‘I’m Cassie by the way,’ she says with a grin.
Why does that name sound familiar? A memory of kissing her in a bar last night comes rushing back to me, bringing with it a tidal wave of nausea. Oh, God, did I have sex with her?
‘No, we didn’t sleep together,’ she chortles, reading the look of panic on my face. ‘You kept calling me Emily even though I’d made it very clear I was Cassie.’
Shame casts its heavy cloak over me. ‘I’m so sorry.’
I watch as she places two mugs of steaming tea on the wooden breakfast bar. The clock on the wall above our heads tells me it’s six in the morning. ‘Have a seat.’ She also slides across a little packet of paracetamol. ‘You might want some of these too.’
We both sip our tea and I wait for the paracetamol to deal with my throbbing head.
‘So, who are you and who’s Emily?’
I clear my throat. ‘I’m Rory. Emily is my ex-girlfriend.’
Cassie nods and takes a mouthful of tea. ‘You still miss her?’
I cast her a look of shock. Does she talk like this with all her dates?
A smile forms at the corners of her mouth. ‘I like helping people, especially drunken idiots. Do you miss Emily?’
I hang my aching head as it grows heavy with all the memories of Emily racing out and clambering to get my attention. ‘I shouldn’t miss her, but I do.’
‘You shouldn’t miss her? What does that mean?’ Cassie asks.
My eyes focus on the swirling tea below me. ‘It’s a crap situation. I just need to get on with my life.’ I take in a lungful of Cassie’s kitchen air.
‘Oh,’ says Cassie, ‘do you still love her?’
I trace the rim of the mug with my fingertip. ‘I’ll always love her, but I have to move on with my life. It’s for the best.’
‘I’m so glad we didn’t sleep with each other,’ sighs Cassie with a wry smile, making my stomach knot with guilt.
With a heavy sigh I take a sip of my tea. ‘I’m sorry. Going out and getting blind drunk is my way of getting Emily out of my system.’
Cassie shakes her head. ‘Rory, let me tell you something – she’snotout of your system. That plan of yours is a shit one.’ I watch her wrap her fingers around her mug. ‘When we kissed on the sofa you thought I was her and we were in a hotel together.’
Rubbing my stubble-clad chin, I pray for Cassie to stop reliving last night. This is torturous.
‘By the way, last night, a gold chain with a locket on it dropped out of your coat pocket. Is that Emily’s?’
I take the chain and locket from my pocket and lay it in the palm of my hand. ‘Sort of.’
‘What do you mean?’
In my hand I hold the chain and let the golden locket dangle in front of me. The kitchen light bounces off it and it begins to twirl. ‘Her sister, Vivi, asked me to buy it for Emily. It was meant to be a surprise birthday present from Vivi. I never got the chance to give it to Emily.’
‘It’s so beautiful,’ gushes Cassie. ‘Where’s the box for it?’
Hanging my head, I mumble, ‘I’ve lost the box.’
Cassie is glancing between me and the locket. ‘You’ve lost the box that the locket goes in?’
I nod. ‘The thing is, I like having the locket on me. It stays in my pocket a lot of the time.’
‘But the locket is not yours – is it?’
CHAPTER6
