‘Thanks for the interview,’ said Jay with a beaming smile to the camera. The sight of him lit up something inside her.
Nora played it again and turned her phone so that Liam could see it too. ‘It’s Jay at his film premiere.’
He didn’t look. ‘We need to get going.’
Nora waited for herself to agree with Liam and follow him out, but she couldn’t.
And in that moment, she realized the truth.
Liam might have seemed like the one on paper or according to her spreadsheet but in reality he simply wasn’t.
‘You’re not the one,’ she said flatly.
‘What?’
‘I thought I could trust statistics to deliver a sound solution, but I was wrong. You and I are not compatible. Not really. We’d probably be fine for a while just like we were before. But I know in my heart that this isn’t forever.’
Liam frowned. ‘Why? Because I think talking to animals is crazy?’
‘Yes. That and lots of other little things. You don’t think my weird bits are cool. And you’re not interested in me. I don’t have time to go into this because… I need to be somewhere else.’
‘But I’ve booked us a non-refundable double room. Where are you going?’
‘To a film premiere.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I need to tell Jay something really important.’
Shortly afterwards, Nora found herself on the fast train to London. She had no idea what she was doing. She had just thrown away the chance of a relationship with a perfectly decent person to go down to Leicester Square, where she’d likely be told that she’d have to get to the back of a very long line of fans. And even if she did get to see Jay, what was she going to do then? It wasn’t like her to not consider all options and make plans. But sometimes it felt right to go with your gut, and something was telling her this was the right thing to do.
Jay had not been in her life that long but, without her realizing, he was the missing piece she had beensearching for. It was him she laughed the most with. Around him she could be herself. Everything Renee had said was true, she’d just been too blind to see it.
Jay was the one.
Their friendship meant everything to her, but what if there was a chance of something more? She couldn’t ignore that. There was also something else on the video clip that was bugging her.
Despite the train speeding through the countryside, each minute seemed to take an age. Every time she checked and rechecked the time it had barely advanced more than a couple of minutes. Eventually they pulled into St Pancras. Nora glanced down at her outfit. It wasn’t the worst– she was wearing her new shirt and clean jeans– but it wasn’t exactly film premiere level. Oh well. Too late to turn back now.
She raced from the train to the taxi rank and was quickly transported to Leicester Square. The red carpet had already been put away, only a few people were still milling around in the drizzle.
She checked the time. How long was the film? She had no idea. What if she’d missed him?
Nora looked around. The drizzle was turning into proper rain and she could feel her hair sticking to her face.
She pulled out her phone to message him. Perhaps she should have just texted Jay all along. But she had things she needed to explain that it would be easier to do face to face. If only her brain would make a decision. Shelooked at the glass doors of the cinema and the security guards in front of them. There was no way to sneak in. She sighed. This had all been a big mistake. Whatever she felt for Jay he was with Tasha now and she didn’t want to mess that up for him.
Nora pulled back her shoulders. Now was the time to walk away. She took one last look at the cinema, and the great big digital poster above it, with Tasha and Jay’s faces emblazoned in lights. She smiled to herself. He’d made it and she was ridiculously pleased for him. She hoped her heart wouldn’t break every time she saw him on the big screen, but that was just something she’d have to deal with. She turned around.
40
Dixie was checking Instagram when she felt Ned kiss her neck. Shivers juddered through her body. When the van had broken down almost four weeks ago, the last thing she’d expected to find in the woods was a new relationship.
‘What are you up to?’ he asked.
‘Jay’s all over Insta. It’s quite exciting. I’ve shared his post and it’s getting lots of traction.’
‘You’re really good at social media,’ said Ned. ‘I think that’ll definitely be your remit when we get the business off the ground.’ They’d agreed they were going to make something of the abandoned truffle orchard.
