‘Make opportunities?’ queried Elle, wondering what profound statement Pippa was going to come out with next.
‘I might meet the man of my dreams walking down the street and if my outfit is covered up by a coat it’s not showing off my full potential.’
Elle couldn’t help but look her friend up and down. The dress she wore screamed designer and looked like it had come straight off the catwalk.
‘Very daring! And just the thing for nipping round the corner to your friend’s house on a very rainy day in February!’
Pippa beamed, posing proudly with one hand on her hip. ‘I love this dress – I can’t stop wearing it.’
Pippa looked beautiful of course, with her size-eight figure, legs like a giraffe and toned arms. Her blonde bob bounced just above her shoulders and her big blue eyes were enhanced perfectly by her bronzer and nude lipgloss.
‘You should try sprucing up your wardrobe, Elle. Stop playing it safe. You have a wonderful figure hiding under your baggy jumpers. Maybe if you started showing it off you’d start attracting some interest from the opposite sex. You do know your biological clock is ticking?’ she teased.
Elle gave her a sarcastic smile. She was fully aware of the milestone she would soon be reaching but sprucing up her wardrobe wasn’t the top of her priority list right at this moment. No, she was much more interested in discovering the missing pieces of herself and learning about her roots. With constant thoughts of her biological mother filling her mind, she didn’t want or need to encourage any kind of romantic interest, except maybe from Noah Jones, who’d disappeared from her life the same afternoon he’d appeared. He was her secret … and one she thought of often.
‘And anyway, you said if I wanted to get over Nick, I needed to stop moping around in my trackies and smarten myself up.’
‘That’s because you didn’t get out of bed for days. And I didn’t mean for you to wear next to nothing. You’ll catch your death in this weather. And what’s with the glasses? Since when have you worn glasses?’
Pippa swung a glance towards the mirror on the wall and admired her reflection before glancing down at her watch. ‘For approximately twelve hours! I read in a magazine that men find women who wear glasses more attractive. So, working in a library, I think it will make me look more intelligent and very bookish.’
Elle shot her friend her best withering look. But she also couldn’t help admiring the fact that Pippa was very much her own person and didn’t give a rat’s tail what anyone thought of her.
‘Anyway, what was it you wanted to tell me? Come on, spit it out! It’s hot gossip, you said.’
‘So, you haven’t heard the latest then?’ Pippa looked like she was about to burst as she struggled to pull down the tiny bit of material that was pretending to be a skirt before sitting down on the settee.
‘Heard what?’
‘Rumour has it that Nick has split up with his new woman. That didn’t last long, did it?’
‘Hmmm, and you’re bothered because?’ Elle raised her eyebrows at Pippa.
‘He’s deleted all evidence of her on Instagram. That’s a sure sign.’ Pippa pushed her glasses up her nose. ‘I know what you’re thinking.’
‘Which is?’
‘I’m completely bonkers and I need to get over my obsession.’
‘You read my mind.’
Pippa sighed. ‘I need to get over him, don’t I?’
‘You do! Honestly, I know he’s been a massive part of your life, but look at you! You’re beautiful, young and intelligent – even without the glasses. That is, you are when you haven’t lost the plot,’ she said with a smile.
Having watched the relationship break down between Pippa and Nick, Elle was grateful she didn’t have that kind of complication in her life at the moment. Pippa had been distraught, her heart smashed to smithereens, and she’d spent ages scrolling mindlessly on social media whilst surrounded by empty pizza boxes. It wasn’t Elle’s idea of fun.
‘But thanks to him, I’m homeless.’
Elle laughed; Pippa did like to exaggerate. ‘You’re not exactly homeless – you’re back living with your parents.’
‘Same thing in my book. I mean, who lives with their parents at age twenty-five?’ she answered gloomily.
‘You do. And at least you’re not having to still share space with the two-timing bastard. I know it’s difficult, but if you keep stalking him, and trying to find out what he’s up to every minute of the day, you’re never going to move on. It’ll drive you crazy, and you’re better than that. I promise, he’ll soon pale into insignificance if you stop torturing yourself, and then you’ll start to feel better about yourself too.’
‘You’re right.’
‘It’s just common sense,’ Elle replied diplomatically.
