Page 72 of Weekends with You

“You’re right,” she laughed. “And he’s still interested in you after that? Well done, Lu.”

“Oh, shut up,” I said. “Let’s get back downstairs before anyone gets suspicious.”

When we got back to the kitchen, the boys had returned with the booze, and Cal and Margot were getting started on the charcuterie.

“You’re just in time for the updates,” Margot said, arranging triangles of cheese in a fan around a pot of chutney.

“For once, I actually have something,” Raja said, thrusting her arm into the air. She usually told me the second anything remotely significant happened to her, so I hadn’t the foggiest idea what her update could be. Made me a bit nervous, to be honest. “I just got an email on the way home, which, Lu, is why you didn’t know first.” I nodded, accepting her explanation and urging her to continue. “I was offered a job with H.M. Whitaker.”

Silence blanketed the kitchen, save for the sound of Cal’s chopping on the wooden board.

“And that is...,” Finn prompted, the only one brave enough to admit he had no idea what she was talking about.

“Bloody hell, do you all live under a rock? It’s one of the Big Four consulting firms in the city. It’s the dream job for a ton of MBA grads, which I basically am, since my program ends at the end of the month, and they’re infamous for their difficult hiring process. I was feeling pretty confident after the first few rounds of interviews, but I didn’t want to jinx it by saying anything, you know? But they want me to come in next week to formally accept and discuss next steps.” She was almost out of breath by the time she finished, and I was swelling with so much pride, I was nervous I’d float out of the skylight.

I let out a shriek at a pitch I hadn’t hit since I was a little girl, then threw my arms around her neck. “Oh my god, Raj,” I said, probably too loud for how close I was to her ear. “Congratulations.”

The rest of the lot echoed those sentiments, joining us in a group hug. Despite having only learned what H.M. Whitaker was a few minutes ago, we showered her with compliments, expressed our pride, and told her how lucky they were that she’d be working for them.

Eventually she brushed us off, telling us we could all buyher bottles of champagne if we really wanted to extend our congratulations.

“And you?” Henry said, looking at me once Raja’s moment had died down. “Any update?”

“None quite so exciting,” I said.

“Oh, but are you sure you have nothing to say?” Raja prompted with raised brows, which made me want to kill her.

“Oh, er, Oliver’s coming tonight,” I said, hoping it sounded like a casual afterthought. The collective blank stare from the crowd warmed my cheeks like the flame under a teakettle, making me think I hadn’t even come close to casual.

“Who?” Jan said.

“The guy from New Year’s, you wanker,” Liv said. “Lucy’s been dating him for like a month. Don’t you ever pay attention?” She flicked him in the ear, and he nearly pushed her out of the room.

“Ah, the guy from the kiss, then, is he?” Henry said, slow to look up from the pile of grapes he was picking from their stems.

“Er, yeah. He’s just coming by for rooftop drinks after dinner. I hope that’s okay with everyone. And if it’s not, we have Raja to blame. It was her idea.”

Raja shrugged, a wry smile on her face. “Not sorry.”

“You shouldn’t be,” Henry said. “Chuffed to meet him.”

I tried to meet his eyes to read some shadow of emotion on his face, but he was staring back at his hands before I had a chance.

“Me too,” said Liv. “I mean, we’ve kind of already met him, but you know what I mean.”

“He’s a good guy, then, this Oliver?” Cal asked.

“Very,” I assured them. “I think you’ll like him.”

“We know you definitely do,” Finn said, nudging Jan to get him in on the joke.

“Please don’t be this weird when he gets here,” I said. “I’m begging you. Behave normal, for once.”

“Not quite sure they’re capable,” Henry said.

“I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?” I tried to joke, but I got nothing in response. I supposed that was my answer. I had a feeling this was about to go balls-up, but I tried to squash it. We were all adults here, more or less. And things were over between me and Henry, so surely we could handle something as easy as a few drinks on the roof.

“Should we get this dinner on the road, then?” he asked, changing the subject at the first available opportunity.

---