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Chapter Twenty One
Sinking onto the bed, Evie laid down, stretching her arms above her head. She just needed five minutes. A five-minute nap before getting ready for the pub quiz and Elsie and Ian’s hen and stag dos.
She grinned. The last week or so had passed in a happy blur. Her relationship with Jack had been going from strength to strength, and she definitely knew she was falling for him. They’d been spending every spare moment together, getting to know each other, delving into each other’s pasts and hopes for the future. It was perfect.
She laughed as she closed her eyes. She could just imagine what people’s reactions would be if she changed her social media status from single to in a relationship. They probably would believe her. Some would assume she’d had her account hacked, and who could blame them? She, herself, was the last person who ever thought she’d feel like this, be in a relationship with someone.
Five minutes and then she’d get changed.
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OPENING HER EYES, SHElistened to the voices in the living room next door. She could hear Elsie and Ian, Wendy and Connor. Sitting up, she listened again. Was that Jack’s voice too? They weren’t supposed to be leaving until half seven. Why was he here so early?
Leaning over, she turned the small alarm clock around to face her and frowned. It was twenty-five past seven already. Jumping off the bed, she pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a black satin top covered in flowers.
‘Evie, are you ready?’ Jack called through the door.
‘Almost.’ Opening the door, she pulled him inside and held her arms out to the sides. ‘I laid down for a five-minute nap and have only just woken up. Look at me, my hair looks as though I’ve got a bad case of static electricity.’
Jack laughed and touched a wild strand of her hair. ‘Do you want me to stall them?’
‘No, could you just, I don’t know, tell them to go ahead and we’ll meet them there?’ She moved spray bottles, deodorant and lotion around on her dressing table. ‘I can’t even find the hairbrush.’
‘I’ll go and tell them.’ Jack pointed to the door before glancing back at her. ‘You may have wild hair, but you still look gorgeous to me.’
Rolling her eyes, Evie began scooping everything off the surface of the dressing table into the top drawer. Still nothing. No hairbrush. What had she done with it? She glanced in the mirror and yanked at a knot. She couldn’t go out like this. It was bad enough that Jack had seen her in this state.
Rapping on the door, Jack stepped inside. ‘They’ve gone. Elsie said she’ll make sure we’ve got a drink waiting for us.’
‘Thanks, I still can’t find the thing. I’ll have to shave it all off at this rate or wear a hat.’ Where was it? She’d used it this morning. A hairbrush couldn’t just disappear on its own.
‘Is this it?’ Jack reached behind the alarm clock on the bedside table and held up the bright pink hairbrush.
‘Yes! Thank you.’ Taking the brush, she raked it through her hair, jamming it right into a particularly knotty section. Turning, she laughed, the hairbrush stuck. ‘Still think I look gorgeous?’
‘Always. Here, come and sit down.’ Shuffling back on the bed, he patted the space between his legs.
Sitting down, she closed her eyes as he gently removed the hairbrush and brushed the knots out. ‘You’ve done this before, haven’t you?’
‘Can you tell?’ He chuckled. ‘Yes, my sister used to get terrible knots. Although, to be fair, it was her own fault, as she would refuse to have her hair brushed for days upon days. She’d come to me when she’d had enough of the knots. She said I was gentler than our mum.’
‘Aw, that’s lovely of you.’ Relaxing her shoulders, she closed her eyes, the rhythmic, gentle brushing sweeping her worries away.
‘Don’t go back to sleep, will you?’ Finishing, he laid the hairbrush on the bed and smoothed her hair down with his fingers. ‘All finished.’
‘Thank you.’ Standing up, she looked back at him. ‘I don’t suppose you can do my make-up too, can you?’
