Page 99 of Meet Me in Berlin

‘And?’

‘And nothing. Leave it at that.’

‘But that doesn’t seem right. Like, shouldn’t I offer something else?’

‘As long as you don’t make it about you. It needs to be about her, yeah?’

‘About her…’ I tap out a message. ‘How about this. “I’m sorry to hear about your mum. If there’s anything I can do?—”’

‘Anything you can do? I think you’ve done enough for the minute, don’t you, Miss fucking Lover Girl.’ She huffs and shakes her head. ‘Just say, “If you want to talk about it, I’m here”.’

‘Yeah, that’s good.’ I type, then pause. ‘Should I not end with “I love you” or something?’

Jaz chokes on her wine. ‘Are you for real? You’ve known each other five minutes.’

I make a face. ‘Eleven years.’

‘Okay, then, you’ve known of each other for eleven years. You’ve shagged for a few weeks total during that whole time. And what part of “don’t make this about you” didn’t you understand?’

‘All right, keep your fucking hair on.’ I press send. ‘There. No love confessions. Happy?’

She rolls her eyes. A few seconds later, she leans forwards and says in a hushed voice, ‘Three o’clock.’

My brows furrow and I peer at the wall.

Jaz snorts. ‘Oh my God. My three o’clock. Your nine o’clock.’

I chuckle and look towards the bar, my smile vanishing when I spot a familiar figure waiting for a drink – tan heeled boots, tight blue jeans, sleek black hair falling past her shoulder blades. I groan. ‘For fuck’s sake. She knows we come here on a Friday.’

‘Of course she does. But she is with Leila,’ Jaz says. ‘Hel-lo, Leila.’

‘No, Jazzy. You are not starting anything with Leila.’

‘But she’s well fit, and she fancies me. Don’t spoil my fun.’

‘You can have anyone.’

‘But I want her.’ She gives a little growl and claws the air, then gives her sultriest smile as they approach our table. ‘Hi, Leila,’ she purrs, followed by a frosty, ‘Hello, Eva.’

Leila gushes, ‘Hiya. Mind if we join you?’

Jaz scoots over like she’s been shot out of a canon. ‘Not at all.’

I stare at Jaz, but she’s too busy making gooey eyes at Leila. I sigh and shift over.

‘Thanks,’ Eva says, taking a seat and placing her champagne glass on the table.

We haven’t spoken since she answered Holly’s call, but we did exchange some catty messages in the days following.

‘So, how are you?’ Eva asks me. ‘Still sulking, I take it, since I’ve not heard from you.’

I sip my ale and calmly put my glass down. ‘Why would you hear from me, Eva? We’re not exactly friends. But since we’re talking now, did you enjoy hurting Holly like that?’

She smiles smugly. ‘I enjoyed hurting you.’

Leila and Jaz exchange an awkward glance.

‘I’m surprised you haven’t called, though,’ Eva continues. ‘I thought you might have had second thoughts now that your little Christmas carol has gone back to Australia.’

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