Page 71 of Weekends with You

“Really?”

“You’re the reason we won, aren’t you? I hardly did a bloody thing other than point out a cheese vendor. It should be your drink tonight.”

“You two are so gross,” Finn said, pretending to gag himself with his finger.

“Eat it, Finn,” I said. “Pimm’s Cup it is, Cal.”

Cal and Jan nipped across the street to our favorite liquor store, and the rest of us laid out the dinner ingredients alongside the other items we’d grabbed on the hunt today while we waited for them to return.

“Lu, would you mind just giving me a hand with something in my room?” Raja asked. I looked at her like,What the hell?but she just clenched her jaw and nodded in the direction of the mezzanine.

“Okay, then,” I said, following her up the stairs. She pulled me into her room, closing the door behind us. “What’s going on?” I asked. The conspiratorial look on her face did not bode well for me.

“You tell me,” she said. “I thought we were over Henry?”

“We are,” I said. “What are you on about?”

“Oh, so all the flirting is, what—how normal friends treat each other? Should I be flirting with you more, then?”

“There’s no flirting,” I said. “Would you relax?”

“Would you stop lying to me?”

“I’m serious, Raja. Today was mostly really awkward. A little banter, sure, but mostly harsh reminders about everything that’s happened.”

“Are you sure you’re not backsliding?”

Raja could be so annoying sometimes. If I told her as much, she would say it was because she was always telling the truth, even if I didn’t want to hear it. As far as I was concerned, she was just driving me mad.

“No, no one is backsliding. Stop asking. I’m interested in Oliver now, Henry and I are moving forward as friends, or just mere acquaintances, and it isn’t helping that you aren’t letting me do that in peace.”

“You should invite him tonight, then.”

“Who?” I asked. “Oliver?”

“No, Prince Harry,” she said, and I rolled my eyes. “I’m serious,” she continued. “If you’re over Henry and you two really are just ‘acquaintances,’ I think it wouldn’t do any harm for him to see you with someone else. And you know how much I’m dying to get to know Oliver. Seems like the perfect time, doesn’t it?”

“Is this a challenge?” I asked. “Like I somehow have to prove that I’m over Henry by inviting Oliver here?”

“Would you stop being so dramatic? I’m just saying, if it really is what you say it is, then you don’t have to be worried about Oliver coming by. It’s a casual night, anyway, so it’ll be a low-pressure way to introduce him to everyone.”

I squinted at her. “Are you sure you’re not just trying to prove a point?”

“Not everyone is plotting against you, Lu.”

“He’s been dying to meet you, too,” I said after a moment. “Properly, I mean.” A smile crept onto my face, and I hated that she might have actually had a good idea.

“See?” she said. “Text him right now. See if he’ll come for post-dinner roof cocktails.”

I had to admit, the thought of having him here for drinks made my stomach turn in all the best ways. He was not only kind, but also hot and outwardly interested in me. After the humiliation in Amsterdam, it would do me some good to show everyone I’d moved on. And, admittedly, that I’d done quite well for myself.

Before Raja and I made our way back downstairs, I shot Oliver a text inviting him for drinks, which he answered almost immediately.

I’m having dinner with my sister, but it’s an early res so I can be by around half nine. Does that work? Looking forward to meeting everyone.

“He’s so proper,” Raja said, reading his text over my shoulder. “Does he know we’re a bit of a mess?”

“He saw you all on New Year’s, remember? Not much to hide after that, I’m afraid.”

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