Page 47 of Weekends with You

“I have a coupon from when Ella and I went there last year and I don’t want it to go to waste,” she mumbled almost inaudibly, seeming to sense our collective surprise.

“Well, you know I’m all in on that,” Cal said.

“Me too,” Finn added. “Can’t quite say no to meat and cheese. Or throwing giant knives, for that matter.”

I knew the boys were being genuine, but there was a sense of pity in their tones that I never thought would be directed at Margot. Her mouth was set in a hard line, but there was a softness in her eyes that I wasn’t sure was always there. This must have been a tough weekend for her. We’d have to make the best of it.

“Well done, Mar. This is the perfect way for a bunch of single people to spend Valentine’s Day weekend,” Liv said. She hated being single, but she was being a good sport.

“Hey, don’t lump me in with you lot,” Cal said, palms raised.

“Are you even going home to see your bird for Valentine’s Day?” Finn asked. “Because from the looks of ya right now, you’re pretty single to us.”

“I’m going next weekend, if you must know. Not that it’s between anyone other than me and Isla, but you’re a nosy bunch. Besides, I was just there not that long ago.”

“You were?” a handful of us said at the same time.

“How did we not notice?” I asked.

“He’s hardly ever home, anyway, and he’s so quiet when he is. Makes sense he just slips out and we’re none the wiser,” Finn said. “Sneaky bastard.”

“Wind up Henry for not being home if you wanna get at someone,” Cal said. “I’m here plenty.”

“I’m here now, aren’t I?” Henry said defensively.

“But is it against your will?” Margot asked, squinting her eyes in a challenge.

Henry crossed his heart with his index finger. “Quite the opposite, promise. Two months was a long time away. I missed you lot, you know. Was eager to get home.”

“Is Henry Baker getting sentimental about being away? Does he secretly love London after all?” Liv was joking, but I was dying to know the answer.

“Is teasing all we get for trying to say a nice thing in this flat?” Henry asked. “Besides, it isn’t about the city at all.”

“So it’s about us, then,” Jan said, waggling his eyebrows. The ring in the right one bobbed up and down, catching the light.

“Just about wanting my own bed for a minute, that’s all.”

“Boooo,” we said together, an unrelenting chorus.

“Are we ready to head out, then?” Margot’s voice cut through the cacophony. “Everyone’s getting edgy, and it isn’t cute. Let’s throw axes and relieve some Valentine’s-related tension, yeah?” We could always count on Mar to shut it down when we got carried away, but this time, I was disappointed. If it wasn’t about London for Henry, whatwasit about? Surely not just sleeping in his own bed, right? It was hardly more than a flimsy mattress on an old pallet.

“More than ready,” Henry said, swiping his camera and his wallet from the counter, clearly ready to be done with the conversation. “Let’s do this.”

The more I felt myself overthinking his return, the more it sounded like throwing axes would do me some good.

The inside of the place was crowded, packed with other anti–Valentine’s Day parties not unlike our own, plus a few awkward couples on dates and families who looked a bit lost. Margot settled our reservation, and we grabbed a few pitchers of beer before heading to our stall.

“Let’s do an update before we start,” Henry said. “I’ve a feeling once the axes start flying, we’re going to forget to catch up.” We nodded in agreement, and he poured beer into plastic cups as we gave our updates.

“The manager of the show I’ve been working on signed me to another contract,” Margot said. “I know it doesn’t mean much to you all, but it means I’ll get to do another period piece, and I’m guaranteed another eighteen months of work on the production.”

“It does mean a lot to us, Mar,” Henry said. “That’s really impressive.” The rest of us agreed, and we all raised our glasses. “I like when we start with good news. What else do we have?”

“Winter conferences are done,” Liv offered.

“We will definitely drink to that,” Raja said. We knew how much stress that had been putting on Liv, so it was nice to hear it was in the rearview.

“I did a wedding,” I said. “I mean, a really small wedding. It was nothing, really. But bigger than a bouquet or an arrangement for the lobby of a retirement home.”

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