Page 57
“Was she the girl with the D cups?” Emma clarifies.
“Yep.”
Emma pretends to think. “I wonder why he dated her…”
Cate grins. “He took her to the school ball. She told me they went back to her parents’ place afterwards because they were away, and they… you know, and she said he was… and I’m quoting here… ‘huge.’”
“Oh my God.” My face is now thermonuclear.
“They dated for a few months, but he left and went to uni, and she ended up going to Australia and living with a phlebotomist.”
It’s not remotely funny, but I burst into hysterical giggles.
“You’ve broken her brain,” Emma says, which only makes me giggle more.
“The point being,” Cate continues, amused, “you absolutely have to have a fling with him while he’s here to see whether Ophelia was exaggerating. It’s a scientific experiment.”
“Take a banana with you,” Emma says, “for scale.”
My legs give way, and I collapse onto a box of books while the two girls laugh. “Please stop,” I beg. “I’m going to have to face him at the end of the day.” I cover my face with my hands again and take deep breaths. “I can’t do it. I can’t kiss him again. I’m a single mother. He’s all buff—I can’t let him see my stretch marks!”
“Awww…” They both come up and give me a hug. “Honey…” Cate pulls my hands away from my face, and her eyes are kind. “He’s one of the good guys. He’s not going to do anything you don’t want him to do.”
“More’s the pity,” Emma says. She chuckles when I groan. “Ms. Matchmaker here is right. There’s nothing wrong with having a bit of fun if everyone’s on the same page. He obviously really likes you, and he’s probably liked you for a long time.”
“He told me he’s wanted me since the first moment he saw me.”
They both stare at me and say, “Ohhh…”
Tears well up inside me. “Can I say something terrible?”
“Of course,” Emma soothes.
“I keep thinking I might have married the wrong man.” I press my fingers to my mouth as their brows draw together. “But then I think that if I hadn’t married Jayden, I wouldn’t have Millie, and I feel terrible.”
“It’s okay.” Emma hugs me. “Of course you’re going to have regrets after everything you’ve been through. But you mustn’t think like that. Like you said, Jayden gave you Millie, so it was obviously meant to be.”
“But I missed the chance to be with Mitch. I know I did. And now it’s too late.”
“You never know what the future holds,” Cate says. “Things have a strange way of playing out that you don’t expect.”
I blow out a long, slow breath. “I know you’re just trying to help, but I don’t think you’re right. Mitch has made it clear that his life is in Wellington, and his time here is short-lived. Whatever happens, it’s going to be temporary.”
“The question is whether you can both deal with that,” Emma advises, “or whether it’s only going to make it harder if you have a taste of what could have been.”
I cover my eyes with a groan. “Don’t talk about tasting…”
“Vix!” Cate exclaims.
“Oh my God.” Emma stuffs a chicken roll in my hand. “Eat your lunch. You’re making us all frisky.”
“All right,” I concede. “Back to work it is.”
Emma excuses herself and goes back to the shop, and Cate and I continue to sort out the books while we eat, carefully steering the conversation away from men.
I try not to think about Mitch. I know he’s concerned about my marriage to his once-best friend, as well as the fact that he’s leaving. It would probably be better if we didn’t hook up. I don’t think either of us are the sort of people who have one-night stands or flings. If we lived closer, and could spend some time dating and getting to know one another better, it might be different, but we don’t, and it’s not.
Satisfied that I’ve got my head sorted, I focus on the books. Leo comes back with several tins of paint, rollers, brushes, trays, masking tape, and God knows what else, and disappears upstairs. Cate then heads back to her florist shop.
