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4
‘I realise this is probably quite a shock.’
Holly stood mutely in front of Ben, her jaw hanging open.
Shock didn’t come close to it. She was floored. So much so that she realised she was holding on to the back of the chair, probably to keep herself from toppling over.
It wasn’t that she was angry; she was too surprised for that. Ben had been single for years and years before getting together with her, yet he was now so comfortable in his new relationship he wanted to introduce this woman to his daughter after only a few months. No, it was pure and undiluted disbelief that was making it impossible for her to respond.
‘Maybe this wasn’t the best time to bring it up.’ Ben edged away from her by a half-step. The minute movement was all Holly needed to bring her back to the moment.
‘Congratulations!’ She blurted the word out so loudly Hope jumped. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Before she knew what she was doing, she was taking Ben’s hand and shaking it repeatedly as if it was part of some bizarre job interview and he had just been offered the position. And along with the handshaking, came the babbling.
‘That’s wonderful news. Wonderful. I am so pleased for you. You must be ever so happy. I want to hear all about it.’
‘You do?’
‘Of course!’ Holly wished she could stop talking. Of course she didn’t want to hear about her ex-boyfriend’s new woman. She already knew Georgia was impossibly beautiful, held an extremely impressive job, and undoubtedly had her life far more together than Holly did. Yet her tongue, which only moments ago had struggled to make a single sound, was now on overdrive. ‘You and I are friends. Of course I want to know these things. I’m happy for you. Happy you’re happy. Happy Georgia’s happy. It’s just happiness all round. I couldn’t be more pleased.’ She lifted her hands into the air emphatically as if about to go for a hug, while simultaneously praying the world would open up and swallow her whole.
‘Well, I’m glad you’re okay about it.’ Thankfully, Ben stepped back to avoid any awkward embraces.
‘Of course, of course. Now, why don’t you tell me all about it while I get Hope’s bags together?’
Twenty minutes later, after Ben had finally left with Hope and her belongings, Holly was sitting at the bottom of her staircase, banging the heel of her hand against her forehead.
Why had she asked to hear all about it? She didn’t want to know how long they had been together, or how fantastic Georgia had been about the situation with Hope. She didn’t want to know any of it, but now she did. Ben had a girlfriend, and it opened a torrent of thoughts she couldn’t avoid.
What was Hope going to call Georgia? That was one question she couldn’t shake. She hadn’t even started saying mummy or mama yet. Was it possible she would skip Holly entirely and say Georgia first? Unlikely, given the difficulty in her name, but then maybe Hope would call them both mum. Perhaps Georgia would be so good at the stepmother role that Hope would prefer her and call her mama instead?
The thoughts somersaulted around in her head, one after another, each more ridiculous than the last, and yet she couldn’t stop them from spiralling. It was only when her phone buzzed on the step beside her that she realised what the time was.
‘We’re outside,’ Caroline said the instant Holly picked up. ‘You need me to come and help with your things?’
‘Sorry, I’m just coming.’ Holly raced up the stairs to grab her little black suitcase. ‘I’ll be fine. I’ll just be one second.’
With the suitcase in her hand, she dashed back downstairs and double checked the hob and all the windows before finally heading outside.
Despite not coming on the do, Michael had offered to drive both her and Caroline to Bristol airport, while Jamie and some others were going to meet them there. There were a few people Holly didn’t know going on the trip, too. Two of Jamie’s old school friends were flying in from up north and Fin had buddies who were travelling all the way from the States, as well as someone he knew from London. Assuming there were no delays or major mishaps, they were all supposed to arrive in Nice at the same time.
Although as she climbed in the back seat of the car, Holly couldn’t even think about the holiday. She had much more pressing thoughts on her mind.
‘Did you not hear us beeping?’ Caroline twisted around from the passenger seat as Holly slammed her car door shut.
‘Did you know?’ Holly couldn’t stop the words coming out of her mouth.
‘Know what?’
‘About Ben and Georgia?’
A frown line formed between Caroline’s brows. ‘Georgia? The woman he works with?’
‘Four months. They’ve been seeing each other for four months. You swear you didn’t know?’
Holly had known Caroline long enough to read her expressions pretty well, and from the way her eyes widened, this was as much news to her as it had been to Holly.
‘Wow, that’s crazy. But I swear, Hol, I would have told you if I knew something like that. You know I would’ve done.’
Wordlessly, the two women looked at Michael.
