“London’s not that cold.”
“Beg to differ.”
“You’re used to New York.”
“It’s a different sort of cold. Anyway, do you fancy a walk out to somewhere – nothing posh or anything. I want to see some sights.” She stuffed her hands in her jean pockets.
“Fine with me. Saves cooking.” Something I wasn’t a fan of. “Where do you want to go?”
“Where do you think?”
I shook my head. “Chinatown.”
She grinned. “I can check out my shop.”
“Always an ulterior motive. How’s the jet lag?”
We headed out, her coat twice the thickness of mine, setting off towards the Thames so we could walk by the river, not in any rush. The worst thing that could happen right now was work calling me in, but this was London and the Tube meant it wasn’t that difficult to get around.
We went through the details of the wedding so far, Laurie updating me on her family’s plans and the questions they’d been asking – nothing to do with her business because they didn’t think it was suitable for her to work anyway. Then I started pointing out places we were passing, the Globe, Millenium Bridge, Blackfriars, telling her some of the history I’d picked up from Rose when we’d first started to be friends and she’d been my London tour guide.
“You realise you mention her about every tenth sentence,” she said after I pointed out Cleopatra’s Needle across the other side of the river.
“Who?”
“Really? Rose. This is where you and Rose did this, or this is a really weird fact that Rose told you. It’s a good job this engagement thing is fake else I’d be getting a complex.”
I looked away from her, trying not to smile because she was right.
“You didn’t talk about her this much in New York.”
“I was trying not to think about her – I wasn’t really thinking about her.” It wasn’t until she’d said what she did that I started to wonder whether the thing I’d had about her years ago might not be futile.
“Fair enough. Over the bridge?”
I nodded. Laurie knew London a little but not well. “You’re getting your bearings already.”
“I’ve been staring at maps of London for the last six weeks, wishing I was here already and an ocean away from the pantomime that is my family. I can’t tell you how glad I am that my grandmother went into labour early and I could get a UK passport.”
We upped the pace, rain starting, which wasn’t unusual.
“If I’ve got time this week I can show you around some more.”
“You won’t have time, Carter. I know you’ve been running around sorting everything out. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for what you’re doing. I owe you so much.” She paused walking for a moment, just outside a wine bar, and hugged me. It felt nothing like it had with Rose last night.
I looked away, straight through the window of the wine bar and saw four faces I hadn’t expected, peering at me, some of them not very happy.
“What’s up?” Laurie turned around. “Is that Rose? I recognise her from your photos.”
“It’s Rose. Rose, Fallon, Erin and Harriet.” Why hadn’t I told Rose last night? “We should go in and you can meet them.”
“You’re about to feed me to the lions, aren’t you?”
“Safer to go towards them than them come out here.” I walked in, nodding at security, Laurie behind me. This would be part two of Erin’s birthday – her and the rest of the fab four as my father used to call them.
It was Fallon who was standing to greet us. “Carter,” she sounded far too happy. “Harriet said you had a friend coming over.”
I nodded, observing as Laurie introduced herself, charm switched to level ten. It was impossible to dislike Laurie, unless you were a member of her family where none of them liked each other on principal. She recognised each of the four of them, remembering things she’d grilled me for and explaining I was helping her out while she moved over here.
