‘Nice to see you.’
‘You, too.’ Eavie turned to her companion. ‘This is my boyfriend, Samir.’
‘Oh!’ Oliver said, blinking. ‘I should have recognised you – it’s been years. I’m Oliver, a former happy customer.’
‘I know who you are,’ Samir said gravely. ‘The boy who insulted my scones on national television. One doesn’t forget that sort of thing.’
Eavie smiled. ‘But you did bring us together, so there’s that. You were right, heisa softie.’
Samir had a firm and deliberate handshake, but his tone was warm as he introduced himself to the group. ‘It’s so nice to finally meet Eavie’s friends from reality television.’ He said the words as though he wasn’t quite sure what they meant.
As the group resumed their smaller conversations, Eavie turned to Oliver. ‘How’s the Royal London treating you?’
He grinned. ‘I’m enjoying a leisurely rehearsal schedule these days, spending more time teaching.’
‘Are the kids still taking years off your life?’
‘Ha,’ he said. ‘They’re better behaved than the last batch, and I’ve coerced Will into helping me run things. He can be very stern when he needs to be.’
They were interrupted by an enthusiastic greeting from Jack. ‘Faye! I didn’t know you’d be here!’
Oliver turned and saw Faye approaching them.
Just then, an arm wrapped around Oliver’s waist, a drink deposited into his hand. Declan had entered the circle, to his left.
‘Hiya, Faye,’ Declan said, grinning.
‘This is Declan,’ Oliver explained to Samir, and then looked at Faye, ‘my boyfriend.’
Faye made a comical expression as she glanced between the two of them, eyes finally resting on where Declan’s arm encircled Oliver. ‘Wow,’ she said finally. ‘That does explain a lot, doesn’t it? How long?’
‘Six months now,’ Declan said. ‘At that party Maeve threw for Jack in September. I think you were there.’
‘I’m starting to think that party was less for me and more for these two,’ Jack chimed in, with a glance to Maeve.
‘I did nothing wrong!’ she protested, her cheeks reddening. ‘I threw you an excellent party, and yes, maybe I had atinyulterior motive or two.’
‘Two?’ Holly asked, raising her eyebrows.
‘A girl has to have some secrets,’ Maeve said, taking a sip of her mulled wine.
Samir, who had been staring at Declan since he’d arrived, finally spoke up: ‘I know where I’ve seen you before. You’re that boxer.’
‘The amateur bartender,’ Holly quipped.
‘The even more amateur photographer,’ Jack said.
‘The mushroom-foraging expert,’ Imogen put in, joining the circle with Zoë at her side. ‘Are we naming Declan’s weird hobbies?’
‘No,’ Declan said firmly. ‘We are accepting that I am going through a phase of enlightenment and self-discovery, since retiring from my incredibly stressful, and successful, athletic career. I appreciate the wholehearted support, so thank you.’
‘Once youfind yourself, oh wise one,’ Jack said, ‘what will you grace the world with, among your many talents?’
Declan gave a pensive look around the group. ‘There are too many ways I can be useful to society. It’s an impossible choice.’
‘Professional reality TV contestant?’ Zoë teased.
Declan wrinkled his nose. ‘I’ve got absolutelyeverythingI could possibly get out of reality television already.’ He looked sideways at Oliver.
