Page 83 of The Plot Twist

‘You’ll be pleased to see that management took your feedback seriously and implemented some changes…’ Will held the platter a little higher, his grin spreading across his face.

‘What? Oh, I see!’ Allie looked down at the platter, seeing row upon row of tiny, perfectly formed vol au vents, filled to just the right level with no risk of spillage and no need for more than one hand.

‘You want to try?’

Allie took one and lifted it to her mouth, flushing slightly as Will watched her carefully.

‘Perfectly bite-sized?’ he asked.

Allie flushed a deeper red. ‘Are we still talking about the canapés?’

‘Do you want us to be?’ Will held her gaze.

‘Not really, no.’ She bit her lip again, and then a grin broke out on her face. ‘It’s nice to see you. I probably should have guessed you’d be catering for this.’

‘Because I’m a spoilt nepo baby?’

‘Yes, precisely for that reason.’

‘Well, I thought about turning it down, just to prove a point. But then Verity showed me the guest list and suddenly it seemed hard to say no…’

‘I’m glad you said yes,’ she exhaled breathily. ‘Look, Will, I’m not sure here is the right place to talk properly, but I want you to know how sorry I am for what I did and how it all went down.’ Will waved away her attempt at an apology. ‘No,’ Allie insisted, ‘I should have told you as soon as I realised, and I definitely should have told you, and your dad, exactly how much of the book was based on his story.’

‘Allie, stop.’ Will put his hand on her arm, which made her not want to stop anything at all. ‘I owe you an explanation. I shouldn’t have shut down like I did that morning. I shouldn’t have let you leave.’

‘Not sure you actuallyletme do anything,’ Allie half-muttered and it was Will’s turn to flush.

‘You’re right. I behaved really badly. I shouldn’t havemadeyou leave.’

Allie looked up at him. ‘So, what changed?’

‘I did. I did a lot of soul searching. Been doing a lot of work on myself.’ He said this with such a po-face that Allie couldn’t help but laugh.

‘So, what did you find on that soul searching mission?’ she questioned, raising an eyebrow in such a way that her nine-year-old self would have been immensely proud of, justifying as it did all that time and effort practising in the mirror.

‘I found that I was a pompous ass and that I shouldn’t shut down just because a situation overwhelms me emotionally.’

At this Allie really did laugh. ‘Therapy?’

Will nodded. ‘I’m a work in progress. And the other thing I found on my soul search was that I really, really didn’t like my life without you in it. And that if my parents were fine about you using their story as inspiration then I really didn’t have an issue with it either.’

‘I am sorry Will. I should have?—’

Will interrupted her. ‘Allie, it’s OK. I actually don’t think you need my forgiveness, but knowing you, I expect you’ll be worrying about this until you have it. So, you have it, OK?’ He took her hand in his and then pulled her closer to him, his head resting on hers, his lips in her hairline as he whispered, ‘You have my heart, too.’

Allie went wobbly. She reached to the side, putting her cocktail glass down on the bar, grateful it was still in close proximity. It all seemed so easy … too easy? She’d never been so swept off her feet before, she’d never felt so clear on how she felt about a guy before. With Dominic, they had danced around their feelings for each other; every so often, when he had one too many beers and his face was a little shiny and red, he would call her ‘his girl’, and tell her she was the one for him. But it never felt as certain and stomach swoopingly delicious as hearing Will whisper these words into her ear. She pulled back and looked up at him. ‘I think you have mine, too.’

Will laughed. ‘You think?’

‘Well, let’s not jump the gun. You can’t sweep in here expecting me to declare my intentions when I have only seen one of your trays of improved canapés so far.’

‘We’re definitely not talking about the food, are we?’

Allie stood on her tiptoes and reached up, pulling Will’s head towards her, finding his lips with hers. ‘No, we’re not.’

‘Okaaay,’ Will exhaled deeply. ‘I should go check on the rest of the food and, erm, I guess we should save this for later? I don’t want everyone here thinking this is what they get as a side order tonight.’

‘I’m the only one who gets you as a side order tonight…’ Allie picked up her margarita and put it to her lips before saying, ‘I think we’re done with the food-related double entendres tonight. Should we agree on that?’

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