Page 129 of Shout Out To My Ex

‘Really?’ I ask, barely believing it. She nods, a satisfied smile on her face. ‘That’s brilliant.’ I look to Leo.

‘Thanks, Poppy, that’s awesome,’ he says, ‘and can you please thank your colleagues for us?’ We glance about the busy conference room and I’m impressed by how quickly they’ve come together to help us.

‘Of course,’ Poppy replies, ‘and I know Paloma will want to do some coaching ahead of the TV interview. She’s waiting on confirmation that you’re booked for Saturday morning, but knowing her and how many connections she has, that will come through shortly.’

‘Poppy…’ I say, turning back to her. I need to apologise for my behaviour yesterday but I’m not sure what to say.

‘You don’t need to say anything,’ she says, somehow understanding immediately. ‘It’s totally expected that you were thrown by everything I told you – and that was on top ofreconnecting with this one,’ she says, nodding in Leo’s direction. I look up at him, studying his face.

I can’tstoplooking at him. Is it going to be weird if I simply stare at him for minutes at a time? Because it’s very possible that will happen. A lot. While I’m staring at him, something comes to mind.

‘Can I ask a question?’ I ask them both.

‘Go for it,’ Poppy replies.

‘How did you two… you know,coordinate? With the Eurostar tickets?’

Poppy’s face breaks into a broad smile. ‘That I can’t take credit for I’m afraid.’

‘Umm…’ Leo rubs his hand along his jawline. ‘Imayhave a confession.’

‘Go on then,’ I say with a laugh. ‘What’s one more revelation in the midst of all this?’

‘You’re going to think I’m… well, some sort of creep.’

‘I will not. Don’t be silly.’

‘Okay… I’m pretty sure you will, but here goes…’

Poppy seems as interested in his explanation as I am and regards him with an amused smile.

‘So, the night of the H&M party?—’

‘You mean the night another woman announced your engagement?’

‘Uh… ouch?’ he responds, my quip having hit its mark.

‘Sorry,’ I say, contrite. ‘I know that wasn’t your doing, but it may be difficult toeverthink of that night as simply “the night of the H&M party”.’ I make the air quotes.

‘That’s reasonable,’ he replies, his expression softening. ‘We can come up with a code name or something.’

‘Or – and hear me out – after this conversation, we never speak of it again.’

This makes him laugh and he folds me into arms. ‘Oh, I’ve missed you,’ he whispers with affection, but I suspect he’s actually teasing me.

‘The train tickets, Leo,’ I prod, my voice muffled by his chest. He releases me.

‘Okay, here goes – for real this time. At the H— Oops, my bad – moving along. Anyhoo, Poppy mentioned you were travelling back to London on the Eurostar the next morning. I asked which class you’d be in – you know, uh… out of interest – and she said thatNouveauhad sprung for first. From there, it was pretty easy.’

‘What was pretty easy?’ I ask, not getting it.

‘I went online that night and booked the fourth seat in every four-seat berth where three other passengers were already sitting.’

I shake my head, attempting to untangle what he just said. It takes a second, but I finally get it. ‘So, how many seats did you have to book?’

‘Only five.’

‘Five!’

---