Page 49 of Love or Your Money Back

‘Yes.’ I give Marcus a tight smile, noticing Chris walking towards us on unsteady legs.

Part of me screams,go away, go away! But another, treacherous part wants Chris to see me all dressed up and talking to a handsome man who houses down-on-their-luck artists.

‘Kat?’ Chris grins as he approaches. ‘Is that you in there?Wow. Just wow.’

‘Chris.’ I swallow. ‘What are you doing here? You’re not an Ascot person. You’re a Shoreditch Beer Festival person. And even then, you don’t pay for the commemorative beer glass. You bring your own tankard from home to save three quid.’

‘I came to see you,’ says Chris. ‘The Little Voice team told me you were here.’

‘Great.’ I give a humourless laugh. ‘The one time they correctly distribute information.’

‘I can’t believe this.’ Chris gestures to my dress. ‘It’s like you’re in disguise or something.Wow. Who knew you could look this good? Listen, I came here to see you.’

‘You came here to see me?’ I’m not quite sure how to feel. Actually, that’s not true. I know how Ishouldfeel. Indifferent. Maybe even angry, because Chris is married and I doubt Minola knows he’s here. But I feel frightened. Because I’m happy Chris has come to see me, and I don’t want that ridiculous, treacherous feeling to undo all mine and Freddy’s good work.

‘Yeah.’ Chris rubs his overgrown beard. ‘I need a friend, Kat. Minola and I are having some problems. Things haven’t been great since the camper-van honeymoon. The reality of burying our own shit every day … it was a real romance killer. And this morning Minola just went off on one. Going on and on about me not buying food or paying rent and spending all our money on alcohol, whichshedrinks too. Then she defaced the camper van and went back to her parent’s house. I need somewhere to crash and some kind of cleaning stuff that can get sharpie-pen off leather upholstery.’ Chris gives me big, puppy dog eyes. ‘Is there still a space in your bed?’

‘God, Chris.’ I put a hand to my forehead. ‘You certainly pick your moments.’

Chris notices Marcus then. ‘Wait a minute. Who’s this?’

‘Marcus Ajulo.’ Marcus grabs Chris’s hand and gives it a firm shake. ‘I run Ajulo Legal. We have a presence in London, New York, Johannesburg and Luton. Last year, our turnover was 15 million dollars –’

‘Oh wait.’ Chris laughs. ‘Kat. This isn’t about that whole ‘getting married by the end of the year’ thing, is it? Are you here trying to land a –’

‘Chris, go away!’ I shout, turning red. ‘Just leave!’

‘Leave?’ Chris laughs. ‘You’ve never asked me to do that before. Usually it’s all stay, stay, please stay.’

I am now gripping the rail so tightly that I have lost all feeling in my left hand.

‘Don’t you dare,’ I say, through gritted teeth. ‘Don’t you dare try and humiliate me when you’re here trying to play away from your wife.’

‘I’m not –’

‘Oh, come on? Is there a space in your bed? You know what you’re asking. Chris, please go away. I don’t want to speak to you.’

‘But I want to speak to you.’ Chris takes a step forward.

‘Now wait a minute.’ Marcus puts a gentle, but firm hand on Chris’s shoulder. ‘Katerina just said she doesn’t want to talk to you right now.’

‘Oi!’ Chris shakes off Marcus’s hand. ‘Her name is Kat, not Katerina. And we used to be engaged. I’m trying to patch things up and you’re in the way. So, if you wouldn’t mind,mate–’

‘My name is Marcus.’ Marcus’s voice is terrifyingly calm. ‘And I’m not your mate. Katerina, would you like to talk to this gentleman?’

‘No.’

‘Then you need to leave,’ Marcus tells Chris.

‘I don’t need to leave.’ Chris crosses his arms. ‘Kat, you can’t do this. I’m your first love, remember? I don’t want to be married anymore. I want out. I made a mistake.’

‘Have you gone insane?’ I stare at him. ‘You’ve been married less than a month. Try harder, for God’s sake. I’ve deleted your number and I’m trying very hard to move on. You made your bed with a twenty-year-old, now go and lie in it.’

A vicious look forms behind Chris’s shaggy beard. He turns to Marcus. ‘Mark, mate, you’d better watch out. Kat is on a mission to get married. And get this. She’s so desperate, she was talking to this guy at my wedding about getting marketing help to find a husband.’

I feel the blush spread down my neck. As it does, a pain moves down my left-hand side. Oh no. My left leg begins to twitch. Then hot flashes move over my brain and my eyes go in and out of focus.

‘Marcus.’ I try not to grimace as numbness moves into my left foot. ‘Maybe Ishouldtalk to Chris alone. Just quickly. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?’

---