Page 33 of Love, Accidentally

‘It’s just a sketch,’ he says modestly. ‘I find it relaxing.’

‘You should see his paintings,’ Jonathan tells me. ‘They’re beautiful.’

‘I’m sure they are, if this is anything to go by,’ I agree. ‘I’m no artist, but I can see you have a real talent, Will.’

Will blushes modestly as he turns the sketch pad back so it’s facing him. I’m just about to ask if I can see any of his other pictures when my phone rings. It’s Tash.

‘I’m sorry, I’ve got to take this,’ I tell them as I back towards the door.

‘Thank you for dropping by again, Tilly,’ Jonathan says with a warm smile. ‘Do come again if I’m still here next time you’re passing. I think we might make a crossword solver out of you yet.’

As soon as I’m out of the room, I press the button to answer the call.

‘I’ve just got off shift but I’ve been thinking about you all day,’ she says. ‘Is now a good time to talk?’

‘The best,’ I reply. ‘I’m in the hospital myself, heading for reception.’

‘Don’t move a muscle when you get there. I’ll come and find you.’

15

‘It turns out you were completely right,’ I tell her once we’ve hugged and settled ourselves in a couple of seats. Although we’ve spoken on the phone, this is the first time I’ve seen her in the flesh since we fell out and I’ve missed her hugs. ‘It’s even worse than we thought. Luke’s a shit of the first order, and I never spotted it.’ The tears are starting to flow again and she puts her arm around me protectively. I notice a couple of people glancing at me curiously, but a fierce stare from Tash, still in her uniform, is enough to make them look away, although I’m sure they’re eavesdropping like mad.

‘You said it was worse,’ she prompts.

‘He’s married,’ I tell her in a whisper.

‘That’s not a total surprise. We did wonder.’

‘There’s more. His wife’s expecting a baby.’

‘Fuck.’

‘Exactly. I feel like the worst person in the world, Tash.’ The tears intensify into a flood as she tightens her embrace.

‘You didn’t know. You’re not to blame,’ she tells me fiercely. ‘You’re just as much of a victim in this as the wife.’

‘Hardly,’ I tell her with a bitter laugh. ‘At least I can walk away. She’s having a baby with him, for God’s sake. A fucking baby, Tash! What does that make me? A distraction while she’s not in the mood? I feel like such an idiot. I really thought he was genuine, and I actually bought all that bullshit about his mother. He must have been laughing his socks off at my naivety.’

‘What was she like?’

‘The mother? Terrifying, but I kind of liked her. There’s absolutely nothing frail about her though. Another lie.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘I’d like to tell him where to go in every language possible, but his mother thinks it’s up to Cindy – that’s his wife – to decide the first move. It’s not like I can even go and sabotage anything, because the bastard cleverly avoided telling me where he actually lived.’

‘I could ask Greg to widen the search of the electoral registers. I can’t believe Milne is that common a surname.’

‘No. You’ve done quite enough, thank you.’

She pauses for a moment, her face thoughtful.

‘What?’ I ask.

‘I was just wondering how come Cindy gets to control everything. What about you?’

‘I think she’s probably more important than me in this, don’t you?’

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