Page 37 of You Belong With Me

Edie

You’re not in New York?

Elliot

I’ve flown back. I’ve only got a couple of hours max before I have to turn around again. I don’t want to intrude/fuck up your break any more than I already have, though, so don’t worry if it isn’t OK. It’s not like I ran this past you.

Edie’s heart was racing. She noticed he was too circumspect and/or gentlemanly to point out that you couldn’t run plans past someone who’d turned their phone off.

She confirmed the address, in a state of mild shock. He’d travelled from the East Coast, for a couple of hours?

‘Erm, so Elliot’s coming over. At midday,’ Edie said blankly, to jaw drops from Nick and Hannah.

‘Coming over, from where?! The Upper East Side?’ Hannah said.

‘Pretty much, yes. He must’ve got a flight after we finished scrapping last night.’

As she said it, Edie realised that it sounded like Cleopatra summoning Mark Antony.

‘Fuuuuuuck,’ Nick said.

‘Is he joining the holiday?’ Hannah asked, and Edie could tell she must really like Elliot, as this was said in excited anticipation, without the smallest, gritted teeth hint ofoh, thanks for turning our jolly into Kabul.

‘No, he’s only here an hour or so – he’s got to go back straight away.’

‘Wait, WAIT,’ Hannah said. ‘A man has come on a long-haul round trip just to say sorry to your FACE?’

‘Yes.’

‘Jesus Christ, Edie?! He is besotted!’

‘That’s what he WANTS you to think!’ Edie said.

‘Handsome boy has got me fooled,’ Nick said.

‘Stop taking his side!’ Edie wailed, in humour and panic, to further amusement from Nick and Hannah.

‘This is some Richard Gere inPretty Womanshit,’ Nick said. ‘… Not that I am saying Edie sells sex. But if she did, Elliot would pay an absolute fortune for it.’

‘That was nearly tasteless, but you pulled it back round,’ Edie said.

‘Thanks, it’s a gift of mine.’

Hannah checked her watch. ‘Nick, get your walking boots out. You and I are going to explore the Dales and leave them to it.’

As they pulled on their outerwear in the hallway, Nick whispered: ‘It’s all the drama, Mick – I just love it!’ and Edie shouted: ‘I HEARD THAT.’

19

Do NOT be impressed because he is beautiful, important, and he flew across an ocean for two hours with you,Edie told herself. That is not what matters here.

As soon as a black Range Rover pulled up across the road and Elliot, chin angled down and hands thrust in pockets of a double-breasted navy pea coat, ran across the road towards the house, inside Edie was screamingHE IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND IMPORTANT, AND HE CAME ALL THIS WAY, FOR YOU!FFS. Pathetic. Not the freedom that Suffragettes died for.

Edie opened the door. They gazed at each other for a heavy, unsmiling moment, and Edie said: ‘Hello.’

Elliot was evidently assessing how hostile she was, and Edie was wondering how he could bear no trace of a seven-hour flight. Genetics and first class, she guessed.

‘Hi. Can I come in?’

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