Page 92 of The Wedding Pact
‘Yes,’ she grinned. ‘I know you’re an actor too. Channel thatGrange Hillspirit I saw on screen.’
‘I don’t think I danced a lot onGrange Hill,’ he laughed, but he got what she was saying. ‘I think I’ve done way more acting and dancing around topics in the last six months, actually.’
‘You’re a pro, then,’ August clanked her beer bottle against his, and the music changed to Flo Rida’s ‘Club Can’t Handle Me’ from a few years back. August cheered. ‘What a perfect song for us right now! Hey, do you have any secret stashes of whisky in your desk drawer?’
‘No, this isn’tSuits. Oh, but do you know who might?’ Flynn took off across the floor, opening the door to his manager’s office. Sure enough, on a side cabinet was a bottle of port, a Secret Santa gift from someone, which Flynn knew he’d seen in Sainsbury’s so could replace it easily.
It was just like how it was when they first moved in together: easy, fun, seemingly uncomplicated. But back then it was their secret to keep from the world, and now he felt like it was him keeping something secret from her.
‘I’ve got ‘Auld Lang Syne’ all cued up ready to play when we hit the countdown,’ she told him, as he reappeared and poured big slugs of port into faded corporate retreat mugs from the staff kitchen.
He watched for a second as August danced about on her own, oblivious almost to the fact they weren’t in a crowded bar or a club or even a party. It didn’t seem to matter at all to her that she was spending New Year’s Eve in an empty office, with just him.
Chapter 66
Flynn
A little before one in the morning on what was now New Year’s Day, Flynn and August lay on their backs on a large table in one of the boardrooms, talking. He’d angled a projector away from the blank white wall and onto the ceiling, hooking his work laptop up to it and playing an ongoing YouTube video of fireworks. They burst into sparkling colours above the two of their heads, and they watched and admired with as much gusto as if they were on the riverbanks of London.
New Year’s Day. That meant Flynn had been in the UK for six months now. Six months away from Japan, from his family, and from Yui, who was on his mind tonight more than usual these days.
‘You work too hard,’ August said.
‘I know.’
‘And you don’t enjoy it.’
‘I know … ’
‘Was it ever like this at your job back in Japan?’
He thought about it for a moment. ‘My immediate thought is no; it definitely wasn’t this bad. But Yui may disagree with me about that. She always thought I worked too much.’
‘Did it bother you?’
‘No, she wasn’t being a nag, she was right. It’s just that now I look back and it feels like I had it easy,’ Flynn gave a small smile, and August glanced over in time to see his face illuminated by a bright blue firework reflecting off the ceiling. ‘It’s … ’ Flynn started a sentence he didn’t know whether to finish, but after a while, unprobed by August (who knew he would finish it at some point), he continued.
‘It’s possible I ruined tonight without meaning to.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean … I hadn’t really been looking forward to New Year’s Eve, so maybe I buggered it up on purpose, but I didn’t mean to drag you into it.’
August rolled her head to the side to really look at him now. ‘What’s wrong with New Year’s Eve?’
‘Last New Year’s Eve I proposed to Yui.’
August gasped and sat up. ‘You two were engaged?’
‘No. She turned me down.’
‘What?’
‘Yep. She said we’d not been together long enough, and also, I think she thought the celebratory atmosphere had taken over my soul or something because it wasn’t prepared, I didn’t have a ring or anything, but I had meant it. So it still stung.’
‘Was it downhill from there?’
‘No, I don’t think the proposal really changed the course of anything, it just certainly didn’t push us on an upwards trajectory, that’s for sure. New Year’s Eve just brings back memories that I didn’t want to think about, that’s all.’
