Page 97 of Unapologetic Love Story

He didn’t like people in his home, mainly because he didn’t think of it as home. Especially not now. It was a writer’s den. He’d bought it because no one in his family had ever bought property before and the whole thing had made his parents proud.

Still. He would sell it soon and buy a two-bedroom to share with Raina. He wouldn’t tell her it was for both of them, that might rattle her too much. But it would be.

‘What brings you by?’ he asked the pair of them as they ducked into the flat.

‘This place is the size of our boot room,’ Ottie remarked, staring at the low ceilings and tiny kitchen. ‘I don’t know why you settle for it.’

Tom could have chosen that moment to come clean with them both and admit that it was all he could afford while being sensible with savings and taking care of his family. It wasn’t a little city flat he slummed in when he wasn’t in the country manor. This was all he had. And it was still more than most people had.

He wasn’t entirely sure what it was that kept him quiet. He’d once joked with Seb and Ottie about it being a little work den he kept on the side, and they’d never thought more of it.

‘Here for two reasons,’ Seb said grandly. His voice was a little hoarse, possibly a result of whatever shenanigans he’d indulged in on the boat, long after Tom left. ‘One! Do you think you could get Mary Simms to write about us?’

Mary Simms, the queen of engagement announcements in London.

‘I don’t know her personally,’ Tom said, making excuses, ‘but I do know she wouldn’t appreciate being told who to write about.’

‘Can you just try?’ begged Ottie. ‘It would make my mother so happy.’

Tom coughed but nodded. This sort of thing mattered so much to them. He told himself he should be kinder. ‘I’ll see if I can get to her through Tori.’

‘Thank you! Okay, secondly, Pepper Cousins is throwing her big birthday do and she told us to give you this.’

Ottie presented him with a white envelope, adorned with golden foil. Tom glanced at the two of them before accepting it. They were looking at him as if they were his parents and this item contained his Advanced Higher results.

He opened it.

Dear Tom Branimir,

You are cordially invited to the 30th birthday of Pepper Cousins, at her family estate in Surrey.

Please see overleaf for full address, time and directions.

Theme: Gatsby/Roaring 20s.

Dress Code: Black Tie.

RSVP.

Tom groaned and dropped the invitation onto his kitchen table. ‘I’m guessing this thing is considered a big deal?’

‘Under normal circumstances, yes,’ Seb said, straightening Tom’s clothes and patting his cheek. ‘This year it’s at Sydenhurst. That place is no joke. So, the ante has been upped.’

‘Your little friend will be there,’ Ottie said curtly. ‘I’m guessing she’s the reason Pepper’s invited you. If that’s any incentive.’

Tom glanced back to the invitation. ‘It is.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

EXCERPT FROM MARY SIMMS’S COLUMN, 2ND JUNE

Well, the lusty month of May is done and that means June is busting out all over. Bringing with it the engagement of Tarquin Delaney and Sophie Chatworth-Brown. Reader, I won’t bore you with the details of Mr Delaney’s new start-up (something about Uber for personal trainers) or Miss Chatworth-Brown’s plans for a ‘Trad Wife’ social media channel. But I will say, this column may soon hand itself in. I am tired of them all. So very tired.

I’m hungry for something real. Aren’t we all?

Solana joined Raina outside of Liberty, and her enthusiasm was so infectious Raina had to beam right back at her.

‘Let’s get you a dress you can accept an award in!’ squealed her younger sister, pushing Raina by her ribs into the looming black-and-white building. Solana’s birthday gift of money towards the dress was what gave Raina the confidence to walk into the beautiful store in search of a dress rather than a cheeky vase.