Page 125 of Cover Story

‘She’s … everything.’

He’d turned up to sayI’ve fallen in love with you if that changes anything other than your respect for meand she was in tears about Some Man and Connor was ready to take up bare-knuckle boxing and ‘howling into the eternal void’ as hobbies, except the man was him and he could scarcely believe it.

His inability to accurately read Bel Macauley had been the most mind-blowing, humbling and rewarding misjudgement of his life.

‘Hoo hoo, someone’s got it bad,’ his dad said. ‘Oh, another bloody berk trying to cut me up! Look at this clown in the Beamer. This city. The grim north. Is Bel a Manchester lass?’

‘York.’

‘I’ll warn you that soon as your mother finds out about this young lady she’ll be searching the bride-to-be’s home-town wedding venue options. She says you’re thirty-five this winter and she’s getting desperate.’

‘Tell Mum she can look at anywhere other than Hotel Du Vin.’

‘Good grief! Where is my son and what have you done with him?’

They drove on, the car full of his father’s amused disbelief and Connor’s newfound bliss.

‘This Bel’s got my full approval,’ his dad said.

‘Based on that long in her company?’ Connor said.

‘Based on the fact I’ve not seen my younger son this happy in a very long time. Possibly since Christmas mornings of his childhood. Welcome back, we’ve missed you. Bel’s cost me less than that Phantom Menace tat too. Good on you, Bel. Isabella? Isabel, ah. Pretty name.’

Connor’s phone lit up, and then his face.

‘Why are you calling me on a Sunday? Come to that why are you calling me at all when there are messaging options?’

‘Shilpa,’ Bel said, her voice cracking, with the weight of happy tears behind it.

‘Fuck! Are you OK?’

‘I’m fine. I’m great.’

‘What’s happened?’

‘Connor happened.’

‘Oh my GOD,’ Shilpa said, and there was a rewarding volume of crazed shrieking. ‘Did you? Have you TOUCHED IT?’

‘No,’ Bel said.

‘Oh,’ Shilpa said, crestfallen.

‘But “touching it” appears imminent and welcome.’

‘OH MY GOD! WHAT?! YOU’RE TOGETHER? LIKE …a real couple?’

‘Uhm … yes,’ Bel said, tucking her hair behind her ear and for some reason, blushing crimson. For two people who’d been behaving like they were together for months, it was all so new.

‘I’m coming round right now for the full version. This is too large to be digested in a call.’

‘Agreed,’ Bel said.

‘Can I tell you something without getting mad at me?’ Shilpa said, hesitantly.

‘Oh God, Shilpa, what did you do?’

‘On the night we went out with his brother, somehow we got into what the deal was with Tim. I said you’d wanted to end it but you were broken by it and told me afterwards no one would ever love you as much as he did. And Connor got this faraway look and said:hate to blow smoke but I’ve never met anyone where that’s less likely to be true. Then he seemed proper mortified and said “don’t repeat that”.’

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