He’s staring at me with a newfound intensity. Ripples of warmth are spreading over my body. His eyes shift from my face and glide down my body. I observe them widen in surprise, and then he swiftly covers his eyes with his hand.
My heart grinds to a halt, and I gasp.
My arms are by my sides and… my dressing gown is gaping open like a curtain call at the worst possible theatre.
Oh, God, what have I done?
My face is on fire. This is so embarrassing. I have been a stranger to hair removal cream for some time. I dread to think what images are going through his head right now; a thick, dense forest perhaps?
‘I didn’t see anything,’ he says, still with his hands over his eyes.
With a yelp, I race past him, get dressed in record time and leave the flat.
On my way to work, I pop in my earbuds and frantically search for a song to soothe my shocked state. I need something dramatic about showing far too much of yourself in front of a handsome flatmate. Sadly, music doesn’t come to my rescue in my hour of need.
Miranda hurries over to me when I enter the bookshop.
Today, she’s wearing a short metallic silver skirt and a red-and-white pinstriped shirt.
‘I’ve joined a dating app. Things are going to heat up.’
‘What?’ I stare at her in shock. Where’s the suffering? The pain that takes months to alleviate? Where’s the anger that causes her to cut up all his clothes? ‘Miranda – are you okay?’
She nods. ‘Never been better. My relationship with Frank went past its sell-by date years ago. It’s time for me to move on. He has done me a favour. I’m going to enjoy myself.’ With a cackle of laughter, she walks off to the romance section and picks up one of the new spicy romance books that has arrived in stock.
Henry enters the shop mid-morning, carrying a bunch of flowers. It looks like he’s tamed his mass of black curls. He’s wearing a fitted blue shirt and beige jeans. ‘These are for you,’ he says. ‘I felt like I said something wrong the other day and I don’t want to lose your friendship again.’
I take the flowers – pink and yellow tulips. ‘Thank you, Henry. You didn’t say anything wrong.’
‘Nelly, you have an admirer,’ squeals Miranda. I groan as I see that she’s approaching the counter. Henry casts her a nervous smile.
I introduce them, and Miranda coos over the flowers. ‘They are pretty flowers.’ She turns to Henry. ‘I am going to have to keep an eye on Nelly. She’s already proving to be a big hit with a certain bestselling author, and now it seems you are also a fan, Henry.’
My cheeks redden at Miranda’s cringy comment. I notice his smile has faded. ‘Oh, I see,’ he mumbles. ‘I didn’t realise…’
Miranda giggles and interrupts him. ‘Lovely to meet you, Henry. I must dash as I have joined a dating app, and I already have a few admirers myself. Life in this bookshop is certainly hotting up for Nelly and me.’
She hurries away. Henry and I exchange awkward smiles. ‘I’d better get back to work,’ he says, gesturing towards the door.
‘Sorry about my boss,’ I mumble. ‘She’s?—’
‘Just like you described her,’ he says, interrupting me. ‘Interesting.’
‘Thanks again for the flowers.’
‘Let’s do coffee again – what about next week, Nelly?’
‘That would be nice.’
I watch him leave the shop, and thoughts about Mum race to the front of my mind. My heart aches. If she did have it – why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t she warn me?
Eva meets me for lunch. We sit on the bench outside the bookshop. Her blonde hair is full of waves, and she has a hint of sparkly lip gloss on her lips. It feels like the old days. She holds up her hand. ‘I want to hug you, Nelly. I know we’ve been avoiding it, but I want to say something first…’
The word ‘hug’ makes me flinch. Eva and I have been here before.
‘I’ve been seeing this guy from Tinder. He’s sweet, he’s the drummer in a band and I think he’s a keeper so whatever your curse says, I will ignore.’
‘Our hot rocker manifestation board worked then?’
