Page 82 of Love, Accidentally

‘What are you doing here?’ I ask as Will crosses the lobby and wraps me in one of the hugs I’ve got so used to.

‘Well, two things actually. One, we landed the car company contract so I hoped you might help me celebrate.’

‘That’s brilliant, well done!’

He takes my hand and we resume crossing the lobby. ‘Yeah, I’m particularly pleased as they took on board my points about inclusivity so we’re going to include sign language and subtitles.’

‘Nice. What about audio description?’

‘If you can’t see, you probably ought not to be driving.’

‘Good point. What was the second thing?’

‘I thought you might be feeling a bit down and want some company. Mike and Sarah moved out today, didn’t they?’

‘Oh, yes, I’d completely forgotten.’

‘How can you forget something like that? It must have been a hell of a shift.’

‘Mm. We had an interesting sexual injury and I guess it kind of distracted me.’

‘Really? Do I want to know?’

‘Probably not.’

He smiles. ‘Anyway, I’ve got a bottle of champagne in my backpack and I thought we could order a takeaway.’

‘That sounds perfect. I’ll see you at home, shall I?’

‘Ah, yes. There’s a third thing.’

‘Which is?’

‘It’s presumptuous, I know, but my car is already outside your flat.’

‘How did you get here then?’

‘On the bus. It took me a while to work out the timetables and things, but I got there in the end. I wanted to share the journey home with you in case you were sad.’

I stop walking so I can look at him. ‘Hang on. You did online text research, just so you could come to meet me and ride home with me?’

His expression is triumphant. ‘Yup.’

I pull him close to me and squeeze him hard. ‘You have no idea how much that means to me. I’m so lucky to have you.’

‘It’s what you do when you love someone, isn’t it?’

‘It’s whatyoudo,’ I say before the second half of his sentence hits home, causing me to pull back and look at him again. ‘Whoa, did you just drop the L bomb?’

His smile broadens. ‘I may have done. It’s OK. You don’t have to say anything back. I’m not insecure.’

‘Bollocks to that,’ I tell him firmly, reaching up to kiss him. ‘I love you too, Will Barwell.’

‘That’s nice to hear,’ he murmurs when we break off. ‘Now, Indian or Chinese?’

‘And they said romance was dead,’ I laugh as we step out into the chilly night air and head for the car park.

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