Page 41 of The One That Got Away

‘You want me to wheel it in?’ He gestured to the trolley.

‘I can do it.’ He’d already done enough.

‘Okay. See you tomorrow.’ He turned on his heels to leave.

‘Wait!’ I called out. ‘Where are you… are you not joining me? I mean, do you want to come in?’

Inviting Max into my bedroom at almost eleven o’clock atnight wasn’t the best idea, but he’d brought me food. It was the least I could do.

‘Nah, I’m good. I’ve already eaten. Hope you like it.’

Before I had a chance to respond, Max was halfway down the pathway.

I wheeled the trolley in and closed the door. Whatever it was smelt amazing. When I lifted off the cloche, I gasped.

It was barbecue chicken and chips. My favourite.

A wave of happiness filled my heart. I couldn’t believe he’d remembered.

As I sat down and slid the first forkful of food into my mouth, a flurry of ideas filled my head.

Now I knew exactly what songs to choose for Max.

And this time, it wasn’t hatred I wanted to convey.

This time, I genuinely hoped he liked my selection.

19

MAX

As the playlist alert flashed up on my screen, I braced myself for Stella’s selections.

After kicking off my shoes, I flopped down on the bed and pressed play.

Oh. I wasn’t expecting that.

The first song was ‘Thank You for Being a Friend’. It sounded familiar. I checked the screen and saw it was by someone called Andrew Gold.

That song was followed by ‘Hold My Hand’ by Jess Glynne and ‘Lean on Me’ by Bill Withers.

The last two songs were ‘Torn’ by Natalie Imbruglia and ‘Don’t Speak’ by No Doubt which I’m pretty sure were both about break-ups or scumbag exes, but I wasn’t gonna dwell on that. Three out of the five songs all seemed to convey that Stella was thankful which was a lot better than the angry songs from her previous playlists.

Maybe we’d made progress after all.

It didn’t take me long to create my playlist. Once it was done,I shared it then turned off the light. Something told me I was gonna sleep much better tonight.

‘You’re here.’ I looked up from my breakfast as Stella slid onto the seat at my table.

‘Yeah. Thought I’d try and catch you before the morning briefing.’

‘What’s up?’ I frowned. She sounded serious.

‘Nothing. I just… wanted to thank you. For last night. For bringing me dinner.’

‘I know we’re not exactly hitting it off, but despite what you think, I’m not a monster. And I didn’t like the idea of you skipping another meal.’

‘Thanks. I really appreciate it. Especially the fact that you’d bought me barbecue chicken and chips. They’re my favourites.’

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