Page 4 of The One That I Want

She rebuffed him, of course – possibly the first woman ever to have turned him down – and he was so shocked, he made a big to-do about it. And just like that, it was as if a switch had been flipped and I saw him for who he really was: a talented, yet narcissistic playboy. End. Of. Crush.

‘Congratulations!’ he says. ‘So excited forNouveau Life– bound to be a smash hit.’

‘It’s very exciting, yes.’

It’s ridiculous how intensely I use to long for him. Teens lust after Harry Styles with less fervour.

Luca, seemingly oblivious that he no longer wields any power over me, flashes a roguish grin. ‘See you back at the office.’

I turn back to Anjali. ‘You were saying?’ I ask brightly.

‘I—’

‘Excuse me, Gretal?’ When I look up again, a man is standing beside me – forty-ish, light-brown hair, kind smile, blue eyes. He reminds me instantly of James McAvoy – attractive in that unassuming, ‘everyman’ way.

‘Er, yes?’

‘I’m Ewan.’

Why is he telling me this? ‘Hello, Ewan.’ He continues smiling at me and I continue wondering why. ‘Er, have we met before?’

He shakes his head.

‘So how do you know my name?’ I ask, returning his bemused smile. He did say ‘Gretal’ but close enough – I’ve answered to worse.

He holds up a coffee cup. ‘I have your coffee.’

‘Oh.’ I look at the coffee cup I’ve been drinking from, which has ‘EWAN’ scrawled on the side. ‘Oh! I’m so sorry. I must have picked up yours.’

‘Yes,’ he says, a lilt of laughter in his voice. ‘Here.’ He sets my coffee in front of me.

‘I’m afraid I’ve already drunk from yours, but I’d be happy to buy you another one.’

He smiles again. ‘No need – I’ll sort it. Have a lovely day.’ And before I can thank him, he leaves.

I turn to Anjali, about to ask her for a second time what she was going to say, when she flicks her wrist to look at her watch. ‘Bollocks, we should probably go.’

‘But what were you going to tell me?’ I ask as we stand and gather our belongings.

‘We’ll chat about it later,’ she says, smiling enigmatically.

We’ll chat about it later. Well, thank you, Anjali, that doesn’t sound ominous at all! Oh god, I hope it’s nothing to do with what we talked about that night.

As we make our way back to the office, the roaring kicks into high gear.

2

POPPY

‘Saffron, will you please get your bum out of my face.’

Tristan chuckles smugly from the other side of the bed.

‘Fine for you. You’re her favourite, so you get the good end,’ I say, gently pushing her away from me.

She purrs loudly, nuzzling the crook of Tristan’s neck, and he pets her with one hand. ‘She loves us both equally.’

‘Hah,hardly. And don’t encourage her,’ I add, snuggling into my now cat-bum-free pillow.

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