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‘Come here.’
Thomas gathered me into his arms, and I laid my head on his shoulder as he rubbed my back. I couldn’t help crying a little. It had been so long since anyone had held me like this.
‘You know you’re pretty brave, don’t you?’ he murmured.
I sniffed. ‘So brave that I coerced you into coming with me.’
‘You didn’t coerce me. I wanted to.’
It wasn’t an admission of his feelings, but I could hear it in the tender tone of his voice and by the way he was holding me, like I was a fragile flower he was scared of crushing. I’m not sure how it had happened or what I’d done, but Thomas cared about me, and I felt like I might care about him too. It seemed to put things into perspective.
I lifted my head to look at him. He smiled, then kissed me gently on my temple, my cheek, then my lips; and I knew that what we were feeling for each other wasn’t fake at all—it was very real. We kissed as the breeze ruffled the leaves on the trees, and I felt the warmth of the sun and the heat of his body melding into mine; it was a deep, sweet kiss, and I didn’t want it to end.
But then Thomas hugged me tightly and said, ‘I’d much rather sit here and kiss you. But if you’re feeling better, we should probably face the villainous couple or, as I’m now thinking of them, Evil 1 and Evil 2.’
I laughed at that, liking that he’d said ‘we’. ‘I think maybe now I can.’
***
My mother was an avid collector of Art Deco furniture. Her flat was busy, but nothing like Jeremy’s haphazard jumble. There was room to move around at least. But I noticed a side table in the entryway that hadn’t been there last time I visited.
‘Is that new?’ I asked, kissing her cheek as she waved me into the flat.
‘Yes, it’s French. Karelian birch,’ she said, and was about to shut the door but saw Thomas waiting behind me, carrying his backpack in his hand. Her eyes widened, realising that he wasn’t someone delivering takeaway pamphlets, that he was with me.
‘Oh, I’m sorry! Do come in.’
‘Mum, this is my boyfriend, Thomas ...’ I began, then realised I didn’t actually know his last name.
‘Coggeshall,’ he supplied, pronouncing it ‘cog-shawl’. ‘It’s Old English, from a town in Essex,’ he added as if we might be wondering.
I looked at him in surprise. ‘Coggeshall is near Braintree, where Mercy lived at the rectory. How strange!’
‘Who’s Mercy?’ asked my mother, looking between us curiously.
‘It’s a long story.’
‘Well, nice to meet you, Thomas Coggeshall. I didn’t know Anna had a boyfriend, but you’re very welcome.’
She gave me a piercing look, and I shifted uncomfortably. Hopefully, she wouldn’t ask too many awkward questions about Thomas because I was only just getting to know him myself.
‘You can leave your bags there by the stairs. Come through to the lounge. We’re having an aperitif before dinner.’ She floated off in a cloud of Chanel.
Thomas looked at me. ‘All good?’
I nodded. ‘Though I feel like I should reapply my mascara after the freak-out. Do I look like a panda?’ Luckily, his shirt was black; otherwise, he’d have black smears on his shoulder.
He leaned forward to inspect my eyes, wiped at the edge of one with his thumb, then gave me a swift kiss on the cheek. ‘You look great. Should we walk in together holding hands?’
‘Yes, if that’s OK?’
‘Fine by me.’ He caught my sweaty hand in his less-sweaty one, and we approached the lounge, looking for all the world like we were an established couple. Having him support me in my time of need was a big deal and so nice of him. I didn’t think I could’ve faced my sister and ex alone, unless I was extremely drunk.
Here we go, I thought as we went through into the light, bright lounge that looked out onto the greenery of Cleveland Square. My stomach dipped as I braced myself to see the man who’d cheated on me and barely offered an explanation for his actions. But the lounge was empty apart from my mother, sitting in a cream round-armed chair. The matching cream buttoned sofa had no one on it.
I looked around the room as if they might have been hiding behind one of the potted palms, about to jump out. But there was no sign of them.
‘Is it only us?’
