Page 69 of Unforeseen Love

After I finally get myself under some semblance of control, I tell Quinn about Orla and how she claimed she and Theo were just on a break.

“Aww, Ce, honestly, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Do you really think Theo would be dumb enough to be sleeping with you while having a girlfriend somewhere?”

I shrug, but if I’m honest, I don’t.

“You should have seen her, Quinn. She looked like a fucking supermodel.” The sound of a women tutting draws my attention to a mother and her child as she gives me a scornful look.

“Sorry,” I mouth.

“Looks don’t mean shit, Ce, and hello, have you not seen yourself? If I were gay and weren’t your best friend, I’d tap that.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Thanks, I think.”

“You’re welcome. But I can tell it’s not just about this girl turning up. What else happened?”

Picking at the frayed material of my ripped jeans, I tell her what he said before I stormed out.

“Oh,” she says.

“What do you mean, oh?”

She clears her throat, and I know she’s about to give a severe case of tough love.

“Ce, as much as I hate to say this, he’s not entirely wrong.” I bite the inside of my cheek as she continues. I unzip my jacket and tug it off, glad I have a vest top on underneath.

“You literally have one friend, and that’s me.”

I let out a snort.

“Come on, you might have acquaintances, but other than me and my friend group, you don’t go out or socialise with anyone else.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not a people person.”

Quinn lets out a soft laugh. “I think you might be right, but mostly, I think you’re an introvert. But when you do come out of your shell and let others see you the way I do, they want nothing more than to get to know you better and be your friend.”

I wipe my nose with one of the tissues. “So you’re saying there’s something wrong with me?”

Quinn lets out a sigh. “No, Ce, there is nothing wrong with you. It’s just… you put up so many walls after your mum and nan died. I think it’s like some kind of trauma response, keeping others at arm’s length.”

My eyes roam over to the bandstand where Theo said he got married, and my first thought at the time was one of jealousy, and that was before I’d even developed these feelings for him.

“Sienna, I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to be honest with yourself when you answer. Do you see a future with Theo?”

I don’t even need to think about it. I’ve been with guys before, but not one of them ever evoked these feelings from me.

“Yes.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

I stand up and reach for my jacket. “I’m going to get my man.”

“That’s my girl, call me—” Before she finishes what she’s saying, I hang up––rude probably, but right now, I’m a girl on a mission. I pull on my jacket, reach for my lid and speed walk back to my bike. It takes everything in me not to pull the throttle back and gun it back to the flat, but the last thing I need is to get done for speeding.

It’s not even a ten-minute ride, but by the time I pull up in the garage and get off my bike, my nerves are shot to pieces.

What if he doesn’t let me tell him how I feel? Or worse, what if he tells me I have to move out? Shit, what if I drove him back into the arms of his ex, and they’re currently up there fucking…

I pull off my lid and place it on the seat of my bike, struggling to catch my breath. I lean forward and put my hands on my thighs.

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