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I can’t help myself. “Janie will too. She can’t wait to see you again.”
It’s Ant who responds, rather than Gerwyn.
“Excellent! I can’t wait to witness you two getting to know each other. Cass and I would love you to become close.” He steps up to me to swing his arm around my waist. “Isn’t that right, baby? You’d love them to get to know each other up close and personal, wouldn’t you?”
“I sure would. Definitely.”
Gerwyn looks awkward at our enthusiasm, and I don’t really blame him. It must be like a barrage of get with Janie, get with Janie, get with Janie from Ant at every opportunity when I’m not here.
“Joining us for casserole?” Ant asks, but Gerwyn shakes his head.
“Thanks for the offer but I have a lot to get done. I’ll see you both in the morning.”
I’m sad when he grabs his laptop and disappears upstairs.
Ant must see my sadness and shoots me a smile as he chops peppers for our casserole.
“I’m glad you feel so strongly about him, baby. That’s nice to know.”
I smile back. “I love him to bits. I’d love to see him happy.”
“Hopefully that’ll be with Janie. We’ll soon find out. Best push it all we can on Friday, hadn’t we?”
I laugh. “I know I won’t have to push it from Janie’s angle. She definitely wants to take things further.”
“That’s excellent, then,” Ant agrees. “So, it’s all down to him.”
“Yep. It’s all down to him.”
I’m nervous for her as the week speeds by. Janie’s so excited about the career ahead of her that having a move from Gerwyn would be the absolute icing on the cake, and she tells me so constantly.
“What shall I wear?” she asks me on Friday afternoon, and I focus on that with everything I’ve got, because it’s so much better than dwelling on my final goodbye to the office.
We choose a lovely pink dress from a photo of her out at a wedding event last summer. She’ll look amazing in that with her hair swept up.
“See you later,” I say. and give her a hug.
“Wish me luck,” she says in return, and I cross my fingers for her, even though I’m sure we’ll be having plenty of bathroom talk at the restaurant this evening to spur her on.
Fuck, it breaks my heart to be pulling away from the car park. I look at the office in the rearview mirror and wish to all hell I hadn’t fucked Lee that night. Just a few more months at this place would have meant the world. There are so many projects I’ve put my heart into that I’ll never get to see through to fruition. At least Janie will be able to show me some pictures.
I get into the zone for the evening as best as I can when I’m back at the house, since it’s our engagement we’re celebrating after all. Ant pops a bottle of champagne, and Gerwyn takes a glass along with me, raising it with a cheers to the happy couple!
I hope he’s raising one to Janie with just as much passion later.
I choose a black dress to deepen the blue of the sapphires, both around my neck and on my arm. I leave my hair down tonight in a simple wave and indulge in a load of smoky makeup with especially large cat flicks and scarlet red lipstick. Ant loves scarlet red lipstick on me. I wear my bracelet on the other wrist, my new tattoo on display.
I head downstairs, and I’m used to my gorgeous fiancé being suited up in his finest, but I’m not used to seeing Gerwyn dressed the way he is. He’s wearing a dark blue shirt under a lovely dark blazer, and a dark blue tie that fits perfectly with the rest of his outfit. It brings out the depth of his eyes under heavy brows, and although he’s always smart in chinos and a shirt, there is something different about this getup. It’s just… weird.
It gives me tingles.
No. It doesn’t. No. Not like that. I’m thinking for Janie, not me. Janie will love it.
We pick her up from her parents’ place and she’s a lot more confident when she slides into the car this time. She gives Ant and me a happy wave, and I’m still turned in my seat to face her when she leans in to Gerwyn and kisses his cheek.
Yeah. The dark blue is having an effect on her, and so is her growing confidence.
“Hey,” she says to him. “Great to see you.”
He smiles back. “Hi, Janie. Nice to see you, too.”
Nice, not great.
Ant is checking them out in the mirror. He places his hand on my thigh as we drive away and shoots me a smile. I see the determination in his eyes. He’s going to push them to take a step forward together, and I’ll do my best to help him.
