Page 63 of Shout Out To My Ex

‘Then you forgive him?’

‘I don’t know. I’m still angry, but it’s overshadowed now.’

‘By love,’ she states simply.

‘Yes? Oh, I don’t know. Ugh!’ I throw my head back in frustration and it collides with the window. ‘Ow.’

Cass leaps up. ‘Are you all right?’

I rub the back of my head with the heel of my hand as she makes her way over. ‘Hard head. I’ll live.’

‘Did you crack the window?’ she asks, looking behind me.

‘No, I didn’t crack the window – calm down.’ I expel a heavy breath. I feel lighter somehow, having shared my musings. Cass looks down at me, her expression earnest. ‘What?’ I ask.

‘Please, and I say this with love,pleasego and have a shower.’

I roll my eyes. ‘I’m going.’ I storm off towards the bathroom.

‘I’ll pour you some fizz and bring it in.’

I stop at the bathroom door. ‘Are we celebrating something?’

‘The photoshoot forNouveau?’ she asks, like I am some sort of moron.

‘Gah!’ I call out before closing the door with more force than is probably warranted. One of the biggest things to ever happen to me and I am dreading it with every fibre of my being.

20

ELLE

My life just keeps getting more and more fantastical. Today, Bliss Designs is being photographed forNouveau!

Back in the land of the living and no longer stinking of body odour and despair, I’m now excited about the photoshoot. Well, excited tempered with a dash of imposter syndrome and more than a handful of trepidation. Leo will be there, after all, and we’ve had no contact since (what I shall forever refer to as) THE CHEEK KISS. Several days later and the thought of it still turns my insides to mush. Silly really. I’m not the heroine of a Jane Austen novel. Or maybe I am, pining over a man who’s engaged to someone else.

But all that needs to take a backseat today, and Cassie and I head into Bliss first thing to collect three looks for the photoshoot.

The team, who got here at the crack of dawn, have just finished packing them into garment bags when Cassie and I arrive, bearing hot drinks and flapjacks from the café next door.

As the team descends on breakfast, I check over each look, overwhelmed with pride at the stellar job we’ve done to prepare for the photoshoot, despite having almost zero time to do it.

In less than thirty-six hours, the team has unboxed the shipment from Paris, checked every piece carefully for any loose threads, fallen hems, or even the slightest tear, then made any fixes. And yesterday afternoon, Prue and I had model fittings, which required us to take in two pieces and let one out.

Having completed my final checks, I zip up each garment bag, then address the team.

‘You are just brilliant – all of you,’ I tell them, ‘and, again, I apologise for being AWOL at the start of the week. Not my finest hour, but you all stepped up and then some.’

‘That’s okay,’ says Prue. Gaz mumbles through a mouthful, and Zara sends me an understanding smile. They really are thebest.

‘Well, as a thank you for your incredible work, next Saturday, Cassie and I are taking you out to celebrate our most successful season yet.’

‘Yay,’ Prue says, softly clapping her hands together.

‘Where are we going?’ asks Gaz.

‘It’s a surprise,’ Cass replies quickly.

It’s so much of a surprise, we have no idea what it is yet. It was only last night we realised that with everything else that’s going on, we’d forgotten to organise the post-season celebration. We have just over a week to come up with something truly special to acknowledge the team’s incredible work. We can also afford to spend a little more than last season’s high tea, as orders have doubled since last week.

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