“I laughed so much.” Alex smiled.
“Me too,” Pippa said. “They really thought they were the next Arctic Monkeys.”
“That they did.” He tilted his head. “We had fun, didn’t we?”
“We did.” Pippa couldn’t deny that fact.
Alex’s eyes teared up, but he made no move to wipe them. He held her gaze. “I miss that.”
Pippa folded her arms. “I know.”
“Anyway.” Alex sniffed, conscious of being in public. “I’ll get this all set up. Erin said something about some signage; I can get to that afterwards.”
“Great.” Pippa remembered the medics. “I really do owe you a huge thank you.” She grimaced. “As hard as that is for me to admit.”
“Excuse me?” Alex’s mouth quirked.
“You know!” Pippa said. “Without the medics, we couldn’t be insured. Without insurance, well, you can imagine, this whole event wouldn’t be able to go ahead. So thank you, for pulling whatever strings you did to get them here.”
“But I —” Alex stopped, locking eyes with her. “You’re welcome. I mean, whatever you need, I’m here for you.”
“I appreciate that.” Buoyed by his generosity and her recent happiness, Pippa felt a wave of magnanimity. “I really hope we can get through this awkward bit, you know?”
He arched an eyebrow. “You do?”
“Sure.” Pippa couldn’t hold on to resentment forever, she realised. Alex may have left town, but his family were here. He would never be fully out of her life as a result, so they had to find a way to keep things civil at the very least. “I’d like to stay friends, if we can.”
“Friends?” Alex repeated dully.
“Yeah.” She nodded.
“Friends?” He spat the word this time. “What, that’s it? Decision made? You’re really not going to change your mind? After all this time alone, you really don’t want me anymore?”
Pippa stared at him, infuriated by his arrogance. “Was I not clear?”
Alex growled. “We were together for over ten years, Pip. We had something special! You can’t just dismiss that!”
“You did when you left me,” Pippa said imperiously. She wondered how he had the nerve to make such accusations. “You can’t blame me for moving on with my life.”
“Moving—?” Alex tilted his head, gazing furiously into her face. “There’s someone else, isn’t there?”
Pippa couldn’t halt the rush of blood to her cheeks and he reared back in horror. “That’s … that’s neither here nor there,” she croaked.
Alex threw his arms up, running his hands through his hair. “No.NO.” His eyes filled with tears. “This can’t be happening.”
“I’m sorry,” Pippa said truthfully.
“I can’t accept that.” He was suddenly holding her arms, pulling her close. “Tell me it’s not true.”
“Alex!” She tried to extricate herself, but his grip was strong. “Let me go.”
“Youhaveto let me fix this,” he declared. “Remember what we meant to each other. Don’t you dare throw it all away.”
“Alex, for the millionth time, I’m not the one who threw our relationship away.” Pippa tried to remain calm.
“You have to remember,” he cried. “Please, you have to.”
“Alex. Come on, stop,” Pippa chided gently. It was only right she tell him about Wolfie, she decided. Because he was due here any moment and if the first Alex learned of their relationship was to see them together, he could cause a real scene and Pippa didn’t want that. “Look, you should know—” Her words were cut off by Alex’s lips suddenly landing on her own. The husky strength of his body pressed against hers and for an infinitesimal second, she froze, dominated by the overwhelming familiarity of it. It was like some sick muscle memory that demanded she yield. But sense prevailed and she recoiled, pulling away. “No!”
