‘Yes, but there’s nothing to tell. He was in my life for one afternoon and that’s about it.’
‘Are you sure there’s nothing to tell? Because if it was that brief why would you even mention it?’ Pippa tried to probe further, spooning sugar into one of the mugs of tea.
‘Look at you, Detective Pippa.’ She laughed.
‘Mmm, I’ll delve into this more,’ Pippa said, eyeing her suspiciously. ‘But not before we get these drinks up to the lads.’ She grabbed a tray and Elle followed her up the stairs.
They could hear the boys laughing and joking as they reached the landing.
‘Teas are here,’ Pippa chirped as she rattled the door handle.
‘Out!’ they all chorused. ‘You can’t come in until we’ve finished.’
Aiden appeared in the doorway and pulled the door shut behind him. His sleeves were rolled up and his shirt was covered in splodges of wallpaper paste. ‘Thank you,’ he said, taking the tray from Pippa’s hand. ‘Now, you two get yourselves downstairs and relax,’ he ordered, standing firm in front of the door so they couldn’t see the progress of the work.
‘Can we just have a little peep?’ begged Elle.
‘No! Now go!’ he said, shooing them away.
‘You’re never going to finish all this tonight,’ Pippa said, giving him a twinkly smile.
‘You’ll be amazed at what we can do when we put our minds to it.’
‘Are they still here?’ they heard Jack shout from the other side of the door.
They raised their hands in defeat. ‘Okay, we’re out of here!’ Elle playfully pushed Pippa lightly towards the stairs. Soon they were settled on the couch with a glass of wine.
‘Bridget Jones’s DiaryorNotting Hill?’ Elle asked, pressing the remote control and scrolling between the two films.
‘Definitely Bridget Jones,’ Pippa replied, taking a sip of wine.
‘Excellent choice!’ Elle held up her glass. ‘I think we should have a toast. It was one of your better ideas suggesting you move in and I’d like to formally welcome you to your new home!’
Pippa chinked her glass against Elle’s.
‘I don’t mean to go all slushy on you but thank you. Since we met, you have brightened up my days and it’s great to have a best friend that has enriched my life as much as you. I’m really glad our paths crossed. This is going to be so much fun!’
Elle smiled warmly at Pippa. She wholeheartedly agreed. She was really glad their paths had crossed. For the first time in her life she felt like she had a friend she could open up to. Perhaps Irene was right – maybe it was about time she let someone else in and shared what was going on in her life.
* * *
‘Wake up, sleepy head.’
Elle felt herself being lightly shaken. Opening her eyes, she looked up, startled, to find Wilson standing over her.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump,’ he whispered.
‘Where’s Pippa?’ asked Elle, sitting up and stretching her arms out in front of her.
‘She’s over there.’ Aiden’s voice was still low as he nodded towards the chair.
The light from the television was flickering across Pippa’s face. Her legs were draped over the arm of the chair and she was curled up under the blanket that Elle kept by the side of the settee.
‘What time is it?’
‘Just gone three a.m.,’ Jack said, checking his watch.
‘You’re kidding me. It must have been hours since the film finished,’ Elle exclaimed, suddenly feeling wide awake. ‘I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for you all to be here this late.’
