I shrug. ‘I don’t think I’m quite ready to say it out loud just yet.’
‘How about I tell you some good news andthenwe talk about it?’
‘Deal. What’s the good news?’
‘You know Rustlings Lodge?’
‘The chicest hotel in all of Yorkshire?’
Natalie beams and points her thumbs towards her chest. ‘I’ve been sweet-talking their marketing manager and she’s agreed to put you and I on their roster for wedding suppliers.’
‘What? Seriously?!’
‘Yes! I’ve organised a corporate thing there before and when I went on a recce, it was all set up for a wedding. The space looked amazing but our company could do it So. Much. Better. So I went back and pitched our tushes off and they were sold.’
‘NATALIE! That’s amazing. I know we’d agreed that you’d handle meetings and bring in new business because that’s your area of expertise but honestly, I hadn’t realised it would happen so quickly.’
‘I know! And on that note, I just want to make it super clear that I’ll keep you completely up to speed with all of this going forward. This meeting was all very last minute … They called me yesterday morning and I did knock on your bedroom door, but when there was no reply I figured you and Zach were probably sleeping off a late night.’
‘I must have already gone to the allotment.’
Natalie looks at me with concern. ‘I guess so.’
‘Well, thanks Nat. I’m so proud of you!’
‘I’m so proud ofus. We’ll need to get our website sorted asap so that potential clients can find us, and I was thinking that we should organise a shoot to show what we can do. Your flowers, my events planning, etc. We’ll also need business cards printed and to come up with an actual name for our company …’
‘So quite a lot then,’ I laugh, my spirits lifting. ‘I’m so ready for this. Shall we spend today working on it? It’s not like I have any other plans.’ That was meant to sound easy and breezy but I don’t think I nailed it. Nat’s giving me a sympathetic look.
‘Alice, shall we talk about Zach now?’
‘It’s over,’ I say, forcing my finger though a hole I’ve found in the hem of my T-shirt. How did that get there?
She snaps her laptop shut and pulls me in for a hug.
‘I’m fine,’ I insist. ‘I temporarily let a boy come along and side-track me and now I’m back on track thank you very much. You know me. Work. Friends. Those are the things I thrive on, right? I’mfine.’
‘So you’re fine then?’
‘FINE. I opened myself up to a relationship and now my heart hurts. I knew this would happen.’
‘What happened after I left ping pong? Yes Octavia was snooty but I thought everyone was having a good time?’
I fill her in on Zach and Dylan’s drunken jibes over the ping pong table and our stupid, stupid fight which I think started because of time-keeping? How angry Zach was that I’d confided in Dylan, how he suggested Dylan was in love with me, how awful it was to watch them clash. ‘Ultimately, it was a huge drunken mess and I bailed.’
Nat sucks in her breath.
‘Jeez. Have you spoken to Zach since?’
‘Nope.’
‘Do you want to?’
I shuffle on the sofa, kicking my feet out in front of me as I think it through.
‘Dunno,’ I puff. ‘When I woke up yesterday I felt his absence so keenly that it was almost like a physical pain and that hasn’t gone away. The idea that I won’t see him again makes me feel desperately sad, but what’s the alternative? Besides, I’ve told him it’s over so I guess that’s that.’
‘You know what, you don’t need to make your mind up right now. How about we get stuck into some work on the business and you just let it sit for a bit?’
