Page 80 of Never Gonna Happen

‘Oh, bloody hell, never mind,’ said Carol, wafting her away. ‘Go.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘Stay here with Kelly,’ said Carol. ‘Drink your G&T, drink my wine, probably get hammered and get a kebab on the way home.’

Emily laughed through her tears. ‘I love you both so much.’

‘Yeah, we know,’ said Kelly, waving Emily away. ‘Now fuck off.’

It was almost 1 a.m. when Emily pulled up outside the pool house. The drive had flown by, fuelled by strong coffee and her foot jammed on the accelerator on an empty motorway. The conversation with her mum and Kelly had cleared her head, and the need to resolve things pulled her towards Jamie like he was the Earth and she was the moon. She’d been a selfish, insecure idiot, and she hoped it wasn’t too late to fix things.

The door to the pool house was unlocked, although she’d have happily thrown rocks at the window if she’d had to. She crept through the kitchen to Jamie’s bedroom, then stood in the doorway for a minute, watching him sleep. He was alone, and she hated herself for how much she’d doubted him. After everything that had happened between them, after he’d bared his soul about his previous relationships and told her what it had taken for him to ask her out, how could she have thought he’d go back to Louisa?

A sliver of moonlight shone through the gap in the curtains and across his face, making him look more handsome than ever. She tiptoed over to the bed, trying to work out the best way to wake him without scaring him half to death and risking him breaking the other leg. In the end she sat on the edge of the bed, gently stroking his arm until he stirred. ‘It’s Emily,’ she whispered. ‘Hi.’

Jamie squinted at her blearily, reaching up to push his hair out of his eyes. ‘I thought you’d gone home,’ he said, leaning up on his elbows.

‘I did,’ she said quietly. ‘But then I realised I’d forgotten something important.’

Jamie smiled at her for a long moment, then folded back the covers, pulling off his T-shirt and slowly shuffling his plastic boot over to make room for her. Emily stripped off her clothes, not caring that she’d been in a car for four hours and needed a shower, not caring that she was buzzing on coffee and probably wouldn’t sleep. It was the first time they’d shared a bed in weeks, so she snuggled into his arms, feeling entirely certain that this was where she belonged.

‘I’m glad you’re back,’ whispered Jamie. She could hear the relief in his voice.

‘Me too,’ said Emily, trailing her hand across the hard muscles of his stomach. ‘I love you.’

Jamie gave a deep sigh of happiness. ‘I love you too.’

Chapter Thirty-Nine

‘I’m really sorry I left,’ said Emily, putting a tray of tea and toast on the bed. ‘It was a shitty thing to do. I just felt a bit overwhelmed by everything.’

‘You and me both,’ said Jamie, pushing himself upright with a wince. ‘I genuinely didn’t think she was coming. You do believe me, right?’

Emily nodded. ‘You messaged her while we were away, though.’ It was a statement, not a question. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘I . . . I don’t know,’ said Jamie. ‘It was nothing other than advice about my treatment, I can show you the messages if you like.’

‘I don’t need to see the messages,’ she said. ‘I just wish you’d been honest.’

‘I’m sorry,’ said Jamie. ‘You were working so hard and doing so much for me, I didn’t want to say “Louisa says this” and “Louisa says that” and spoil our little bubble. I didn’t think you’d like it.’

‘I wouldn’t have liked it, but I’d have understood. Better that than finding out from Anna.’

‘I’m really sorry,’ he said.

‘It’s fine,’ said Emily, because right now it felt like it genuinely was fine. The fog had lifted, and she felt much clearer about the way forward for both of them. ‘What are you going to do now?’

‘I’ll talk to Louisa this morning, make it clear that you and I are together and nothing has changed between me and her.’

‘Why didn’t you tell her about us before?’

‘Because it’s none of her business,’ said Jamie, raking his hair in frustration. ‘And anyway, she already knows, presumably from Anna. She’s done some fishing, tried to find out how I feel about you.’

Emily smiled. ‘And how do you feel about me?’

‘Now who’s fishing?’ said Jamie with a grin. ‘I told you that last night.’

‘I wasn’t sure you’d remember. You were half asleep.’