Page 25 of Asking For a Friend

He immediately scoops some of the prawns onto his plate, busying himself with peeling the heads and tails from the shellfish. It’s a fiddly job that requires his attention. But I guess it’s more to do with him being embarrassed than that he’s suddenly starving.

“Lando.” I touch his hand, making him stop. When he peers up at me, he chews on his thumb, looking as if he wants the floor to open up and swallow him. “I feel the same way. Ellis called me out on it this morning.”

His eyes grow impossibly big, and a pale pink blush spreads over his face. “You do?” he squeaks. “Oh, wow!”

“Yeah, wow.” I pull my phone from my pocket and open it. “I’m taking the rest of the day off,” I tell Ellis.

“I thought you might be. Have fun.”

I look at Lando and wink. “Oh, we intend to.”

“You’d better get some of these before I eat all of them. I can’t be the only one stinking of garlic.” He points at the skillet that’s still sizzling.

The next couple of hours we spend eating delicious food and talking. Lando seems happier. Whether it’s from the wine or that we’ve confirmed our feelings for each other, I have no idea. I don’t mind either way. I only care that he’s happy.

We finally finish eating. Lando has a wicked gleam in his eyes.

“Your place or mine?”

I try Hesketh’s phone for about the tenth time, and it’s still going straight to voicemail. Where the hell is he? The signing is tomorrow, and I’m waiting with all my gear, since we’re going in his car. Connor or Scottie usually comes and helps me, but they were thrilled that Hesketh is coming with me. It will be fun to share this side of my life with him. But right now, I’m getting panicky. The event starts with a meet-and-greet tonight, and I need to be there for that.

After two more failed attempts to speak to him, I call his office. Maybe there’s been a problem. Although I know he would’ve called me if that’s happened.

“Hesketh Trent’s phone,” a deep voice answers.

“Oh!” I squeak. Great. Way to sound stupid. “Um, hi, it’s Lando. I’m looking for Hesketh. Do you know where he is?”

“Hi, Lando. This is Ellis. I thought he was with you. Haven’t you got a signing this weekend?”

Now I’m even more confused. “Well, he’s not here, and he’s not answering his phone.” A feeling of dread runs through me. “Do you think he’s been in an accident?”

“I’m sure it’s nothing like that. Let me try him. We’ve got work phones. He may have that one on. I’ll call him and get back to you. Don’t worry, Lando. I’m positive there’s nothing wrong.”

Five minutes pass, and he still hasn’t got back to me. I can’t leave it much later. I’m either going to have to hire a car—my Mini is way too small for all the stuff I’ve got to bring with me—or try Connor. Scottie will be at work. After calling Hesketh again and getting no answer, I give up and ring Connor.

“Hey, Conn, it’s me. I’ve got a problem.” I explain what’s going on and how I can’t get hold of Hesketh.

“It’s okay, babe. I’m sure nothing has happened to him. But I’m free this weekend, so I’ll come over now. If he turns up, then brilliant. Lando, he’s crazy about you. Don’t think the worst.”

“Okay, thank you. You’re a lifesaver.” I can’t get rid of the sick feeling in my stomach, though. The ‘maybe he’s had enough of me’ knot only gets bigger the longer it takes to reach him.

Scottie and Thom send me messages, wishing me luck and to have a great time. Thom will be coming in to feed Flanaghan. I reply with simple thank yous. I’ll fill them in later when I actually know what’s happened.

Finally, Ellis calls back. “I’m sorry, Lando. I can’t get hold of him.”

“Are you covering for him? Because if he didn’t want to come, or if he wants to break up with me, then he could at least have the balls to tell me himself.” I choke out the last few words as tears fall down my cheeks.

“Lando, I promise you I’m not covering for him. He’s crazy about you. You know that. I’ll keep trying him, and as soon as I know something, I’ll call you.”

“Okay, thank you.” I end the call and give in to the tears.

When Connor turns up, he wraps me up in his arms and gives me an enormous hug. “It’ll be okay. He loves you.”

“He sure as shit has a crappy way of showing it.” I let out a sigh and give my hands a shake-out. “We don’t have time to hang around. We need to load up the car.”

It only takes ten minutes to get everything packed in, and after a quick scratch of Flanaghan’s ears, we leave.

I don’t hear from Hesketh or Ellis the whole weekend. Connor is fabulous at keeping me upbeat, but he knows my heart isn’t here. It’s somewhere wherever Hesketh is, breaking into a million pieces.

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