As Natalie and Riley launched into their sweet story, I held onto Ryan and kept my smile on my face. He’d proposed during a picnic with Ryan’s help and they were hoping to get married in Dublin, as soon as possible. I was so deliriously happy for all three of them, but inside, I felt sad that I hadn’t been so excited to share my own engagement. I felt guilty for harbouring my own secret. And guiltier still that I could even think about myself during my sister's big moment.
I hoped when she found out about Alfie and I, Natalie would be as excited for us as I was for her. With a sinking feeling, I doubted it.
Six
Iwoke up for my first day of work on a TV show with way less sleep than I needed. I’d spent most of the night staring up at the ceiling, wondering why I wasn’t as excited as Natalie. She was getting married without a parent and she didn’t seem to mind it. Her family, who had somewhat ostracised her for having a child without knowing who or where the father was, were thrilled that she was finally making an honest woman out of herself. I had to hold back the eyeroll. If it were me, I would tell them to go to hell and never invite them to the wedding but Natalie only ever wanted peace and love for everybody. She was a better person than me…than most people actually.
As soon as I’d got back to Harrington I’d called Alfie to give him the news but Riley had gotten there first. He didn’t say so, but I knew that like me, he was thinking about our own engagement and how I wasn’t chomping at the bit to tell the world like Natalie was. A tightness sat in my chest. A guilt I knew I wasn’t really responsible for.
That tightness remained as I got myself ready for the day. A strong coffee and a tight ponytail and I was ready to take on the world. Which was just as well because my first day was getting off to a bumpy start.
Julia Whitmore was a no bullshit woman. Her hair was pulled back into a chignon that looked more complicated than it probably was. She wore jeans and a loose shirt as if she was about to roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty herself. Her accent had a North London twang. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks rosy, making her appear more youthful than she was.
I was starting to understand why she and Alfie had never hooked up. Imagining them trying to out-dominate each other was pretty funny.
I didn’t know what I had expected a television producer to be but she wasn’t it. I thought she’d look more serious. Like Alfie. Alfie could be in a room full of other men dressed just like him but you’d still know he was the boss. Julia looked like anybody, until you spoke to her. Right now, the plant suppliers were speaking to her on the phone and it didn’t seem to be going well.
“We had this conversation yesterday, correct? Correct. So why are we having it again? You were given an extensive list but we’re missing…”
“Sky blue peonies,” I whispered after glancing over the delivery of plants and flowers strewn across the Harrington driveway.
“Sky blue peonies! And also…”
“Fuschia hydrangeas,” I whispered again.
“And fuschia hydrangeas! As well as half a dozen other things!” There was a brief silence as the supplier stalled and stuttered, then she spoke again. “Are you trying to talk yourself out of a contract?” she snapped at the poor soul on the other end of the phone. I winced internally, relieved I wasn’t on the receiving end of her wrath.
After a few more choice words and a promise to take our business elsewhere, she hung up the phone.
“Incompetent bastard!” she huffed a long drawn out sigh and pulled out a cigarette. She lit it, took a long pull and blew outslowly, the smoke billowing up into the sky and disappearing into nothing. Then she put a smile on her face and turned to me. “Solutions?”
“I can call my old boss?” I suggested. “She has a garden centre and an extensive nursery. She might have what I need and she’s local.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot you were from around here.” She turned her attention back to her phone and I stood there, unsure if I’d been dismissed or not.
“So, should I…?”
“What?” She looked up from her phone. “Oh. Yes. Do what you need to figure out this mess, Lola. I don’t know a daisy from a begonia.”
“Well, you know they aren’t the same thing, which is a start!” I smiled at her. This hadn’t been the best start to our working relationship. I didn’t want this frustration to cloud the whole day.
She chuckled. Her eyes swept me up and down as if she’d finally decided I was interesting enough to pay attention to. The flower delivery had arrived just as we were making our introductions, not much time for small talk. Her smile widened, turning cat-like. Apparently that was about to change.
“We’ve almost met before, you know. I was at the club the first night you went there. You looked like a scared, little bunny surrounded by butchers.”
My throat closed. My hands balled up into fists. I hadn’t been stupid enough to think she wouldn’t know about Alfie and I being an item. I’d been nervous that she might hint at it here and there. I hadn’t expected for her to come out with it so brazenly.
“Don’t worry,” she smiled, taking another drag of her cigarette. “I like to comfort scared little bunnies.”
I stood there like an idiot, not knowing what to say. I was spared the task of figuring it out when a welcome interruption appeared around the corner.
“Lola! Do you need me to make a start on moving these plants or are they all being sent back?” The voice came from my new assistant, Sid.
I released a shuddering breath. “Y-yes we can move them.” I stepped around Julia and grabbed the first tray of flowers. “Pick a box, we’ll do this one at a time.”
Leaving Julia behind, Sid and I fell into step together. He was a little older than me. He had a silver hoop in his eyebrow, wore clear gloss on his lips and a pink tulle skirt over his jeans. I immediately thought how much he’d like Keira. I wasn’t sure if they’d like fucking or shopping more but her peacock sequinned jacket could give his skirt a run for it’s money.
My heart was still hammering in my chest as we walked. Julia Whitmore might be comfortable with the world knowing what she got up to at the club, but I definitely wasn’t. I felt like a girl finding out her nudes had been leaked.
