees as cool. How adorable is that?’
‘Very. So what happens now?’ asked Nora.
‘I’m having a little gathering. I’ll send you the details. It’s sort of an announcement. You’ve probably seen my teasers on Insta.’
Nora hadn’t but she didn’t like to say. ‘Do I get to know before everyone else?’ she asked.
‘I’m afraid not. I want to do a big reveal with you actually there. And Jay too.’
‘Ooh, can Liam come?’
‘Yeah, if he wants to… hang on a minute. Liam? Does this mean what I hope it does?’ Dixie squealed down the phone.
Nora wasn’t entirely sure it meant whatshehoped it did but they were making moves in the right direction, or the first step at least.
38
Acouple of days later Nora found herself traipsing through the woodland by Dixie’s campervan with Liam. Since their stressful date with her parents earwigging from the next table she had received a number of nice messages from Liam, thanking her for her patience because he still felt it was a little soon after his split to be embarking on another relationship but, like her, believed they needed to give theirs another chance.
He’d been busy with work so they had not had an opportunity to meet up before now. Nora reasoned that this was different to a brand-new relationship because they had known each other before, in both the platonic and biblical sense, so it didn’t hold quite the same initial thrill. Wandering through a woodland wasn’t exactly the best second date they could have gone on but Dixie wanted to get everyone together. The alternative was to not bring Liam but as Nora wanted to show that she also had athingshe had decided he should be there.
Jay had brought Bruce, who was, as usual, excited to see everyone and especially the new person. Liam did notfeel the same. He kept darting behind Nora, which Bruce thought was a very easy game of hide and seek. As the recall training had been going well, Jay had decided to let Bruce off the lead.
‘Why won’t he leave me alone?’ asked Liam, dashing past with Bruce in hot pursuit.
‘Because you’re new and he wants to get to know you. Stay still. He won’t hurt you, I promise,’ said Nora.
‘Dogs are unpredictable. Especially rescued ones. You have no idea what his background is.’
