Page 81 of The Suitcase Swap

‘For what?’

She bumped him with her hip. ‘For supporting me. I know you’re busy. You can’t be getting much sleep, and yet you come along with me on my adventures anyway.’

‘I happen to like your adventures,’ Mike said. ‘I’m happy to be part of them.’

For at least the little time they had left.

The roller rink had been loud, blasting songs Mike hadn’t heard in at least ten years, every roller rink and bowling alley operating in the same liminal space of timelessness the world over, where the past and future careened past each other. Mike wasn’t sure how they did it, but every bowling alley he’d ever been to had somehow managed to give the feeling of being built sometime around 1982, no matter what time it had actually come to be.

Because of this, his ears were still ringing slightly as he walked into the office for work, and the Spice Girls song ‘Wannabe’ was etched into his brain, never to leave.

Not that they hadn’t managed to have a good time. Sophie had beat him twice on the bowling lanes, and was a slightly better skater than he was, which wasn’t saying a lot. He hadn’t tried to skate since Amaya was thirteen.

And afterwards . . . well, they’d kind of both won there.

Due to the fact that his mind was far away and his hearing not at its normal levels, it took Mike a few seconds to figure out that someone was speaking to him.

‘Mike – got a second?’

He looked up to see Larry Whetherman, the architect on record and his boss, striding towards him. Mike liked Larry – he was mellow, efficient and listened well, something that very few people seemed to actually do. Larry was one of the reasons Mike had taken this position in the first place, and while he was pleased to see him, he hadn’t been expecting to. ‘Hey, Larry.’ He got up and shook the man’s hand. ‘What are you doing here? I thought you’d had to go to Chicago this week?’

Larry waved this away. ‘Change of plans. Speaking of which, that was the reason I tracked you down.’

Mike gestured to a chair next to the drafting table he was using. ‘What’s up?’

Larry pulled up the chair, taking a seat. ‘I’m sure you were frustrated by the delays this week—’

Mike shook his head. ‘I think we’ve both been at this long enough to know that these things happen. It’s fine.’ More than fine, but he wasn’t about to get into that with Larry. They weren’t that close, and it wasn’t any of his business.

‘I know, but you’ve always worked so hard to get things in early, and I know when you got here that you wanted to get back to London as soon as you could. I looked over everything and talked to the key players, and we all agreed that there was no reason you needed to delay your trip back.’

Mike’s brain stuttered to a stop, positive that he’d heard him wrong. ‘Pardon?’

‘You get to go home! Wrap up whatever you need to today and book your flight. Anything else we can do remotely, I’m sure, but worst case scenario we could always fly you out for a quick trip.’ Larry’s face held the wide grin of a man imparting great news. News that he was sure would be met with equal levels of excitement. Larry had no idea that it was the last thing Mike wanted to hear.

His grin started to falter at Mike’s apparent lack of excitement. Shit. Mike couldn’t have that. Larry had probably busted his arse to get this for him and it was his general rule to try and keep his various work contacts happy so that they offered him more work in the future – and work was his priority, wasn’t it? Work had been the thing that had kept him together all these years. He couldn’t cock that up.

‘Sorry,’ Mike said, faking the most sheepish expression he could manage. He was surprised he didn’t baaa at the man. ‘Tired, you know. Took a minute to sink in. That’s wonderful news.’ Mike smiled and it hurt.

Larry didn’t seem to notice. ‘I knew you’d be happy.’ He extended his hand. ‘Good work as always, Mike.’

‘Thanks, Larry. Pleasure working with you.’ He meant it, too. Even if the inside of his chest felt punched in. ‘I’ll just wrap things up here and get out of your hair.’

Chapter Twenty-Five

I can’t seem to get enough of the views of the skyline in this city. Last night we watched the sunset from the waterfront Time Out Market in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighbourhood. DUMBO stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, though a few people have told me that it’s Down Under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Overpasses. Whatever you want to call it, the views from the market are spectacular. You can take your pick from two floors full of different restaurants, then eat your fill while admiring the visual feast that is the East River, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline. My only regret was not being able to sample every restaurant. I’ve linked to the ones we tried, but I’m curious to know if any of my Swannies out there have been? If so, tell me what you got!

– Excerpt fromSwanning About

Sophie plunked her head down onto the table, resting her forehead against the cool surface, even if it meant that she could no longer see Edie on the screen. ‘I’m now convinced that I no longer know how words work, and I don’t know how people write books ever.’

Sophie had spent all of yesterday and most of today working on her proposal. Because she’d had no interruptions, she’d really been able to concentrate, which was both wonderful and terrible. She was glad Marisa and Tom had gone out on a date. They deserved a night out. Unfortunately, Mike had cancelled their own plans – he’d had to stay late at work – which she didn’t love but was understandable.

The problem with no interruptions meant you had no excusenotto look at your laptop, and Sophie was beginning to hate the small, blinking cursor. Just sitting there, alone on a blank page. It was mocking her, she was sure of it.

When she looked up, Edie blinked back at her from her tablet screen. She was out on her patio, enjoying the evening with a glass of wine. For the first time in weeks, Sophie wished she were there, too. They could split the bottle and Edie would listen, hug her and tell her she was being ridiculous.

‘Okay, you’re being ridiculous.’

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