She wished he was here. Wished she could say all those things she should’ve said in person when she’d last seen him. Instead, she’d cried all over him, before Elinor had told her to calm down and get a grip and whisked her off in an Uber before they’d gone back to Aunty Marion’s place, where she’d cried herself to sleep with Charlie standing on guard.
She was grateful for Elinor’s company, but what she would’ve given to have had one chance to talk to Jordan privately. To let him know that she was so sorry for how she’d taken him for granted all this time. He’d been right, and she’d been wrong, andas humbling as it was to admit, she knew she could not have done any of Dream Match without him.
Oh, she missed him.
A tear slipped down her cheek, dribbling into her nose. She sucked it up as her emotions swelled and swayed.
Jordan. He was always so good to her. She didn’t deserve him. He definitely could do better than her, but oh …
How could she let any other woman have the man who was her dream match?
Washe her dream match?
Her heart tipped, and she grasped her phone. Face ID apparently didn’t recognise her blotchy skin or swollen eyes, so she punched in the passcode.
She tapped on the app and opened it to the secret match she’d never admitted to or shown anyone. The match she’d done during the development stage, where she’d pretended to be Jordan and added in his details, all of which she knew. Then added in her own.
Only to see the algorithms show they truly were a dream match. Compatible in every way. But then, she didn’t need a dating app to show her that. She’d always known it.
And perhaps she might’ve let the stars in her eyes blind her to the truth, but she saw things clearly now. Jordan Knight was her perfect match. Which was just as well, as she was pretty sure she loved him.
Who else could be so patient? Who else could speak so truthfully? Oh, imagine if he had been another one of these men who disguised their real meaning by beating around the bush or tried to stop her from having hurt feelings? She’d be in a lot worse situation now. Who knows what Eric might’ve tried to do? And she’d been the silly goose who’d blindly let him. Thank goodness that was done now. Thanks to Jordan.
Jordan might be in LA, but she needed to send him a message. Needed to let him know—
Her phone slipped from her hands and tumbled to the floor. She reached down to grasp it, straining her back.Ow.More awesomeness to add to the fun that was her life.
She flicked it open. Saw that a message was there that hadn’t been there a few seconds before.
Two emojis. Praying hands and a heart.
Her own heart tumbled over this. The praying hands was easy, but did a heart mean he loved her or only cared about her?
Oh, she hoped he meant the former. It’d be awesome to know he felt the same and hadn’t just done what he had out of some sense of brotherly concern or at the request of her parents. She wanted to know if he cared for her the way she now realised she did for him. And if so, then how on earth could they make this dream match a reality?
“You’re here!”
It had been half a year since she’d felt a proper Liv hug. Her sister squeezed, not letting go, and she soaked her in.
“My turn!” Katie called, but EJ refused to release her. Liv was another person, like Jordan, whose solid, down-to-earth good values were bone deep. Liv wasn’t one to be blown about by fickle winds.
She eventually let go, smiled a half smile at her sister, then turned to Liam. “Hey, you.”
“Emma-Jane,” he said in his deep voice.
“You know you can call me EJ, right?”
“I know. I just rather like the combination of Emma and Jane. It sounds a lot softer than EJ does.”
She nodded, his words seeding truth as she realised exactly why she had rejected the name Mum had insisted upon twenty-eight years ago. She didn’t want to be soft. Didn’t want to be old-fashioned. But now, there was something rather sweet in the way Liam had said that, like it wasn’t a curse but something to revere. After all, it did honour two of her mother’s literary heroines, Emma Woodhouse and Jane Austen herself. But now, with Liam’s words so closely following the voice of heaven she’d heard recently, maybe there was something to consider in being Emma-Jane again. Especially as she wasn’t trying so hard to prove herself these days.
She watched the others hug their welcomes, as Mum declared they’d close the shop early today so they could have a proper celebration. The Silver Teapot Café was usually open until four in the afternoon, to help cater to the after-school crowd, but today was special.
A short time later, the front door was locked, and she helped her mum and sister bring out the sweets and savoury pastries that Dad had been working on all day from the kitchen.
“A proper custard tart!” Liv sighed. “Oh, I’ve missed these.”
“And cupcakes for our girl who has finally finished her uni degree.” Mum patted Katie’s shoulder as everybody cheered.
