‘But itiscomplicated,’ I said before clearing my throat, the very real threat of friend-on-friend violence in the air. ‘Do you really want me to stand here and explain how he got in a mess by making up a girlfriend to avoid coming home because he feels guilty for failing to meet his family’s expectations, hurting Shiv and Elsie, and even guiltier for not knowing exactly what he wants to do with his life, only that he doesn’t want to spend it running the farm at Balmaclay?’
‘Yes,’ they replied in unison.
‘Well, I’m not going to,’ I said. ‘You’re just going to have to trust me that he never intended to hurt anyone.’
‘Right.’ Joel picked up a bag of popcorn and tossed it back and forth between his hands. ‘Doesn’t give him the right to use you for a one-time shag though. Wanker.’
‘Well,’ I started, sucking in my cheeks when they both glared at me. ‘Technically, I wasthe one who said it was just for fun.Technically.’
Joel squeezed his popcorn so tightly the bag popped, sweet and salty kernels flying everywhere.
‘You’re going to have to help me get this straight because I’m not sure I’m following,’ Desi said as Joel began to hyperventilate, huffing air in and out of the now half-empty bag. ‘Callum isn’t in love with Shiv any more and you know that because you asked him straight out and he gave you a proper answer.’
‘Yes.’
‘But hediduse you for sex last night, right? Even if you gave him permission, that’s a shitty thing to do. I mean, it’s incredibly obvious that you have feelings for him and he took advantage of that.’
‘Had feelings, past tense. Briefly considered a flirtation with feelings.’
Desi’s eyes flashed down from my face to my chest.
‘What’s that?’ she asked.
‘What’s what?’
With an almighty effort, I took the weight of the shopping basket in one hand and patted my jumper with the other.
I was still wearing his brooch.
‘Oh,’ I muttered, pawing at it. ‘Um, Callum gave it to me. Can you take it off please? We should probably flush it down the toilet or something.’
She unpinned it from my jumper and handed it to Joel, who laid it flat in his palm, frowned, then took out his phone.
‘Right, we’re going to go over this one more time to make sure I’ve got the facts straight.’ Desi pulled a hairband from her wrist and tied her long black hair back in a ponytail. Oh dear. She meant business. ‘Callum isn’t in love with his ex, he didn’t manipulateyou into a one-night standandhe gave you a Christmas present?’
‘I’m sure you’re going somewhere with this,’ I replied, swallowing down an uneasy feeling. ‘But yes, I suppose so.’
‘Not just any Christmas present,’ Joel said, looking up from his phone. ‘It’s a Luckenbooth brooch, a traditional Scottish love token, most often given as a token of betrothal.’
‘Oh my GOD.’
‘Desi Kaplan, we do not raise our voices in M&S Simply Food on the Lord’s birthday,’ Joel admonished. ‘But we do slap our friend around the head for being an absolute mongoose when it comes to men.’
‘What are you talking about?’ I dropped the basket, snacks spilling all over the place when his hands shot out to clobber me around the back of the head. ‘Stop it! What have I done wrong?’
‘Besides walk away from a man who is very obviously obsessed with you?’ Desi replied. ‘Please explain to me why we even left?’
‘Because you said we should!’
‘Because I thought he was still in love with his ex!’
‘Why would I have sex with him if I thought he was still in love with Shiv?’
‘Because you’re obviously as obsessed with him as he is with you!’
We were both yelling, locked in a stand-off, neither one of us about to back down.
‘This is absurd,’ she declared. ‘What the fuck are we doing here, Laura?’
