‘With Seth?’ she asks.
‘With Laurence,’ I reply, my heart skipping a beat as I say his name.
Daisy frowns as I open the door. ‘Laurence?’
I wonder if perhaps I shouldn’t tell her. Maybe Laurence would prefer to keep this to ourselves to avoid any extra awkwardness. But I feel like it’s one of those things that isn’t going to stay quiet. Especially as I already can’t stop thinking about it. Abouthim.
We walk up the stairs, go into our apartment, kick off our shoes and sink on to the sofa. ‘That flat was depressing,’ I say with a shudder.
‘I know. I think I could smell damp. But what were you saying about Laurence?’
‘He came over yesterday.’
‘When?’ Daisy’s eyes narrow. ‘He was at Fran’s fundraising thing last night. Why weren’tyouthere?’
‘Didn’t feel up to socialising.’
‘Fair enough.’ She reaches for a cushion and wedges it behind her back. ‘Anyway, you saw Laurence ...’
‘He came over in the morning because I was a bit upset about work.’
‘What happened at work?’
‘Ugh, it’s a whole thing, but I’ll tell you later.’ I shake away the memory of Charlotte’s smug face. The dramas in my life are coming so thick and fast that it’s getting hard to keep up. ‘So,’ I continue, ‘Laurence came over with a coffee to cheer me up and he told me something a bit unexpected.’
‘He’s getting married?’ Daisy cries. ‘Fran’s pregnant? They’re not splitting up, are they?’ Daisy does her usual thing of jumping in to answer her own questions.
I give her acome-on-nowlook and she mimes zipping her mouth closed.
‘Actually, he and Franmightbe splitting up,’ I reply.
‘No!Why?They seemed fine last night. Happy, even.’
Here goes. I take a breath. ‘Laurence told me ... he told me he has feelings for me.’
Daisy’s mouth falls open and she’s utterly silent.
‘He said he’s felt something for me for years but hasn’t acted on it.’ Heat floods my cheeks as I say, ‘He told me he loves me.’
Daisy’s face is stony. I can’t tell if it’s shock or if she’s really upset.
‘Are you going to say something?’ I ask.
She shrugs. ‘I mean, what is there to say?’
Oh no. She’s not happy at all.
‘Do you feel the same way?’ she asks coldly.
‘Honestly, I don’t know.’
‘I knew there was something different about you today,’ she says through gritted teeth.
‘Are you angry?’ I ask.
‘Not angry,’ she replies, swallowing. ‘I just feel a bit stupid. I thought the three of us were best friends. This close trio of mates who’ve had each other’s backs through thick and thin. When, all along, it was only because Laurence fancied you. I guess I must have been there as some kind of ... buffer, or third wheel, or whatever.’
‘What?Don’t be daft! Of course not. I didn’t have a clue about this until yesterday. I thought the same as you – that we were the three amigos like we were back at school. Wewerebest friends. We still are. There was never anything romantic on my part.’
