‘Which makes you and Wilson brother and sister,’ Pippa added, leaning across to shake his hand.
‘It does indeed.’ Elle gave Wilson a heart-warming smile.
‘It seems to have been quite a day for everyone,’ Pippa said, smiling as she checked her watch. ‘And it’s not over yet.’ She tapped her watch then glanced at Elle. ‘I’ve been over at the library and everything is in place for the book signing tonight. Aiden will open up and meet Noah as I knew you might have a few things on your mind, but we will need to get there as soon as possible. Is anyone else coming to the library tonight for Noah Jones’s book signing event? It’s going to be huge.’
‘We wouldn’t miss it for the world. It’s not every day we get Noah Jones in town,’ Jenny confirmed.
Elle’s stomach was already doing somersaults at the sound of his name. She couldn’t wait to see him.
ChapterThirty-Seven
At four p.m., Elle and Pippa were sitting around the table eating an early dinner. They had another hour before they needed to head over to the library. Aiden had been dealing directly with Noah and his agent regarding the book signing and Elle was hoping that Noah would understand when she explained why she hadn’t been in touch.
‘How are you feeling about tonight?’ asked Pippa.
‘Nervous. I feel that I should have messaged him.’
‘He’ll understand. It’s been quite a week for you. I’m sure your phone just beeped, by the way,’ Pippa said as she placed her knife and fork across her empty plate.
‘I’ll grab it in a minute. Let’s just sit and be comfortable for a minute before we wash up.’
‘How are you feeling about today?’ asked Pippa, taking her place on the settee next to Elle. ‘It must have been a shock.’
‘I can’t even begin to tell you how I felt when I spotted Jenny sitting outside the café. I didn’t want anyone being witness to what was about to happen.’
‘I can imagine.’
‘At first I just thought it was a coincidence, until she said she was waiting for someone.’
‘How did the penny drop for you both?’
‘I noticed she was a little on edge. Then I asked her if she was Cora Hansley. The shock on her face said it all.’
‘Oh, Elle, I bet you were shocked too.’
‘I was. It’s all so surreal.’
‘I know. It’s a very emotional situation.’
‘She’s invited me round for tea next week to meet George, which I’m really looking forward to.’
‘That’ll be nice. And Wilson? He seemed okay with everything.’
‘He was happy for us both. Changing the subject though, dare I ask – how’s it going between you and Aiden?’
‘It’s going great,’ she admitted. ‘Except Louisa seems a little…’
‘A little what?’ Elle asked.
‘I think she’s a little what you’d call high-maintenance. We bumped into her when we were out earlier. She was with a man, which I think took Aiden by surprise. But when we took Theo home her mother let slip, he’d been on the scene for a while. It sounds like a case of what we said before – “I don’t want you, but I don’t want anyone else to have you either.”’
‘But on the whole is everything going okay?’ Elle noticed a flush in her friend’s cheeks. ‘Actually, you don’t need to answer, I know what that look means – it means it’s going very well.’
‘It is,’ she replied with a beatific smile. ‘Someone really wants you. That was your phone again.’ Pippa nodded towards Elle’s handbag.
‘Oh! I forgot to look at the last message.’ Elle reached towards her bag and grabbed her phone.
As she stared at the screen, her heart began to race. ‘It’s Noah.’
