I give myself a second to process this information. My head whips around towards Kieran. He smiles weakly. I feel like I’m about to faint.
‘I couldn’t put him on the guest list as you’re in charge of the guest list. . .’
‘You couldn’t have just given him my number?’ I ask, my brain racing. It’s been almost four months since I last saw him. I didn’t think I’d ever see him again.
‘Well, yes, technically I could have but I thought this would be more fun. Plus, I kind of wanted to get a look at the guy who made you all dreamy.’
‘And what if I didn’t want to see him?’ I exclaim. ‘This is absolutely a violation of my privacy!’
His face crumples a little. ‘Shit, Sophie, I—’
I let out a loud exasperated groan. ‘Ugh. Fuck. . . so he’s here. He’s here and he’s outside.’
Kieran nods.
‘Fine.’ I shake myself off. ‘This is fine. How’s my hair? Do I have lipstick on my teeth?’
He peers at me. ‘You’re good. You look great. You do have sesame seeds from the burger sliders down your dress, though.’
‘Of course I do,’ I mutter, brushing myself down.
Seeds removed, I make my way to the front of the building, my stomach somersaulting with every step I take. I feel the chilly air nip me as I move past the bouncer and into the street.
It doesn’t take me long to spot him. Brown jacket, blue scarf, handsome face. I see his eyes widen when he sees me.
‘It’s really good to see you,’ he says, going in for a hug. ‘Are you well?’
‘I am,’ I reply, my heart now in competition with my stomach to see whether an angina attack or uncontrollable vomiting will end me first. ‘It’s good to see you too. Do you want to come inside?’
I lead him into the main hall and to the bar.
‘G&T,’ I say to the barman. ‘Ellis?’
‘Do you know if they do a Gully Wash here?’
I start to laugh. ‘Not on my watch.’
‘Corona if you have one, buddy.’
I grab a booth, reserved for Eddie at the back of the room. He’s nowhere to be seen and I need somewhere to calm myself.
‘I should apologise for this all being a bit cloak and dagger,’ he says, squeezing the lime into his beer. ‘It was your colleague– ’
‘Former colleague.’
‘– who suggested coming along.’
‘Yeah, he happened to mention it a whole five minutes ago,’ I tell him. I catch Kieran watching from the edge of the bar. He raises what looks like a martini. ‘I would have called you back, you know. Saved you a trip down here.’
‘I know,’ he replies, ‘but I wanted to see you in person. To apologise. What happened. . . it wasn’t fair on you.’
‘Maybe not,’ I reply, surprised by his honesty. ‘But I don’t hold it against you. I am genuinely, really happy to see you.’
He smiles. ‘I just want you to know that I wasn’t messing with you, but I should have handled it better. My kids weren’t exactly pleased with my behaviour.’
‘You told your kids?’
‘Not explicitly,’ he replies. ‘They overheard me on the phone with my sister. I was interrogated the second I hung up.’
