Page 36 of From London, With Love

“By all means, please continue, dear sister.”

I swear Ihearthe way her eyes roll. My sister has always had a bit of a dramatic flare, and rolling her eyes is something she does plenty when it comes to our conversations.

“Truly, there isn’t much else to share. I won’t tell you her name, in case she doesn’t interview well, because quite frankly, you’d never let me live it down. But I’m positive she’s the right fit.”

I set free a small chuckle when I hear the smile in my sister’s tone. It has me even more intrigued—I wonder who she’s referring to?

Seemingly reading my thoughts in that comfortable way, she always has, Emmy adds, “You don’t know her, so I wouldn’t bother trying to figure it out.”

Not unsurprising when it comes to my sister; she’s known to be quite a sociable person. Her job at the bar emphasises this. Emmy is constantly telling us at family dinner about new friends she’s made at work, and they’re often colourful characters, to say the least. Is this “perfect fit” one of those friends?

Due to a schedule clash, my trip to the bookstore this week is earlier than usual.

The first thing I notice when walking into the store is an absence—there’s no Lara.

Curiosity gets the better of me. “Where’s the lovely Lara this morning?”

The smile Riss flashes my way is a little too mischievous for my liking, but I let it slide. I’ve found it’s best not to question her motives.

Riss proceeds to tell me Lara had somewhere to be this morning and that she’d be in later. It’s hard to ignore the slight drop in my shoulders as if my body itself is disappointed by this news. I’m caught off guard when Riss asks, “Something the matter, dear?”

“Oh no, everything is splendid.” Glancing around the room, it’s as if I need to prove it myself that she isn't here. I wonder where she is? “It’s been great seeing you Riss, but I better head out.”

After giving Riss a quick goodbye hug, I’m back on my motorbike. I’m struggling to process why I carequiteso much that Lara wasn’t there. Yes, I went down on her in possibly one of the hottest encounters of my life. Yes, she’s been a constant in my mind since that encounter. Yes, she tasted like the sort of meal you’d request as your last. But none of that means I should care this much.

For the duration of the trip back to the office, one question is bouncing around my mind: what the fuck has gotten into me?

Chapter 16

Lara

“Credit where credit’s due though, especially if you’ve given no inclination that you’ll reciprocate the flirting. The man is persevering like an absolute champ.”

An obnoxious laugh rips from my throat at Mia’s words, which garners some odd looks from fellow restaurant-goers. The three of us are enjoying a meal out for the first time in weeks, finally having found a night we were all free.

I’m shocked but not surprised at Mia’s praise for the man who shamelessly flirts with Harper most days. She makes a good point though. Regardless of the fact he’s almost ten years her senior and they work on the same floor, he hasn’t let up.

“Please don’t encourage his behaviour,” Harper responds with a tut. Despite her best efforts to hide it, I catch a glimpse of the smallest of smiles playing on Harper’s lips. Mia just grins, shaking her head. “Anyway, enough about me,” Harper continues. “Lara, honey, how’s work going for you?”

It's not a hard question by any means, yet I’m stuck on howto respond. Stalling, I take a sip from my water glass. “I love the bookstore, and Riss is a delight?—”

“Oh, there’s abutcoming,” Mia chimes in, prompting. Harper to tap her hand and give her a warning look.

“Don’t jump to conclusions Mia, let her finish.”

Mia gives me an apologetic look. “Sorry, Lars. Continue.”

A sad smile finds its way onto my face. “Actually, Mia’s right. I love it there, but it just doesn’t provide a high enough income for the weekend trips we planned that first week. When I got here, I had hopes of nights in Scotland, weekend trips to Paris, and perhaps an Amsterdam visit or two. Where have I travelled so far? The Tesco Supermarket around the corner.”

“Hey now,” Harper adds with a reassuring squeeze of my wrist. “Don’t forget the Primark on Oxford Street. Surely it beats out our local Tesco.”

A chorus of laughs rings out between the three of us. Cheeks tender and tears on the brink of spilling over, our laughter slowly dies down.

“Despite the wonderful Tesco and Primark trips we’ve embarked on, I want more. Ineedmore. So I’m going to look for another part time gig to work alongside the bookstore.”

Mia, who’d been watching the wait staff like a hawk for our dessert, whips her head in my direction with such tenacity I’m momentarily worried it’ll fly right off her shoulders. “I know you love Chapter Nine, but would you be open to something full-time instead? Because I might just know of an opening you’d be a perfect fit for.”

The June sun shining down on me as I make my way to my interview two days later makes me think of home. Therehaven’t been an awful lot of sunny days during the three months I’ve been here, so I’m grateful for the warmth.?

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