Page 76 of Shout Out To My Ex

‘You’re not going to believe this, but that question came up with one of my patients today,’ she says.

‘I do believe it and good, because it means you know why I’m asking.’

She sucks in an audible breath and expels it noisily. ‘Essentially, I’m terrified that if we live together, she’ll see the real me and she won’t love me any more.’

‘Astutely put.’

‘You say that like you knew all along why I’ve been hedging.’

‘I’m your best friend. Of course I’ve known all along – and so have you.’

‘But I needed to admit it.’

‘Yep.’

‘Great. So, now what?’

‘Now you tell Lauren you need more time and why.’

‘But what if?—’

‘Nope. No what ifs. This is what it means to be with someone who genuinely loves you – you have to be honest and you have to be your whole self.’

She chuckles again. ‘You should be a professional matchmaker or something.’

‘Now, there’s an idea. I’ll look into it.’

‘Thanks, Pop. I owe you.’

‘Don’t thank me yet – I may be completely wrong.’ Oops – I realise as soon as I’ve spoken what I’ve done.

‘What? What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Nothing! Sorry, just joking. Talk to Lauren. It’s the right thing to do.’

She groans. ‘Well, if it isn’t, I’ll blame you.’

‘Hey, what happened to “I owe you”?’

‘You did a one-eighty!’

‘Fair. Anyway, keep me posted. Oh, hey, should we have a send-off this weekend? You two, us, Ravi, and Jass?’

‘If Lauren and I are still together, then sure.’

‘Ha-ha, very funny.’

‘Byeee.’

As soon as the call ends, I message Jacinda:

Lauren off to Finland next week for a month – send-off this weekend?

She replies almost immediately:

Booked solid. Monday at ours?

Done. Will bring wine.

---