Page 83 of One Night With You

35

Ruby

‘Oh, love,’ JP says over, predictably, a cup of tea in his front room. ‘I don’t know what to tell you. What a choice to have to make.’

‘Thanks, JP,’ I say. ‘I’m better than I was with it all.’ I catch William’s eye as he sets his phone down from where he’s been typing something with a smile on his face.

‘Sorry,’ he says. ‘I was listening. I promise.’

‘Don’t worry,’ I insist. ‘And I’m okay. The point, mister,’ I gesture towards JP when I say this, ‘is that you made me brave enough to put myself out there, and as you’ve extolled all along, that is the point, isn’t it? So … I’m fine. I just wanted to come by and make sure thatyou’refine. We’ve been so worried. Paris wasn’t at all what we expected. We’re sorry if we caused you pain.’

JP has bombarded me with questions since I arrived, having got wind of my break-up via William, with the news that came via Harry. At first I felt selfish only talking aboutmyself, but I think he’s been grateful to have the distraction. I do need to know he’s all right, though – or as all right as can be.

‘No, no. You’re not to take any responsibility at all. I asked you to take me there. I keep trying to remind myself of the exact same thing you are.’ JP smiles. ‘Trying is the point. Harder to remember when everything feels a bit shit, though, innit?’

I smile sadly. ‘I can’t imagine how you’ve been feeling,’ I tell him. ‘It’s not fair, what happened.’

‘No,’ says JP. ‘But we tried. We tried.’

‘We did,’ I agree. ‘I just wish …’

JP shrugs. ‘So do I,’ he says. ‘But wishing doesn’t get you owt, does it?’

He meets my eye and pulls a face.

‘Did Gramps tell you about the fundraiser?’ William then asks, suddenly, changing the subject. I shake my head. ‘Five grand for the cancer charity, for my uncle. Our target was only one, and we’ve got five! Because of the Instagram account!’

‘Really?!’ I say. I grab my phone to pull up the account. Harry and I did what we talked about, cutting a series of short clips, out of context but each one sounding fun and wise, and people are sharing them and tagging us. It’s all quite exciting. Our follower count is up to six thousand, now, so every day we add another clip, and try to push it higher. Harry and I have had brainstorm after brainstorm to figure out how to action all the notes we got from the initial screening, and in the meantime we decided that sharing more on the Finding JP’s Girl account means we keep building an audience for the project when it’s done. Plus, it keeps us accountable.

I click on the link we’ve still left in the bio for the fundraiser and see the total.

‘Five and a half,’ I exclaim. ‘Oh my God!’

‘A tidy sum,’ notes JP. ‘He’d be happy.’

‘That’s really cool,’ I say. ‘That’s all because of you, JP. You’re a gift to this world. I promise you, you are.’

He shakes his head, but smiles too, as close to accepting the compliment as we’re likely to get.

‘Onwards,’ he says. And then, to William: ‘With another cup of tea, I reckon.’

William departs to the kitchen with a tut and half-hearted grumbles of being like the in-house waiter service and JP takes the opportunity of his absence to whisper, ‘Can you keep a secret?’

I tell him I can.

‘I reckon he’s courting Amelie’s granddaughter. I hear him on the phone, whispering in French. I’m sure he saidSophie.’

My jaw drops. ‘Really?’ I ask. ‘He’s still talking to her?’

‘I’m certain of it,’ he says with a wink. ‘Every day since we came back.’

‘That’s two weeks,’ I remark. ‘He’s spoken to her every day for two weeks?’

William pops his head around the door. ‘Are you staying for lunch?’ he asks, brightly. ‘It’s tuna paste sandwiches, everyone’s collective favourite!’

Harry and I are assisting with class at four, as requested by Janet, but I’ve got time.

‘Sure,’ I tell him. ‘That would be lovely. Thanks.’

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