Page 63 of Be More Lucy

‘Yes, just slightly annoyed with him. Is Josh with you now?’

‘No. The good news is he didn’t get back in my knickers. As Kizzy would say, I’ve binned him off.’ Lucy gave Em a summary of what had happened in the car on Sunday evening.

‘Thank god for that.’

‘Has Jack told Mark what he overheard?

‘No. He didn’t want to interfere. But it turns out he didn’t need to anyway. Mark phoned him a few minutes ago. Hannah’s left him.’

Lucy’s heart skipped a beat.Don’t be so selfish! Poor Mark.‘But I thought you said that Jack said that Hannah said that she wasn’t leaving him?’

‘Do you have to use such complicated sentences at this time of night?’

‘Hannah told Josh she wasn’t leaving Mark.’

‘Yes. But she must’ve changed her mind. Or she only said that to get rid of Josh. Either way, Mark said she was quiet on the flight back to Spain. Then they had a massive row when they got back home, and she slept in the spare room. When he got up this morning, there was a note on the dining table.’

Lucy realised her heart was beating faster than normal. She took a deep breath to get her emotions under control. ‘A bit dramatic. What did it say?’

‘She was fed up with being ignored, and she realised she’d be happier with someone else.’

‘Who?’

‘She didn’t say. It’s unlikely to be Josh.’

But none of that made sense after Mark’s Instagram update. ‘Mark posted a photo of the pair of them at Heathrow yesterday afternoon. She looked happy enough with Mark then.’

‘Easy enough to put a smile on your face for a photo. That doesn’t mean it was genuine. Perhaps she wanted him to publicly show his commitment to her after he’d spent a good chunk of the day with you?’

It was as good an explanation as any. Not that it mattered now. ‘How’s Mark taking it?’

‘Jack said he didn’t seem surprised. It solved a problem, which Jack thought was an odd thing to say.’

Bearing in mind her conversation with Mark yesterday, it didn’t seem that odd to Lucy.

‘You’ve gone quiet,’ Em said.

‘I was just thinking.’

34

After Lucy finished her call with Em, she walked home, poured herself a stiff vodka and tonic and sat on her sofa. Her apartment had a big picture window with spectacular views over Birmingham city centre. Em always said this view was mesmerising, but Lucy rarely had time to enjoy it. For the first time, she knew what Em meant. Focussing on the lights reflecting off the office block windows in the distance was helping to stop her brain going around in circles thinking about Josh and Mark.

She’d not heard from Josh since she’d walked away from him yesterday. Her ego might have enjoyed the spectacle of him trying to win her back, but in reality, she was happy to be rid of him. Not that she was angry with him. He’d actually done her a favour.

If he hadn’t flirted with Hannah, she wouldn’t have been able to spend all that time with Mark yesterday. She’d forgotten how easy it was to be in Mark’s company, compared with most other men, including Josh.

There was probably another Lucy and Josh happily sharing dinner somewhere in a parallel universe. Or a Lucy and Mark who’d been together for a year already because that Lucy had let Mark explain who Gabriella was instead of jumping to conclusions and fleeing home upset.

But there was still a chance of improving her current reality. Lucy found Mark’s contact details on her phone. It was midnight in Spain, but Mark was a night owl. He might still be awake. If not, he could reply in the morning.

Her thumb hovered over the message button, wondering how to play it.Stop overthinking!She tapped the button and started typing.

Em told me about Hannah. So you were right. You are past your fuck by date. Hope you’re ok.

What about kisses at the end? Perhaps one.

She took another gulp of her drink. What was the worst that could happen? She clicked the send arrow.

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