Page 41 of The Wedding Forecast

‘Why not?’ Joel is still looking bewildered. I stand up, brushing myself off, trying to look dignified.

‘I was hiding, I didn’t want you to see me, Joel, okay. I didn’t feel like talking to you,’ I say, snappishly.

‘Oh,’ he says, looking guilty.

‘I just need some space, that’s all,’ I say again, more quietly.

‘I get it,’ he says.

‘Goodnight,’ I say. I try to make eye contact with Mac but he’s moved away from the window.

I walk in the side door and go and sit in my room. I can’t relax. I need to talk to Mac, to confirm…what? That we aren’t telling anyone, that the hammock situation doesn’t change anything, that I am still making sensible choices and Patrick is my focus, that I blame the moon.

‘Hi,’ Hayley says, standing in the doorway.

‘Hey!’ I say, with a little too much enthusiasm. ‘How are you feeling? Better now you spoke to Luke? You seem calmer. You look calmer. Are you calmer?’ I am babbling.

‘Why are you being weird?’ Hayley frowns.

‘I’m not.’

‘You are. And you look weird.’

‘How do I look weird?’ I touch my hair, in case it’s ruffled.

‘Your face. Something’s different.’

‘In a good way or a bad way?’ I say. Now I’m touching my cheeks. What evidence could be there?

‘A good way, but a weird good way.’ She is squinting at me.

‘You’re the one being weird. Go to bed. You need a full night’s sleep.’

‘I’m too nervous to sleep.’

‘Everything is going to be fine.’

‘I’d rather you’d say, “Things will go wrong but it will still be fine.”’

‘Things will go wrong and you won’t even know because I’ll handle it.’

‘Fine. I’ll go to bed.’

Mac appears behind her in my doorway. My heart starts beating faster.

‘Hello. What are you up to?’ Hayley asks.

‘I came to ask Anna something.’

Hayley and I look at him expectantly. Please, don’t let him say anything with even the slightest layer of innuendo to it.

‘I wanted to see if you’d sign my copy of your book,’ he says to me, holding up The Hike.

‘Oh! That’s so sweet!’ Hayley says.

‘Where did you get that?’ I say, laughing.

‘Your mother sold me a copy at dinner.’