Page 2 of Lessons of the Heart

Felix: I’m running late, but I’m on my way.

My fingers move swifty over the keyboard, telling him not to come into the store like we planned, but that I’ll meet him at the bar on the corner of the street instead. Joseph might not recognise me, but Felix will recognise him as easily as I did, and I know my best friend will have a lot to say to him. Some of it warranted, some of it not. All of it ferocious and fierce, which is Felix’s default when Joseph Wakefield comes up in conversation.

I put my phone back into my bag and resume the things I was doing before I heard the bell jangle above the door. I carry on tidying the countertop near the till, putting away the paperwork into the drawer, wiping down the counter, putting my pens into the tin.

I hear Joseph’s footsteps a few moments later.

“This would be perfect, thank you. Is it a problem for me to wear it out of the store?” he asks.

“Suits you,” I comment.

“How much do I owe you?” Joseph puts his cash card on the counter. It’s one of those expensive bank ones, one that screams wealth. I force my eyes up from the cash card, looking at him instead. He stares at me. His eyes are still the same piercing blue that I remember, the same shade that has haunted my dreams.

“Do you have cash? I’ve closed the card machine for the end of the day. I was about to lock up, actually, when you walked in.”

“I don’t.”

“Well, consider it a gift, then.”

For a second, he looks like he’s going to argue that he can’t possibly accept my generous offer, but then he frowns.

“I know you, don’t I?” he blurts out.

“You do,” I agree, smiling slightly.

“I thought I did as soon as I walked in, but I thought I must be imagining it. What’s your name?” He leans forwards a little, looking puzzled. I wonder if he’s trying to remember before I tell him. I’m fairly sure he won’t guess our connection. He probably thinks I’m some fan he met at a meet-and-greet. Probably hoping that I didn’t make him feel awkward by asking him to sign my chest.

“Delilah,” I tell him.

The frown on his face disappears, replaced by what can only be described as shock.

“Delilah?” He gives me a double-take. “Dee Adler,” he adds.

“The one and only,” I confirm.

“Holy shit,” he whispers.

“Of all the dressmaker shops in the world to walk into, you go ahead and walk into mine,” I joke.

He huffs out a laugh. “This is unbelievable.”

“You should get going. I guess you’re on a deadline and people are expecting you.”

His expression changes again, out of the shock and into realisation. He checks his watch and then shrugs.

“I have time. I’m not sure anybody would even miss me if I don’t turn up.”

“I doubt that’s true,” I scoff.

Joseph Wakefield might not be a Hollywood megastar, but he has a following, and people fawn over him. He started out small, in a soap that airs in the UK, but he’s since been in a few movies, including playing the lead in this recent romantic comedy. If he doesn’t turn up to the premiere, he’ll be missed.

I hear the buzz as my mobile vibrates in my bag. I know it’ll be Felix. I wonder if it’s an update to tell me some excuse about why he’s running late. I’ve heard them all before given he’s always running late. Or maybe he’s at the pub and wondering where I am. If he is, it’ll be one of the few times he’s ever shown up somewhere before me. Felix has a heart of gold, a great sense of humour, a vicious tongue, and a protective nature, but timeliness is not one of his strong suits.

“I’m holding you up,” Joseph guesses.

“I’m supposed to be meeting a friend.”

“I’d like to catch up. I know I have no right, but I can’t help but think there must be some reason why I walked in here tonight, Delilah. If you want to catch up, I mean. It’s up to you,” he says, suddenly sounding flustered.