Page 73 of Love like the (Real) Reel Thing
She sagged and flung open the door. “Sorry, Emily, come in.”
“You okay?” Emily said carefully as she walked in.
“Never better.” Jess suppressed a sigh. “Are you filming today?”
Emily shook out her hair. “Nope, not working either. But I just thought I’d drop by and you know, wander around – see who I might bump into.” She beamed. “And, awesome news! Dermot and I are going out for a drink.”
“Oh, that’s great, Em.” Jess managed a distracted smile. “Did he just ask you out this morning?”
“Um, so he didn’texactlyask me …” Emily fiddled with her hair.
“Right. So you askedhimout?”
“Hm.” Emily sighed. “I might have mentioned that a bunch of us are meeting for a drink next Tuesday and that he was welcome to come along.”
“Good idea.” Jess nodded encouragingly. “Don’t the staff usually go out on a Friday night, though?”
“They do, yeah, but Dermot’s going home for the weekend to visit his family.”
“Right, so there’s a gang going out again next Tuesday?”
“No.” Emily chewed on her lip. “I just told Dermot that.”
“That’s different,” Jess said carefully. “So you’re just going to act surprised when nobody else shows up?”
“Not exactly.” Emily crossed the room and plonked down in the chair opposite Jess’s desk. “That’s what I came to talk to you about.”
“Okaaay.”
“I always seem to mess up first dates, Jess. Especially with older guys. Like, I either come on too strong and end up just hooking up for one night, because they don’t bother calling again. Or, I get so nervous that I start babbling.” Emily pulled at the ends of her hair. “So will you and Robert come along? It’ll be way more chill, and if I start making a complete eejit of myself, you can jump in and change the subject, or something.”
“What?” Jess started to laugh but stopped quickly when she saw how serious Emily was. “You don’t think Dermot’s going to get a bit suspicious?”
“No.” Emily shrugged. “He doesn’t know how many people will turn up.”
“Fair enough.” Jess thought for a moment. “Look, how about Robert and I stay for an hour, and then let you guys be by yourselves?”
“Yeah, that’d work. Thanks, Jess.” She got to her feet. “Um, I saw Adam a few minutes ago.”
“Yeah.” Jess did her best to sound unbothered. “He arrived down early yesterday morning. He’s doing a bit of work here.”
Emily’s eyes widened. “Are you alright? I mean, I guess it’s easier now you’re seeing someone else.”
“Much easier.” Jess ignored the golf-ball-size lump in her throat.
“Anyway, thanks for having my back. I owe you!”
Jess smiled brightly. “My pleasure.”
CHAPTER 37
The following Monday Jess felt a mixture of nerves and annoyance – mainly at herself – every time she thought about running into Adam.
She’d been a total coward at the weekend, staying over with Robert on Friday and suggesting they spend Saturday exploring the nearby countryside. Robert had been charming and attentive and Jess had tried convincing herself that it was a perfect opportunity to get to know him better, and that it had nothing to do with her wanting to avoid Adam.
When Monday morning passed without even a glimpse of him, she tried to calm her nerves. She wished she knew how long he was staying in Linford. She hated the fact that not knowing where and when she was going to run into him made her feel jittery and off-balance.
She bumped into Emily as she was heading out for lunch.
