‘Okay,’ Darcy replies, pulling up a chair and sitting down. ‘What I’ll do, is email everyone and tell them about the mistake. That way, they’ll know it’s a joint birthday, okay?’
‘Thank you. I’ll tell Joe. He’ll be so relieved.’
‘Of course,’ Darcy says. ‘It’s the least I can do after I made you abandon your own party and join Tyler’s.’
I’m so glad she understands how Joe feels. I knew she would. The aroma of the noodle soup makes my stomach growl once more. Suddenly, I’m feeling much better about everything, and I realise I haven’t thought about my stalker once since Darcy got here. Maybe that, like everything else, isn’t as sinister as I’m making out. I need to calm down and not worry so much about things. I have a loving husband, a gorgeous son, and a great new friend. Darcy smiles and I smile back. I don’t even know why I was in such a state earlier.
‘I don’t suppose…’ Darcy starts to say something, then shakes her head. ‘No, don’t worry.’
‘What?’ I ask.
‘No, honestly, it doesn’t matter.’
I wonder what she was going to ask me but I don’t press it, she’s obviously changed her mind. ‘That soup smells amazing, by the way,’ I say.
‘Should be ready in about five minutes. I’ll dish it up and then we’ll be off. Let you get some rest.’
‘You’re welcome to stay for soup,’ I say. ‘Seeing as you made it!’
‘No, it’s fine. I’ll eat later with Mike when he gets home.’
I smile. ‘Thank you so much, again. It was lovely of you to come over and check up on me.’
‘My pleasure.’ She gazes down at the scarred surface of the kitchen table, drumming her nails. ‘I wonder,’ she says, looking up again. ‘Do you think… Would it be possible to have my name on the column next week? Maybe as a guest writer or something?’
I’m a little taken aback by her request. And I’m not entirely sure how something like that would fly with Kathryn, my editor.
‘Is that cheeky?’ Darcy asks. ‘It’s just… I’ve always wanted to see my name in print in a national newspaper. Kind of an ambition of mine.’
‘Well, I could certainly ask my editor,’ I say. ‘I’m sure it would be fine as a one-off.’
‘Awesome! I would love that. Thank you, Louisa. You’re a sweetheart. Now let me dish you up some of this soup. Where do you keep your bowls?’
I point to the cupboard where we keep the crockery and I notice Joe’s forgotten mug of hot chocolate sitting next to the microwave. It will be cold and congealed by now. I’ll have to throw it out.
Nine
‘This place is unbelievable,’ I say, taking in the high ceilings, exposed brick walls and polished oak floors. It’s a dull day outside, yet swathes of light flood in through floor-to-ceiling windows.
‘I know, right.’ Jared rubs his hands up and down the back of his head and turns to me, his eyes gleaming with excitement. ‘I never expected anything like this.’
‘To be on the quay is amazing enough, but to be in such a beautiful building is—’
‘Yeah,’ he says, taking both my hands and squeezing them. ‘I thought I might be in a grotty building on the outskirts of town – maybe on a depressing industrial estate. I definitely wasn’t expecting a newly refurbed warehouse with views over Poole Quay.’
After getting a decent business loan from the bank, Jared finally handed in his notice at work. His boss asked him to leave the company immediately but Jared didn’t mind. He’s already been head-hunting staff and building his client list over the past few weeks, with the help of Mike and Darcy.
Jared got the keys from Mike to check out his potential new offices today, so now we’re here to inspect the space before he signs the contract. I can’t help being swept up by my husband’s enthusiasm. It looks like he’s going to make a real success of this. I just wish the butterflies in my stomach would settle down.
‘What do you think of these trestles?’ he asks, running a hand over one of the chunky wooden tables. ‘Would they be okay to work on? Or should I get proper desks?’
‘I think they look cool. Not sure how practical they’d be, though.’
‘I can keep them for now and then replace them if they don’t work out,’ Jared says. ‘I don’t know how I’m going to get any work done with that view.’
We gaze down at the narrow quayside, at the boats and the gulls and the blue-green water.
‘So, he’s actually letting you have this place free for a year?’ I ask.
