Page 30 of One Night in Edinburgh

‘I do draw the line at spending the whole night on this though.’ She gives me a pointed look. ‘You’re going to have to give me some decent chat as well.’

‘Obviously.’

‘It’s not that obvious. You’re wired like a ship’s radar, following every movement around us in case it’s him. Will you chill a bit, please?’

‘Sorry.’ I wince at Anna’s description of me. ‘What do you want to talk about?’

‘How are things with your family? Has there been any improvement in their attitude now Connor’s off the scene, romantically speaking?’

‘Not really. I’ve been doing my best to avoid them. I’m concerned that this “victory” as they see it, is a reason to stay on my case. They’re already dropping hints that I now have an opportunity to approach things differently.’

‘They mean your job, right?’

‘Yup. Job, career, general life choices. Obviously, I’m not going to give in to that sort of pressure, but it did get me thinking. I’ve decided to speak to Lizzie about getting out in the field again, working directly with the people we support.’ Lizzie is our manager and a way better role model than any of my family. ‘I miss that side of things, and I don’t want to make more money, I want to make a difference – to people’s lives. And when I do, my family will see how wrong they are.’

‘Good for you.’ Anna doesn’t look overly convinced by the chances of that happening anytime soon with my family, but we clink glasses in solidarity anyway. ‘On a different note, how about we sign you up to one of the dating apps?’

‘What,now? I’m not sure if that’s a good idea… what if Jamie—’

‘Steph, you agreed to do it.’ She throws me a condescending look. ‘Come on, it’ll be fun. We can have a giggle creating a profile for you: you look freaking hot tonight, so we can get some good photos of you to add to it.’

No.Please, no. This is the last thing I want to be doing right now.

‘I don’t know, Anna. Surely it’s better to do it when I’m not drinking?’

‘That’s your first drink, and you’re making excuses.’ She pulls out her phone and starts snapping photos of me.

‘Oh… wait, no… please. I hate getting my photo taken.’

‘Ooh, hold that pout.’ Anna holds the phone closer and takes more photos. ‘Good one. You’re quite photogenic, you know. Don’t know why you have such an issue with it.’

‘Anna,stop…’ I duck out of the way, but she keeps clicking away. ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake… at least let me see the pics then, so I can vet them.’

‘Thatta girl.’ She hops off her seat and comes round to sit next to me. ‘They’re all pretty good… apart from those ones… that’s more Hulk than sulk, and ooh… not pretty at all.’

‘Delete them –now. I don’t want them “accidentally” making their way onto your Insta.’

Anna jabs at the screen. ‘They’re gone. Now, let’s choose which app to sign you up to and create your profile.’

She looks at a few options while I scan the bar once more.

‘Maybe we should head somewhere else?’ I suggest. ‘There are quite a few pubs and bars in this area, and he could be in any of them.’

‘Or he could be sitting at home watching the footie with a takeaway pizza.’ Anna throws me a withering look.

‘Humour me, please.’

‘Fine. We’ll do one drink in each place, but I’m not done here yet.’

I eye her glass, willing her to speed up. She’s clearly on to me, because it’s the longest I’ve ever seen her take over a drink. If I want her to play ball though, I’m going to have to sit on myself and meet her halfway, so I reluctantly engage myself in the online dating conversation.

We decide on the app I’ll sign up to, and then chat through some ideas for my profile. Despite the fact that I don’t even want to entertain this whole online dating thing, it’s actually a bit of a laugh.

When Anna finally finishes her drink and we move on to the next bar, I’m disappointed to find no Jamie in there either.

‘Damn it,’ I huff, slumping down in a seat with a (not Instagrammable) pouty face.

Anna gives me a sympathetic pat on the arm and heads to the bar.

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