Page 101 of Five Things I Love About You

‘So,’ he says, slowly. ‘You said you only knew a few details about him. This man you ran over.’

‘Almost ran over. And yes.’

‘So you knew he was from Newcastle, that he had a dog called Colin, and that he had dark hair.’

‘Yes, and a pink tie. And then later I dreamed about other things, like going skydiving, a hospital and watching a football match where everyone was wearing blue. And when I met Jay it all worked because he liked all of those things and he was a Chelsea fan and we met in hospital…’ I trail off, suddenly self-conscious beneath his scrutiny. ‘It made sense. At least it did to me.’

Matt’s looking at me with an expression I can’t quite read. ‘And his name, Jay? You’re certain that was his name?’

‘Well, I always thought so. I… I heard him spelling it to the police, after I almost ran him over.’ I shrug. ‘I suppose it could have been James or Jason or something, but it was a start, at least. And then I met Jay…’ I look down at my empty coffee cup, my face burning.

‘Did Jay ever actually confirm that it was him you almost ran over?’

I look up in surprise. ‘Well, no. I didn’t tell him about it.’ Why didn’t I? ‘But I did look at his diary once and saw he was in London that week…’ I stop, feeling ridiculous.

Matt leans forward and presses his hand on mine. I feel like my heart might thump right out of my chest as he watches me.

‘That’s because it was me,’ he says.

The world seems to stand still for a moment.

‘What… what do you mean?’ My voice is raspy, my throat dry.

‘The man you almost ran over. It was me.’

The air leaves my lungs as I let his words settle. I have so many questions but I don’t know where to start.

‘How… how do you know?’

‘I was in London a few times last year, for charity things,’ he says. ‘I had meetings all over the city back in July at various hospitals. And I have a pink tieandI’ve been skydiving…’ He looks serious, and I hold my breath as he says the next words. ‘After some mad woman nearly knocked me over I did give police my name. But I also told them lots of other things as well, including the place where I was staying, in case they needed me.’ He pauses. Then: ‘The James House Hotel.’

The air is sucked from the room and the world contracts as the significance of what he’s saying hits me.

J. A. Not Jay after all, but a hotel name…

‘But… why didn’t you ever tell me?’

‘Tell you what? That a random woman almost ran me over one day? Why would I when you’d never told me about any of this?’

Oh my God.

Could it really be true? Could I really have been so blind all this time?

‘It’s you,’ I whisper, my throat dry.

‘I think it is,’ he says.

We stay like that for a few moments, our fingers touching, just staring at each other across the table. The rest of the diners are no longer there, the clank of the coffee machine recedes. It’s just the two of us, and this moment.

All this time, all these months, I’ve been looking in the wrong place, when the man I loved was right under my nose. Just like Kirstie said.

Suddenly Matt breaks contact. ‘There’s something else too,’ he says, unzipping his hoodie, a half-smile on his face. ‘Something that makes me even more certain you’ve found your man.’

I hold my breath as he peels his hoodie off, wondering what he’s going to show me. And then I notice he’s pointing down at his T-shirt, and I squint to read what it says. The T-shirt is electric blue, with a white circle at chest height. In the middle of that is a bird with a blue crest, and a red maple leaf.

A blue sports top. My heart thumps. But it’s the words written above the logo that make my heart stop.

Toronto Blue Jays.

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