‘Not my cup of tea,’ he says with a laugh.
‘I kinda like it,’ Jake says. ‘I was just trying to get Whit to try it actually.’
I shoot him a look.
‘Aren’t you always saying you want to try new things?’ he reminds me.
‘She’s more likely to say that in the bedroom than the kitchen,’ JJ jokes – thankfully Arty laughs.
‘Yeah, no, I do want to try it,’ I say, playing along with Jake. Well, I did say I’d do whatever it takes.
‘Open wide,’ he says, offering me a bite from his fork.
I take one for the team. I open my mouth and I eat it and…
‘You know what, that’s quite nice,’ I admit.
‘See, I know you better than you know yourself,’ Jake says with a smile.
‘You really do,’ I tell him, leaning over to plant a big, sloppy, low-key fishy kiss on his cheek.
‘Aren’t they adorable?’ Arty says to the table. ‘Perhaps one day we’ll be hosting your wedding.’
‘We’ll definitely be going for the buffet,’ I point out.
‘Now there’s a girl after my own heart,’ Arty replies. ‘Enjoy your food, I’ll let you get back to it.’
We chat as we wait for the next dish to arrive – Andy has requested a buffet taster, and I really hope he wins this one.
JJ tries a few more times to get Cordelia to open up. She definitely knows we’re on to her, whatever she’s up to, and you can tell she’s not happy. Poor Andy though, he’s oblivious. He loves her, he trusts her; he’s not even contemplating that anything might be amiss.
I can’t leave him to it, can I? Don’t I have a duty to protect him, as his friend? But from what? I don’t even know, and he’s a big boy; this is his decision. Perhaps if I knew what was going on, and it was bad, then okay, maybe I could get involved, but right now it just seems like sour grapes from the girl who realised too slowly that she should have given her best friend a shot at being something more.
I don’t know what is going on with her but it’s something… and I’m sure it’s worse than simply disagreeing over the food.
23
I can’t believe I’m here, at Love Ink, for a meeting that they actually invited me to.
Their offices are exactly as I imagined them, on the top floor of a skyscraper, with wall-to-wall glass, and views over the city to die for.
I smooth my hands down my dress for the millionth time since we arrived. I’m nervous, not just because this meeting is important to me, but because JJ insisted we bring Jake along too. She thinks one look at my cowboy fiancé will have them swooning so hard they’ll offer me a six-figure advance.
JJ, of course, looks so comfortable and at home here. She strides ahead of us in very high heels, leading the way.
‘Come on, Whit, we’ve got this,’ she tells me. ‘I can already tell they want you from the call I had with them. This is just one of those wanky publishing formalities.’
I hear Jake laugh softly.
‘Sorry, it’s just the British English,’ he replies. ‘I’m still finding phrases that make me laugh.’
‘Wanky is funny, to be fair,’ I reply. ‘I would have laughed too, if I wasn’t so nervous.’
‘You’re gonna do just fine, darlin’,’ he reassures me.
‘Plenty of that,’ JJ says. ‘Keep up the good work.’
We’re ushered into a meeting room. There’s a long table, a screen at one end and a stack of books arranged artfully in the middle like they’re props in a lifestyle shoot.
