‘So fortunate Xander saw the fire and got you and Jacob out. It’s the talk of the town,’ Diya said.
‘How does everyone know that?’
‘Beth, who lives in the house next door, she saw it all happen. Actually she spotted the fire and called the fire brigade, but seconds later she saw Xander charging across the street, breaking into your flat and, a few moments later, carrying Jacob out and dragging you out too. It was all very heroic.’ Diya flapped her hand in front of her face as if she was getting hot under the collar at the thought of it. ‘Beth saw him holding you in his arms, stroking your hair and back. She watched him get you a jumper so you wouldn’t be cold. It sounds very romantic.’
‘I think he was just in the right place at the right time,’ Immy tried.
‘And then later when you came back from the hospital, he was holding you in his arms again, comfortingyou, and then you came back here to spend the night,’ Diya said, her eyebrows waggling mischievously.
‘Because I had nowhere to stay,’ Immy explained. ‘My sister is away and I didn’t even have my purse to book a hotel for the night.’
‘But Beth’s house is exactly the same as Xander’s layout-wise. Two bedrooms. I presume one of the bedrooms here is Etta’s,’ Lizzie said. ‘So where did you both sleep?’
Should Immy say that Xander slept on the sofa? But the sofa was only a two-seater with two big armchairs either side – if they saw the sofa they’d know Xander wouldn’t have fitted on there. Maybe she could say he had a blow-up mattress.
But clearly Immy was taking too long to answer that question because Diya and Lizzie suddenly started squealing in excitement as if they were two teenage girls at a Harry Styles’ concert.
Immy sighed. ‘We just slept in the same bed, nothing happened. Just two friends sleeping. I was exhausted, I wouldn’t have had the energy to do anything even if I wanted to, which I didn’t.’
Lizzie and Diya looked at each other knowingly as if they didn’t quite believe her.
‘And where are you staying tonight?’ Diya asked.
‘Umm, probably here but nothing is going to happen. He’s just been a good neighbour.’
Lizzie pulled out her phone, swiped the screen a few times and then turned it round to show Immy. ‘The lookon his face is something a lot more than neighbourly. That boy is in love with you.’
It was a photograph of Xander from the night before, cupping her face and wiping her tears away. Lizzie swiped the screen to show the next photo of Xander kissing her forehead and the next one of Xander taking her by the hand and leading her back towards his house. Immy couldn’t believe that her weakest, most vulnerable moment was being spread around town like the most exciting piece of gossip.
She cleared her throat. ‘I’m glad to see that the moment my life fell apart, the most heartbreaking thing that’s ever happened to me, is the source of so much entertainment.’
Lizzie’s face fell. ‘Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Of course, this is so wrong. I didn’t realise, I just got so excited about the prospect of the two of you being together that I got carried away. I am so sorry. Of course this is something so awful for you and we’ve cheapened it by gossiping about the two of you, when we should have been more supportive. I’m going to delete these off my phone and tell Beth to do the same. I’m so so sorry.’
Immy nodded. She didn’t want to say that they were forgiven because it still hurt, but she knew their intent was anything but malicious. If it had been any other time, she probably would have found it amusing and been happy that they were so excited for her, but this photo of her crying after she’d lost everything was too much. But they were her friends, she didn’t want tomake a big deal of this, especially when Lizzie was so apologetic. She also knew that in a few days half the town would probably know she was pregnant with Xander’s baby so it seemed a little wrong to get too angry about a photo of the two of them together.
‘I appreciate your apology,’ Immy said.
Diya took her hand. ‘I’m sorry too, this was completely thoughtless of us. If there is anything at all we can do to help with your shop, please do let us know.’
‘Thank you,’ Immy said, quietly.
They stood in awkward silence for a few moments.
‘We’re going to go, I really am sorry,’ Lizzie said.
They quickly left and Immy went back to the lounge and sat down heavily on the sofa. She hated the thought that pictures of her crying had been circulated around the town, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the way Xander had been looking at her when he wiped away the tears in the photo. The look of love that Lizzie had talked about had been as clear as day.
It was only a short while later that Xander returned from the shops, weighed down with multiple bags.
‘Hello,’ he called, going straight to the kitchen and putting something in the fridge. Then he came back to the lounge.
‘Hi,’ Immy said.
Inexplicably Jacob got off the chair to go and greethim. Clearly the little terrier didn’t have any reservations about giving his love away or keeping his heart protected.
Xander bent down and scratched Jacob’s ears before coming over to the sofa and sitting next to her.
‘You look like you’ve been busy,’ Immy gestured to the bags.
