‘I still can’t believe he owns that whole building. Your boyfriend, the property magnate.Whoop, whoop.’
Ignoring Felicity’s laughter and nudges, Lisa continued, ‘Anyway, they were meant to be arriving next week, but Nathan saysshe’sturned up a week early.’
Taking in Lisa’s expression, Felicity frowned. ‘Is that a problem?’
‘No. Of course not. We’re going to catch up later.’ Lisa attempted a smile, put her phone in her lap and put her seatbelt on. ‘It’s all sorted.’
Felicity checked her mirrors, indicated and pulled out. ‘Are you sure? Only if you can’t wait that long to see him, I could drop you there now.’
‘Ha, I definitely don’t want to meetherin this sweaty state—’
‘Ah, so it’s the fact it’s a female friend, that’s what the problem is.’
‘No. Yes. Well, maybe.’ Lisa groaned, wondering why she had automatically assumed it would be a malefriend.
‘Well, I’m glad that’s clear.’
Lisa swiped her hand at Felicity and tried not to glance too obviously towards Nathan’s building as they drove past the corner of the road he lived in. ‘It’s just it seems a bit weird, that’s all. Meeting friends is always a part of being with someone new. But Nathan’s not new, not really, yet this woman knows him, and I’ve never met her.’
‘Well,that’s not surprising when you’ve only been back together, what … weeks? A couple of months, maybe, depending on when you’re counting from.’
‘I know. It’s just she’s from the time we were apart. Eleven years is a long time. We’ve gone from secondary school sweethearts where we knew everything about each other to now being boyfriend and girlfriend with unknown pasts. She’ll know things abouthim I don’t. They’ll have shared experiences. And I don’t know if they’ve always been friend friends or if they’ve ever been “friendfriends”.’ Lisa made air quotes around the final words to express the point.
‘Does it matter? You’re the person he’s recently told he wants to spend the rest of his life with. The person nobody else matched up to in the eleven years you were apart. You don’tneed to worry about her, not if she is a friend or even if she was ever something more. Nathan’s in love with you. He always has been.’
Lisa glanced out of the window, noticing how short the prom seemed when you drove along it. ‘I know you’re right.’ She picked up her phone to reply to Nathan’s messages but smiled when she saw a new message from him, with the promise of a leg massage whenhe saw her later.
As Lisa typed her reply, Felicity glanced at her. ‘And you know you could ask him, share what you’re thinking. Have a conversation about it. That’s what couples do.’
Lisa nodded, but knew she wouldn’t share her concerns with Nathan. Jealousy was ugly, and it could be cruel. Her years in London with her ex-boyfriend Ben had taught her that.
‘All that matters is what’sbetween you two. If you’re both open and honest about your feelings and … and the time you were apart—’
‘Ha, nice segue there, Flick, very smooth.’ Lisa folded her arms, the warmth from the car heater doing nothing to dispel her goosebumps. ‘And I will tell him. It’s just hard to find the right time.’
‘What, like … oh, I don’t know, during an evening together? When it’s just the two ofyou? If only the opportunity would arise.’
Lisa rubbed her hand across her wind-battered forehead and thought about the conversation Felicity was referring to, the one she knew she had to have with Nathan but had been putting off.
