‘No. No, it’s okay.’ I ran the tap to rinse off my hands. I really wanted out of this conversation.
‘I’ll see what I can dig up about those other pics. But I have a hunch about what they might be and if I’m right, it’s not Lucy in those photos, it’s Jeanette Jerome in a wig from a party a couple of weeks ago. I’ll check and get back to you, if it will put your mind at rest.’
The other photos felt like a lifetime ago. ‘Yes, thanks, Nick. I’d appreciate that.’
I lumbered back to my desk and collapsed into my chair.
Simon and Jess kissing.
Fuck.
With clammy fingers, I opened Twitter, and did a search for Jess.
Nothing.
Then I navigated to her Instagram, but all I found were her usual images of outfits she’d just bought or gourmet food in hipster pubs. I was about to close her page, when one of the locations made me pause.
When had Jess been in Stockholm? Wasn’t that one of the stops on Simon’s trip?
The knot in my stomach tightened. The evidence was piling up.
Part of me had always suspected there might be something more between the two of them; the savvy part of me. The stupid part of me had been in control, however, and she had set sail for Denial Central.
On a whim, I texted Simon to see if he fancied catching some late sun after work on Golden Square. If he said yes, then I would ask him point-blank. If not, it was a sign I should just let things play out naturally. I mean, one kiss didn’t mean anything, did it? We’d shared one kiss, too, and he’d downplayed it immediately. The thought was supposed to comfort me, but thinking about the night in Georgia’s garden only made me feel worse.
My phone pinged back almost straight away:
Great! See you there at 6.
Shit. Now I had to actually talk to him.
Movement to my left stirred me. Ayisha and Rob were packing up for the day too. I caught up with them and asked if they could check on Gav in his misery pub. I didn’t like the idea of Gav drowning his sorrows by himself.
*
I ended up getting to Golden Square late because I’d stupidly picked up the office phone at ten to six, only for the caller to launch into a long-winded query asking how he could get hold of a high-resolution life-size cardboard cut-out of Lady Gaga.Go away, I’d wanted to scream,the path of my true love needs some serious smoothing over here. All you need is a photocopier.
When I got to the square, Simon was lounging on the dry grass, hemmed between a gaggle of sweaty bikers who were sweltering in their leathers and a trio of girls in breezy summer dresses paying more attention to their phones than to each other.
‘Hey, Frixie.’ He got up and kissed me on both cheeks.
He smelt divine, even in the hot weather. One of the girls looked up from her phone and gave Simon a quick once-over. I didn’t blame her; he looked gorgeous in a dark blue shirt and chinos. His hair was standing up at odd angles, in an adorable way rather than a speccy kid way, and a sprinkling of stubble completed the look.
I sat down and tried to eke out a little more space so we could talk with a bit of privacy, but even the millennials stuck on social media were throwing admiring glances Simon’s way.
He talked about work and his recent trip and I tried to nod at the right places like I was paying attention. But a neon sign flashing ‘Jess’ was lodged in my brain, blinding me to everything else.
He asked me about my day and I bought myself some time by telling him about the Lady Gaga phone call. He smiled politely, even though it made a piss-poor anecdote. The fake smile had barely died on his lips when I launched into my interrogation.
‘Simon, I know this is going to sound out of the blue, but what’s the deal between you and Jess?’
His smile faltered. ‘What do you mean?’
‘She was away for some of the time you were – did you see each other?’
He shifted his gaze to a daisy sprouting out of the yellow grass. ‘Funnily enough, she was in Sweden when I stopped over during my trip. She did a couple of gigs. The Scandis were crazy about Rydell.’
I swallowed. ‘Did you guys...’God, why hadn’t I rehearsed this?‘Was it a case of what happens in Scandinavia stays in Scandinavia?’
