Page 18 of A Smart Girl's Guide to Second Chances
‘Your love of a numbered list hasn’t diminished,’ he said.
‘Number two: all contact will be strictly work related.’
‘Says the woman who’s hunted me down on a Saturday morning.’
‘For work-related purposes,’ I countered.
‘How many points are there? I can feel the lactic acid setting in.’
‘Three.’
‘Okay, what’s the last one?’
I read this one from my phone without looking up. ‘You meet my fiancé, Matt.’
I waited for a second before I raised my eyes from my screen. Alex was staring at the ring on my left hand. Had he just noticed it? He was the kind of guy who, if stuck on a complex problem, would forget what day of the week it was, or to eat or sleep, so it was entirely possible he had missed it.
‘Congratulations,’ he said, after another moment.
‘Thank you,’ I replied.
‘When’s the wedding?’ he asked. Did he really want to know, or had he just got better at small talk?
‘Next month, just after the project finishes,’ I replied. Did I feel strange telling him about the wedding because he was my ex-boyfriend or because he was my colleague?
‘What’s with the third rule?’ he asked. ‘Is he a jealous guy?’
I burst out laughing. Because the notion was so ridiculous. I didn’t think it would ever occur to Matt to be jealous of anyone. He saw everyone in the world as a friend he hadn’t met yet. Alex seemed a bit disarmed by my reaction.
‘No, he’s not at all,’ I said. ‘I just think that it’s a good idea.’ I knew I hadn’t really answered his question. ‘So... are you okay with all of that?’
‘What happens if I’m not?’
‘I have to transfer off this project. And you upend my career,’ I said.Again. I left that part out, feeling it would be counterproductive in this conversation.
‘I accept your terms,’ he said, in a voice tinged with false gravitas. He pulled on a faded hoodie.
‘It seems that we’re going to spend another summer together,’ he added. Did I imagine it or did his eyes soften as he spoke? ‘It was a pretty amazing summer.’ It had been. Until it hadn’t. I tried not to think about it.
‘We’re going toworktogether for a summer,’ I corrected. ‘Not just—’
‘Have fun.’
‘Don’t forget “Rule One”,’ I said, in a voice that sat somewhere between admonishing and warning.
‘I remember,’ he said. ‘Now, when do I have to meet the guy who gave you that enormous rock?’
‘How about now?’ It came out before I could stop myself. This hadn’t been part of the plan. In the middle of the night when I’d been thinking this through, I’d envisioned a meeting between Matt and Alex at a nice, neutral wine bar after I’d laid the groundwork with Matt first – had the ex chat we’d never got around to having.Thiswas why I didn’t get drunk very often – I didn’t make sensible decisions when I wasn’t functioning properly.
‘Okay,’ he said easily. Then he turned to me and smiled. ‘You know what’s funny?’
‘Nothing at all?’ I offered.
He smiled. ‘This is just how our summer really began... At least this is a more civilised time than our first date.’
Chapter 9
THEN
