I hit send before I could change my mind. But when my phone didn’t ping back after five minutes, I regretted my reply. I started to mentally word another message, but then Helen came back to the table and sat down opposite me, smiling shyly.
I pointed to the phone in my hand. ‘Sorry about this – I’m expecting a message about work.’ I felt a bit bad lying, but I wasn’t sure how much conversation I could muster with a girl who hadn’t lived through the Y2K computer panic.
The Double-As came back from the bar – with another bottle of wine – and started refilling all our glasses.
‘Are you okay, Zoë?’ Alice was looking at me with concern. ‘You look a bit flushed.’
‘It’s a work thing,’ said Helen. But a quirk in her lips made me suspect that she hadn’t bought my story.
Just then my phone pinged and I hastily swiped the screen.
YESSS!!! Meet me at the hotel restaurant at 8pm tomorrow. PS Should I admit now that I’m on the ground floor? S xx
I grinned and realised too late that Annette was leaning over my shoulder, reading my message.
‘Oooh! Zoë’s got a date!’
I stuffed my phone into my pocket, but my happy face must have been a dead giveaway.
‘It’s no one you know,’ I said breezily.
‘Well, of course not,’ said Annette. ‘We’ve just met you! But the way you said that makes me think it’s someone Alice knows. Who’s the mysterious “S” who’s texting Zoë so late at night, Alice?’
Oh God, when had Annette become so perceptive?A minute ago she was singing the rude version of Depeche Mode’s ‘I Just Can’t Get Enough’.
I hoped Alice would nip this conversation in the bud, but she just sat there, perfectly upright with her Pilates-strength core muscles, sipping her wine.
‘It’s just an old friend who’s visiting London,’ I said.
‘A kissy-kissy friend?’ said Annette.
‘No.’
‘Are you sure? He signed off with three kisses.’
‘No he didn’t.’
It was just two, wasn’t it?I wanted to pull out my phone and check, but then I’d give the game away.
‘Ah! So itisa “he”!’
Three wine-flushed faces looked at me expectantly. Sod it, why shouldn’t I confide in them? It’s not like they’d ever meet Simon.
‘He was my best friend when I was a kid. But now that he’s back I think there might be a spark between us.’
‘That’s so nice, Zoë,’ said Alice.
Helen clapped and Annette grinned. ‘You go, girl!’
With incredibly bad timing, Mr Ukes-Not-Nukes rocked up at our table.
‘Alright, girls?’
‘Piss off, sunshine,’ said Annette.
Alice giggled. ‘We’re in the middle of something, that’s all,’ she said. ‘She didn’t mean to be rude.’
‘Yes, I bloody did,’ said Annette, and I suddenly really, really liked her.
