“You know, since then I’ve been in quite the spiral,” he tells me.
“You have?”
“Oh yeah. You told me that you were single and my response was to give you an IPA and say, ‘It’s hoppy.’” He shuts his eyes in despair. “Those words have tortured me.”
“‘It’s hoppy’?”
“It’s hoppy. I felt like the biggest idiot on the planet.”
“I felt like the biggest idiot on the planet!”
He hesitates, his lips twitching into a smile. “Two big idiots.”
“Right. Although, I do want to reiterate that I was genuinely in that area of London for a trapeze class. I didn’t come just to see you.”
“Yes, I heard that the three minutes you spent at that class were breathtaking.”
“I really am going to kill Isabelle.”
“That one was Ruby.”
“I’m going to kill them all.”
He throws his head back and laughs.
I like him so much.
“Well, I have to admit that I wasn’t just passing today,” he says with a heavy sigh. “I came all the way here just for you.”
I lift my eyes up to meet his. “Really?”
“Really. When I got the call from Leo and Ruby, I couldn’t quite believe my luck. I was getting another shot. And this time, I’m going to say brilliant things that will dazzle you and not say things like ‘It’s hoppy.’”
“I’m a little disappointed. I think the hoppy comment is quite endearing.”
“You do?” He raises his eyebrows. “In that case, let me tell you about many, many hoppy beers. There are lots of hoppy ones out there. They’re all hoppy.” He pauses. “For the record, I’m really sorry about my reaction when you told me about you and Matthew being completely over. I freaked out and fucked up.”
I smile, shaking my head. “You have nothing to apologize for. If anyone does, it’s me for the night in Dublin. I’m so sorry that I answered that call from Matthew. If I could go back to that night, I would do things differently.”
He strokes his stubble thoughtfully. “It wasn’t all bad. If tonight ends up in a similar fashion with you running around a hotel naked, I won’t be complaining.”
I grimace, lifting my hands to my face. “Argh. Bloody Wedding Season tasks.”
His warm hands clasp round mine, lowering them so he can look right into my eyes.
“Those bloody Wedding Season tasks are why I’m here with you tonight, though,” he says, and his voice has changed from teasing and jokey to serious and sexy. “For that, I am very grateful.”
“Me too,” I croak.
There was a time I was scared to like Jamie, but now I know that our differences—all those things I assumed would doom us from the start—none of that matters. Because if I’ve learned anything during the Wedding Season, it’s that sometimes, love won’t make sense. Sometimes it doesn’t come all neatly wrapped up, all questions answered. And sometimes, even the relationships you thought you could count on change, maybe even fall apart. If you click with someone, you click with them. Sometimes you just have to go with it and hope for the best.
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Jamie?”
“Yes?”
“Do you want to go out on a date with me sometime?”
“Well—” He hesitates. “—it depends.”
