My whole body goes stiff at the sound of Andy’s voice.
I turn in Jake’s grip and see Andy walking towards us along the path.
He looks confused.
‘Oh,’ I squeak, like a startled mouse. ‘Hi.’
Andy slows as he approaches us, his eyes flicking between me and Jake. His smile appears – bright, polite – but it’s not his usual smile.
‘Everything alright?’ he asks, voice light. ‘I saw you two walk out. Thought I’d catch up with you, see what was going on…’
‘Just taking a walk,’ I tell him. ‘Walking off that breakfast – oh my God, so good.’
‘Andy, right?’ Jake says, letting go of my waist, going back to holding my hand, offering Andy his other hand to shake.
Andy blinks, then shakes it.
‘That’s right,’ he replies.
‘Jake, good to finally meet you, heard a lot about you,’ Jake says.
There’s something so friendly about his accent – although Andy seems immune to it right now.
‘JJ said you’re engaged,’ he blurts.
‘Yeah,’ I reply.
‘It’s a bit sudden, isn’t it?’ he says. ‘I go away for six weeks, I come back and you’re engaged? I didn’t even think you had a boyfriend. You said JJ had been setting you up with losers…’
‘Well, the last one wasn’t a loser, it was Jake and I’m just smitten,’ I say, squeezing his hand. ‘Plus, you got engaged too, in the same amount of time, and I didn’t know…’
‘Yeah, fair enough,’ he says, running a hand through his hair, puffing air from his cheeks. ‘So you’ll be coming to the wedding, mate?’
‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world,’ Jake replies.
‘Were you going to tell me that you were engaged?’ Andy asks, clearly struggling to let it go.
‘We didn’t want to steal your thunder,’ I reply. ‘We were going to wait until after your wedding to announce it, but I guess someone filmed us.’
‘Yeah, I saw that,’ Andy confesses. ‘Then I saw JJ and she told me it was real. I couldn’t believe it, but here you are…’
‘Here we are,’ I say with a smile.
Jake’s arm slides around my waist, pulling me gently against his side like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Andy’s jaw tightens slightly, so subtle most people wouldn’t see it, but I know his face too well. He looks uncomfortable – or maybe it’s simply wishful thinking on my part. Maybe he thinks I’m getting scammed. Why would a hottie like Jake pop the question to a girl like me after a matter of weeks?
‘Well. Congratulations,’ he says, too bright. ‘Last thing I expected.’
‘Thanks,’ I reply.
‘Right, well, I’d better get back to Tink,’ he says. ‘See you back home, I guess.’
‘See you at home,’ I reply, all smiles.
‘Yeah, see you,’ Jake adds with a wave.
God, that was weird.
