Page 143 of The Love Position

‘Although you need to eat the rest. Everyone’s fretting that you’re wasting away.’

Her tummy gurgling with happy anticipation, Sophia took a bun and pulled a piece off, dunking it in her coffee.

‘Good call,’ Estelle said. ‘Ooh, I wonder if I could get Perry to make coffee Chelsea buns?’ Holding the rest of her bun between her teeth, she took out her phone, tapped out a message, then dropped it to the bed. ‘Done! I’ll let you know if they work.’

Sophia smiled. Estelle was a force of nature, and the perfect person for her equally powerful brother.

The two women ate in silence, but Sophia knew she was being softened up before her friend spoke her mind.

Estelle finished her bun, sucked the ends of her fingers, then cleared her throat.

Sophia braced herself.

‘Oh, come on now. I’m not that bad!’

Sophia raised an eyebrow, and Estelle cackled.

‘Okay, okay,’ she said, raising her hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘I’ll be gentle.’

Cradling her coffee mug for support, Sophia waited.

‘Have you heard from Isaac at all?’

She nodded.

‘What did he say?’

Opening Isaac’s email, Sophia handed her phone over.

Estelle’s eyes widened as she read. ‘Fucking hell…’ She glanced up. ‘Have you replied?’

Sophia shook her head.

‘Are you going to forgive him for something that isn’t his fault, and he was obviously clueless about?’

‘Well, when you put it like that…’

Estelle pulled a face. ‘Sorry. Do you think Isaac could have stopped Swami Fuckface from assaulting you?’

She hesitated. ‘No, I don’t think so. But that’s not all of it. I don’t trust my judgement anymore. Look how wrong I was with Marcus. Is Isaac just another great actor?’

Estelle’s eyes bugged out as she stared at her.

‘Did he say he was celibate just to get me into bed?’ Sophia continued. ‘Was it real? Or am I just being a naïve fool all over again? Maybe I’m just not cut out for any relationship.’

Estelle placed her hands on her knees, palms facing up and her thumbs and index fingers touching. Lifting her face to the ceiling, she let out a long ‘ommmm’.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Trying to centre myself before I reply. Ommmm…’

Sophia huffed.

‘Hang on, three’s the charm. Ommmm…’

Lowering her head, Estelle gazed at Sophia. ‘Do you think that Eveline would ask Isaac to be godfather to her baby if she thought he was a dodgy fucker? And do you really believe that if Isaac wanted sex, he wouldn’t have shagged me, or any of the other women who’ve thrown themselves at him over the years?’

Reaching forward, Estelle squeezed Sophia’s knee through the duvet. ‘Look. Men can be right numpties, sometimes. They’re not as infallible as the patriarchy would have us believe. Isaac gave this Jeremy arsewipe too much credit for the transformation he made to his own life. And when you’ve elevated someone that high in your estimation, it’s very hard to see their faults.’

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