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“But to him you are. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but…” A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “If you had shown up to the chapel that day, he would have made you his wife. And he would have tried to make you happy. Dion is a good man; he would have made you a good husband.”
A good man? I had thought so as well. But in my mind, good men didn’t stray from their model–gorgeous, pregnant girlfriends. “Isla...”
“Is his ex and was his ex when you two got together.” Elodie’s voice was sharp, and I jumped. “You shouldn’t believe everything you read, Lola. Even when it’s about yourself.” She softened her words with a small smile. “You don’t need to give Dion another chance, hell you don’t even have to mention his name again, but he never lied to you. Not once. He fell for you hard and fast.”
My heart skipped a beat at her words, my stomach rolled over. “He knew me one day. You can’t fall in love with someone in less than twenty–four hours.”
Laughing, she grabbed the jacket that was hanging over the back of one of the chairs. “Tell Dion that, Lola. Now put your jacket on.”
Stuttering, I did as she asked. “What? Why? Where are we going?”
Side–eying me, Elodie’s grin grew. “You are out of wine, and I’m dressed to go out, so we are going out.”
“No.” I shook my head. “If Isla has given birth, then the press will be all over me the moment I’m seen. And you aren’t exactly a low profile. Jax wouldn’t want you out without security and...”
Laughing, Elodie pressed her hand over my mouth, silencing me. “Hush now. We are going two doors down to the pub. None of those old geezers care who we are or what we are doing. No more arguments.”
* * *
Elodie was right. Not only about the old regulars in the pub not caring one bit about us, but also that I needed to get out. I had been a hermit for too long. Stuck in those four walls until it became almost a fear to step beyond them. The fear was still there, but it wasn’t as suffocating as I expected it to be. If anything, it felt like I could breathe a little easier.
“This place isn’t actually that bad, is it?” I surveyed the bar with eyes made a little fuzzy from red wine. It was typical old school Britain. A dark wood bar, upholstered seats, and the shining brass of the drought beers. Even the clack of balls being hit on the pool table was oddly familiar, even though I’d never been there before.
Laughing, Elodie plucked the glass from my hand. “That’s it. I’m cutting you off. If you think this place is ok, then you have obviously had enough.”
Pouting, I joined in with her laughter.
“I mean, Jax and the guys have taken me to some dives, but this is… You should come and check those out with us.”
My laughter died, the happiness evaporated, and I clammed up. schooling my face into what I hoped was indifference. “Maybe one day.”
“Yeah, maybe one day never, right? What are you going to do when Jax and I…?” She trailed off and for the first time that night, I saw unease in Elodie’s eyes. She had slipped up and said something she hadn’t meant to.
Interest piqued, I pulled my glass back towards me. Leaning over the table, I waggled my eyebrows in her direction. “When you and Jax what?” Not waiting for an answer, I lowered my voice. “Are you and Jax getting married?”
“We’ve spoken about it,” she admitted. Her smile was a little tentative, but it lit up her entire face. “I mean, he hasn’t asked me yet.”
“Yet!” I squealed because her happiness was contagious. Leaning back, I clapped my hands. “But you think he’s going to? And if he does, what are you going to say?” I already knew the answer though. She was going to say yes. It was written on every inch of her face.
“Will you quiet down?” Elodie shushed me but the grin didn’t slip from her face. “I found a ring box and...”
“Oh my God, he’s going to do it soon then. Probably at Christmas and...”
“Elodie…”
I turned in shock at the sound of the voice.
Tate stood in the open bar door, drenched from head to toe. His blond hair lay limp against his shoulders. “And…Lola?” His eyes widened in surprise. “I’m going to need filling in on that later. It’s good to see you, Lola.” Turning back to Elodie, he jerked his chin and she moved to stand beside him.
I watched as they talked together in soft whispers. Their voices might have been soft but their gestures weren’t. More than once, both of them looked over at me. I squirmed, getting more and more uncomfortable. It wasn’t even that I was uneasy now that Tate knew where I was, although that played a part. No, it was something else.
“Lola, we have to go back to the flat.” Elodie held out a hand. But before I could take it and let her pull me to my feet, Tate was there, enveloping me in a big bear hug that almost cracked my ribs and made it impossible to breathe.
“Little Lola, I’ve missed you, girl. Where have you been hiding?”
I grunted, and he loosened his grip a little, just enough to sling one of his tanned arms about my shoulders.
“Everyone’s going to be so happy to see you. How do you know Elodie? Does your brother know you’re in town?”
