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“You never did give me your number,” he whispered in her ear, as if reading her mind. His cheek was warm against hers, and she sighed happily.
“I’ll have to check with my mum first. I can’t be giving out my number to just any guy,” she replied, smiling.
“Not even one with dimples like these and wearing a fantastic suit?”
She giggled. “When you put it like that.” His fingers traced her chin. Her heart whispered that adult Chris was someone she could love. Now was the time to tell him her true feelings, no matter the consequences.
Lucie took a deep breath and opened her mouth.
“Babe!” Bradley’s voice called out from the other side of the pub.
Chapter Thirty-One
Lucie and Chris broke apart from their dance. Guilt washed over her face. She should have finished with Bradley sooner, but she might have missed Chris if she had. Had fate stopped her from getting the train and finally given them their lucky moment? It didn’t matter because Bradley was making a beeline for them.
“Sorry,” she said quietly as Bradley walked to them. He quickly dived in for a weird mixture of hug and handshake.
“Babe, we need to talk.”
A rush of adrenaline roared through her ears as she blurted, “It’s over, Bradley.”
Bradley stared at her and shrugged.
She took his hands as she scolded herself for making this situation more awkward than it needed to be. “I’m sorry, Bradley. I shouldn’t have said it like that. I’ve enjoyed our time together, but we’re not right for each other. You know? And I don’t want to be in an open relationship.” Chris’s presence behind her was distracting, but she shook her head and focused on Bradley.
“Yeah, that’s okay. I don’t think we want the same things, and you never seemed that into me. We were just passing time with each other, weren’t we?” Lucie froze. Where was this side of Bradley before? Had her behaviour been that obvious to him when even she hadn’t realised that’s what she was doing? “And thanks for ending it. I’ve wanted to do it for a few weeks but didn’t have the guts.”
Lucie smiled as her phone began to ring. That had been much easier than expected, even though she’d shouted it was over after being caught dancing with another guy.
“But I want to be friends, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Lucie replied, giving him a brief hug as she flicked the button to answer the call from the Bristol number. She witnessed Bradley introducing himself to Chris from the corner of her eye. She nearly giggled when he tried to high-five him, and Chris jumped back like he was going to get a slap. “Sorry?”
“This is Jen at Morphosis. Is that Lucie Smith?” It was her interviewer.
“Yeah. I mean, yes, this is Lucie.”
She mouthed to the guys that she needed to take the call as she grabbed her bag and moved outside into a quiet corner of the beer garden. There were a couple of smokers discussing politics, but other than that, she was alone.
“It was great to meet you today,” Jen explained. The familiar brush-off. “We’ve finished all the interviews, and yours was by far the best. Your presentation on how you would run the project we gave you blew us away. We love your ideas, your creativity, and your passion. We’re delighted to offer you the job.”
“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that last bit, please?” Her throat was suddenly dry, and sweat beaded the back of her neck.
“We’d like to offer you the job. You were fantastic, and you can do great things with us. You can have a day to—”
“I don’t need a day. It is a massive yes. I’ve dreamt of working for Morphosis for years. I studied you at university and knew even then that I wanted to be on the team. I accept.” Lucie shimmied in the corner of the pub garden in a celebration dance.
Jen laughed down the phone. “That is the best news. We’ll be in touch next week with a contract and information about your start date. In the meantime, go and enjoy your weekend. We can’t wait until you are part of the company. I can’t tell you how excited I am that you will be joining my team.”
“Me too, and thank you.” Lucie held her squeal of delight until she’d hung up the phone. Her dream job at her dream company!
The first person she wanted to tell was Chris and then Emma. He was barely back in her life, and yet he was already the one she wanted to share her news with.
She ran back into the pub to find Bradley waiting for her at the bar.
“Your mate had to go, said he had to catch his train or he would miss the wedding or something.” Bradley shrugged. “You want a drink?”
She shook her head as the blood rushed from her face. She’d lost him again. She’d had the best news in the world followed by the one thing that would ruin everything. Chris hadn’t said where he lived in Bristol or what school he worked at. It had to be easier to find him now, but hadn’t she read in an article that lots of teachers didn’t join social media because of the students?
