‘And yet I wanted everything else to go back the way it was.’
Ollie’s hand reaches out and touches my shoulder, and I feel numb. ‘What we had was special, and I will cherish it. You will always be my first love, Will.’
Heart beating, I want to tell him that he will always be mine, might still be mine. But he pulls up outside my hotel, and taps the wheel as if it is final.
‘Well, here we are.’
‘Here we are.’
Where, exactly?
‘You going to be all right getting to your room?’
‘I’m not that drunk, Ol.’
With shaking hands, I unbuckle my belt and turn to leave. TheMamma Miasoundtrack is still in full swing, and for once I want to burn it. ‘It was nice spending time with you.’
Ollie breathes in. ‘Yeah, you too, Will. Hey, don’t forget our double date soon.’
Right. The fake-dating thing. ‘Yeah. Let me know when you’re free.’
He drives off and I head back into the hotel. Nice spending time with you? How cold after everything we shared.
At reception, Lydia stands with her arms crossed, rolling her tongue over her teeth.
‘Who was that?’
‘That was Ollie.’
‘The man who is getting married.’
‘That’s right.’
Lydia shakes her head. ‘Homewrecker.’
‘He wanted my help. We just went wine tasting. You know, for wines for his wedding.’
‘To another man.’
‘Yes, I don’t need reminding.’
I press the button for the elevator, praying it arrives quickly. When it finally arrives, I dip into the lift and rest my back against the wall.
‘You know where I am if you do,’ Lydia says as the doors slide closed.
Chapter Thirty-Three
SAM
Day Seven
Itry to stretch out the kink in my aching back, sweat dripping down my forehead, even with the air con on. I put the vacuum cleaner to the side, hearing it clatter to floor as I flop down on my sofa, arm over my pounding head.
It’s been a mad day in the coffee shop, and I swear I can still hear voices asking for an order despite the shop closing three hours ago. I’d cleaned the apartment, trying to distract myself from the shop, but also Will. Because all day I’ve been getting orders wrong and forgetting names of the regulars because I’m there but I’m notthere.
I rub the tips of my fingers together as I lay on the sofa, eyes closed, immersing myself in darkness.
I try to think of my friendship with Will, looking at it from a new angle. Did I ever feel something for him back then? Our teachers and our family would just say we were ‘like brothers’. Maybe in this day and age they’d call it a bromance. All I know is that when I left, he occupied my mind for a long time.
