Page 69 of Is She Really Going Out with Him?
There’s a lockbox in the wall, which I put Will’s phone into. Maybe it is better not to have mine within reach. I did secretly download two movies onto it and that’s probably not strictly in the spirit of a technology detox.I wonder if Dan will remember to call the emergency landline number if anything happens with the kids.I chastise myself for worrying.They’ll be fine. They aren’t babies anymore.
Dumping my bag and the information booklet on the cabintable, I head back outside, walking carefully down the steep cabin steps. I flinch as a gust of wind bangs the cabin door shut behind me. The sun is low in the sky, and Will has already started to build a fire. Seeing him rearrange kindling in the half-light stirs some primordial feeling within me. This must be an evolutionary trait left over from our cave woman days, to be impressed by a man making fire. It’s ridiculous because fire isn’t even hard, especially if you have fire lighters. We should be attracted to rarer skills, like the ability to reboot the Sky box without losing all your downloaded programs or being able to shave without leaving the bathroom sink covered in bristles.
Will shoots me a broad smile when he sees me coming, and I notice he’s left his glasses behind in his cabin. He’s also taken his shirt off and is now wearing a thin cotton T-shirt that clings to his biceps. There’s a streak of ash on his cheek and he looks happier than I’ve ever seen him. He’s brought two beers from his cabin cooler and hands one to me.
“Do you think you’re going to be able to endure a weekend in the woods with me then, Appleby?”We’re back to Appleby.
“I’ll try,” I say, sitting down on a log and raising my beer can toward his. His eyes gleam with playful energy. I can tell he’s in a flirty mood, and with Verity gone, there’s no one else to flirt with but me. “Stop flirting,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him.
“I’m not,” he laughs. “This is just my face. What, are you worried you’re not going to be able to resist me this time, Appleby?” he says, voice smooth as butter, but his face falls when he sees I’m not smiling. “What’s wrong?”
I cross my arms. I hadn’t planned on saying anything but now I think I’m going to have to.
“It’s all a game to you, isn’t it?” I say, taking a large swig of beer. “I don’t want to be your plaything when there’s no one else around to flirt with.”
“Is that what you think? You’re not that,” he says, leaning hiselbows on his knees, brow furrowed in concern. “You’re not that to me at all.”
“Not that Iwantanything to happen,” I say. “Hay was a mistake, I’d had too much to drink. But if you’re seeing someone, however casually, I don’t think it’s appropriate to be so flirty with every woman within a five-mile radius.”
“What are you talking about?” he asks, looking genuinely confused.
“Deedee?” I say, watching his face, and I’m gratified to see his eyes shift.
“What about her?” he asks, though his tone is less indignant now.
“I saw you sneaking off with her after Hay.” I pause, weighing up how much to say. “And having breakfast with her when you said you were at the dentist.”
Will shakes his head, and now I see he’s smiling.Is he enjoying this?
“It’s not funny! You’re a real dick, you know that?” I mutter. “I can’t believe I ever—”
“Anna Appleby, are you jealous?” he asks, biting his lip, and I feel the urge to throw my beer across the fire at him, to wipe that conceited smirk off his face.
“I am nothing of the sort,” I shoot back, standing up now, pacing with restless energy. “I don’t care who you’re sleeping with, I’d just rather you didn’t play these games with me.”
“Have you finished?” he asks, and I nod, pulling my elbows into a tight hug. “Deedee is a headhunter. She works for news outlets across Europe. She came to Hay to watch my panel, but then had to fly back to Paris the next morning. She’d put me forward for this job at an international news station, but she didn’t think my CV was going cut it against the competition. She persuaded me that I needed to get on a plane and go with her to meet the head of the station, said it might be my only chance tothrow my hat in the ring.” Will pauses. “She’s not someone I’m seeing. In fact, Deedee is married to a friend of mine.”
“Oh.”
“The guy she introduced me to liked me enough to ask for a screen test. I met Deedee for breakfast the other day because she’d organized one for me in Bath. I didn’t tell you, because I don’t like telling anyone about interviews. It sucks to have people ask if you got the job when you didn’t. I haven’t told work I’m looking to leave, so I told a white lie about the dentist’s. I’d rather not be pushed out before I have somewhere to go.” Will stands up and saunters around the fire toward me.
“A presenting job, wow. That would be incredible,” I say, hugging myself even tighter as I process this new information.
“It would,” he says, standing just a foot away from me now. The smell of his cologne, his perspiration, and the campfire mingle into a heady combination that puts my senses on high alert. “Anything else you want to say?”
“Sorry,” I mumble, eyes on my feet.
“Sorry for what?” he says, his voice teasing.
“Sorry for calling you a dick,” I say with a grimace.How can I have gotten that so wrong?When I look up, I see he’s smiling.
“And for assuming that I’m having moonlit parties with anyone but you, Appleby.” His eyes hold mine, and there it is, back like a punch to the gut, the crackle of undeniable energy between us.
“Sorry about that,” I say, biting my lip.
“Thank you,” he says quietly, tilting his head and then slowly leaning in toward my neck. I can’t help inhaling the scent of him now, his skin radiating heat. “I’m sorry you thought Hay was such a mistake. I will try to keep a lid on any such behavior in the future.” He’s mocking me, but his proximity sends a prickle of anticipation down my spine, a disconcerting throb between my legs. “Now that that’s out of the way, can we relax, maybe evenenjoy ourselves?” He pauses, watching my expression. “And I would appreciate it if you didn’t mention Deedee or my job hunt to anyone at work.”
“Of course not,” I say, and then move to sit down on a log beside the fire, because I’m feeling giddy. If we’re still at war, then Will won that round. Though on this occasion, I don’t mind losing, because I’m glad that he’s not seeing Deedee, that I wasn’t being made a fool of in Hay.
