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“How do you know him?”

“Know who?” Jake butts in.

“Theo.”

“Bailey knows Theo?” Richard screws his nose up in confusion. “How?”

“That’s what I’m asking!”

“Would you all stop?” Bailey whirls around in the hall. I have to put my hand on the wall to steady myself, barely managing to stay upright as Jake and Richard crash into me. “We went to school together, that’s all. He moved to Surrey when we were sixteen and joined my sixth form. We were friends and … and then we fell out and he left.”

I feel like that’s a massively diluted version of events, but he’s breathing hard and I don’t want to trigger a panic attack, so I nod, pretending to take him at his word.

We go through to the living room and slump down on the sofa and chairs. Richard and Jake are giggling for absolutely no fucking reason, their faces flushed from the alcohol.

“Speaking of how people know one another,” Bailey pipes up. “Why was Robbie staring at you like that yesterday?”

Richard and Jake’s laughter dies off, and heat creeps up the back of my neck.

I guess this is payback for me being a nosy bitch. “I don’t know what you’re on about.”

“He was staring pretty intently.”

“Maybe he was staring at your fucked-up face,” I snap.

“Stay away from Robbie,” Richard slurs.

My brother clearly doesn’t know me at all anymore, because telling me to do something is a sure-fire way to get me to do the opposite—except I’ve already decided to stay away from Robbie.

But that doesn’t stop me from arguing back. “I’m twenty-seven, Rich, you can’t tell me what to do.”

“He only does one-night stands, the man can’t commit.”

“Not really sure how you’ve managed to jump from him staring at me to me trying to marry the man. We’re not all desperate to get tied down.”

“Well, some of us don’t mind getting tied down,” Jake mutters from the chair in the corner. We all turn to look at him, and he lets out a nervous laugh. “It was a joke. Stop looking at me like that.”

Richard turns his attention back to me. “If you want a quick fuck with coffee and breakfast the morning after, only to never see him again, Rob’s your man.”

“I’m failing to see what the downside is to that.” Not that I’m considering it. But he can’t be serious—I’ve never been in a relationship before, and he knows it.

“Look, I know you had a little crush on him when you were a kid, but⁠—”

“I did not!”

“You kinda did,” Bailey pipes up like a traitor.

The front door opens, and we all fall silent, waiting to see who it is.

If it’s Theo, then I reserve the right to punch him in the face in his own home.

“I’ve been sent by the bride to pick up the groom-to-be,” a deep voice booms from the hall. Robbie ducks through the doorway, grinning when he sees Richard slumped at the other end of the sofa. “She wasn’t lying, you look absolutely wankered.”

“I’m fine, I just need a minute,” Richard grumbles.

Robbie scans the room, eyes settling on me. “So, you boys had fun?”

“Well, Rich and Jake clearly did.” I gesture to them, rolling my eyes at Jake, who’s fast asleep.