Page 101 of Love in Tune

‘His loss.’

Honey looked listlessly out of the window at the rain. It wasn’t Hal’s loss. It was hers. She’d lost her peace of mind, along with her stupid, feckless heart. Romance movies and novels hadn’t prepared her for the fact that the hero sometimes royally screws up the happy ending. Or maybe it was just that Hal was never her happy ending to have. Either way, she was never going to the cinema again, unless it was to watch a psycho thriller where they all died in the end and no one expected to waltz happily into the sunset.

‘Did you give Christian my number? He called me yesterday,’ Honey said.

Tash licked hot chocolate froth from her spoon.

‘Good. Straight back on the bike, it’s the only way.’

‘I told him the truth.’

‘Which is that you’ve been pissed on from a great height by an almighty cock and yes, you’d love to go on a date with him because he’s handsome and kind. That’s what you told him, right?’

Honey looked at Tash levelly across the table. ‘You know that isn’t what I said.’

‘It’s been a week and he hasn’t been in touch, Honey. He’s gone, and he’s not coming back.’

She wasn’t quite ready for Tash’s tough love approach.

‘A week. Seven days. It’s not enough, Tash. I need more time.’

Tash rolled her eyes. ‘God made the world in seven days. You probably haven’t even made your bloody bed.’

‘It’s an unfair comparison,’ Honey muttered.

‘Yeah. You’re real. And you’re here, and this is your life.’ Tash opened the magazine and jabbed her finger at the picture. ‘And he’s there, and that’s his life.’

She closed the magazine, dropped it in a nearby bin, and stood up.

‘Come on. Let’s go get drunk.’

‘I can’t believe you guys are my new bosses,’ Honey smiled weakly at Lucille as she placed a china cup and saucer down on the counter. ‘Will you be making many big changes?’

‘Well,’ Lucille said, her blue eyes dancing around the shop. ‘I thought we might move the books over into the other corner.’

Honey smiled and sipped her tea. ‘I think I can live with that.’

They looked up as Billy strolled over to the counter, a black shirt in his hand. He held it against himself and looked at them for approval.

‘Is it a bit dark for you?’ Honey ventured, glancing down at Billy’s mustard-yellow drainpipes.

‘I thought I’d try something dark and mysterious to woo Mimi,’ he said, striking a pose. ‘Will it work?’

Honey did that thing with her face formerly known as smiling and hoped it fooled her friends.

‘Ring it up then,’ he said, squinting at the price tag. ‘She’s worth two quid.’

Honey folded the shirt and slid it into a carrier for Billy, who added it to another already in his hand.

‘Buy her flowers.’

‘Irises are her favourites,’ Lucille said, arranging necklaces artfully on the bust stand.

‘And chocolates too,’ Honey added. ‘Mimi loves chocolates.’

Billy grinned and pretended to make notes on his hand.

‘Noted, ladies. I shall retire to my chamber to make plans.’

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