‘What have you done?’
‘I’ve added a post announcing Noah’s appearance at the library along with a photo of you and his book, captioned:We can’t wait to welcome you back to the Library on Love Heart Lane.’
Elle’s heart began to race as she stared at the post. ‘You’ve tagged him.’
‘Of course I have. Let’s see if he remembers you now. That’s not a bad photo, to be honest, but I still stand by your brows needing tidying up.’
Still staring at the screen, Elle watched as her notifications began to ping. The post was already clocking up likes.
‘Anyway, like we’ve said before, it’s unlikely he’ll reply – especially with that many Instagram followers. He probably misses half his notifications.’
‘Mmm,’ Elle agreed, even though there was a tiny part of her that was hoping hewouldsee the post. But as his following was huge and increasing by the day, it was doubtful he would notice it.
‘What a night,’ Pippa continued. ‘Who’d have thought Heartcross was going to welcome two of our favourite authors in such a short time?’ She pressed a hand to her heart and mimed a swoon. ‘Noah Jones and Sam Stone.’
Elle rolled her eyes.
‘Are you ready for home?’ asked Pippa, standing up and sliding her arms into her coat.
‘Yes, I think so. I’ll just check with Rona to see if she has something for us to take this cake home in. It was such a lovely gesture, but the amount of cake I’ve been eating recently is no good for the diet.’
Irene was wrapping things up on the other side of the room, giving Eleni a hug. As though Rona had read Elle’s mind, she suddenly bustled towards them carrying a large white cardboard box. ‘Here, take this for the cake,’ she said, placing it on the table.
‘Thank you, Rona, and thank you, Mim, this was such a lovely gesture.’
‘You’re more than welcome! You didn’t think we’d let your birthday slip away without any notice, did you?’ Mim touched her arm affectionately before saying goodbye to all the other book clubbers. ‘Same place, same time next week,’ she called over the chatter.
‘Are we ready?’ Irene asked, grabbing her bag from underneath the table.
‘Yes, we’re ready,’ replied Elle, hearing her phone beep as she slipped her books back into her bag.
Glancing at the screen of her phone, Elle did a double take. Her mouth fell open. She passed the phone to Pippa.
Noah Jones liked your post.
Pippa’s eyes widened.
Sheer pleasure mixed with apprehension ran through Elle’s body – and then she saw that he’d also replied with a comment.
I can’t wait to see you all back at the Library on Love Heart Lane and I hope you all enjoy my latest book. Please let me know!
Instantly, nervous butterflies began to flutter busily around her stomach. When she came out tonight, she’d had no idea that Noah would be visiting the library or that their paths were going to cross again so soon. The only thing that was on Elle’s mind now was: would he acknowledge the kiss that had happened between them the last time they saw each other?
ChapterFifteen
Pippa had spent ages straightening Elle’s hair before backcombing it to give it some height. She then pulled it into a tight high ponytail that actually made Elle’s eyes water. The living room now felt like the bedroom of a messy teenager, with clothes thrown over the back of the settee, make-up scattered all over the coffee table and the latest Lewis Capaldi album playing on Pippa’s iPhone.
‘I’m nearly done,’ Pippa declared, swiping more blusher across Elle’s cheekbones. ‘Ta-dah!’ she said, turning the mirror towards Elle. Elle did a double take and a small noise escaped from her throat.
‘What do you think?’ Pippa asked, standing back and studying Elle’s face like she was a professional make-up artist.
‘I think I look like one of those ridiculous porcelain dolls that you find abandoned on a dusty shelf in a charity shop.’
‘Eww, those things are ugly.’
‘My point exactly – and that’s where I’m going to end up.’
‘Where?’ Pippa asked, smudging in Elle’s eyeshadow with her finger.
