Page 20 of Made Up for Love
“She’s already been bugging me to find out what time I’ll be home. No rest for the wicked.” Lydia blew on her coffee before taking a tentative sip. “Ugh, this truly is awful. I don’t know why I do it to myself. I know it’s going to be rubbish and I still buy it.”
“Ah, note to self, she’s a coffee snob.” Joel didn’t complain; he was a bit like that himself.
The tannoy announced that their flight was ready to board, so they both stuffed the remains of their breakfast into their mouths and headed towards the gate.
“I don’t know why you didn’t check that case in,” said Joel, as Lydia struggled to keep up with him because of her carry-on bags.
The look of horror she gave him was almost comical. “And get home to find smashed pallettes and mixed-up products? No chance. At least this way, I know I’ll put the bag in the right way.”
“I’ll see you at the other end. No rushing off without me, right?” Joel leaned down and kissed Lydia gently on the tip of her nose. “And no flirting with the hot guy you end up sitting next to.” He glanced in the direction of Lydia’s seat and was pleased to note that she would be flanked by an older gentleman on one side and a young woman on the other.
“Promise. I’ll meet you by the exit.” She smiled and walked away.
Joel settled himself down in the aisle seat, still irked by Sophia’s planning. Although the attendant had said the flight was full, it looked like the people by Lydia were solo travellers, so there would have been the opportunity for them to sit together. There was nothing he could do though as the plane filled up to capacity. Before they took off, he downloaded his emails to read once they got off the ground.
He sighed as he scanned his inbox. There were plenty of messages for him to read, from Rupert, Sophia and the rest of his team, to make the journey go quicker.
Ten minutes later, he wished he hadn’t started looking. There was a particularly scathing missive from Rupert, ostensibly to the whole team, though reading between the lines, Joel knew it was directed at him. The more he read, the angrier he got. Usually Sophia tipped him off about things like this. Though if Luke was to be believed, she was probably livid with him because of Lydia.
By the time they landed, Joel’s mood hadn’t recovered. There had been another email from Rupert berating his decision not to attend the Christmas party, with veiled threats of what could happen if he didn’t come. Not to mention the list of things he now had to do before the Christmas break was ridiculously long. This was, in part, thanks to his colleagues who had passed their work to him—as per Rupert’s instructions—as he would be wouldn’t be taking any holiday except for the allocated Bank Holiday days. His mind was so focused on that, he almost forgot to wait for Lydia.
“I’m glad that’s over.” Lydia smiled at him as she approached. “The guy next to me could double as a foghorn. I’m surprised you didn’t hear him.”
“I did,” Joel replied, his tone short. “Do you need a taxi, or will you get the Tube home?”
Her brows knitted together at his abrupt question. “I can get on the DLR.”
Completely consumed by the myriad thoughts burning through his brain, he dashed off in the general direction of the taxi rank. “Good. Have a safe trip home.”
“Yes, you too.”
He barely heard Lydia’s farewell as he dashed off in the direction of the taxi rank. Rupert’s attitude towards him about the Christmas party was unjustified, and he thought it was unfair of his boss to get the rest of the team to pass all their work to him. He’d worked hard, and given his best at the presentation to ensure that they would get a new client to add to their portfolio. There wasn’t anything he could do about it though; he’d just have to suck it up and get on with it. It wasn’t until he settled down in the back of the taxi, that he realised he hadn’t given Lydia a second thought.
13
Lydia stared after Joel, open-mouthed. What on earth had happened on the flight home for him to disappear without saying goodbye properly or even mentioning he wanted to see her again?
She grabbed her two suitcases and began making the journey home. Everywhere she looked there were happy couples, people dressed in Christmas-party gear, men brandishing mistletoe over their girlfriends and kissing them. Everything, in fact, to remind her that Joel had just walked off.
“Lyds! I’m so happy you’re home.” Jacinta was waiting in the living room when she finally got back to their apartment.
“I’m not cleaning up any of your sick.” Lydia wrinkled her nose as Jacinta enveloped her in a hug.
Her friend grinned. “I’m so much better now. I’ve even been out shopping and got mince pies and mulled wine.”
“Then you are the best friend ever. Let me dump my stuff and we can crack open that mulled wine.”
Her mood dropped again as she went into her room and started unpacking. She carefully pulled out the dress and hung it up, already planning to take it to the dry cleaners later so it was ready in time for the party. She’d checked, and they were open on Christmas Eve, remembering it was probably one of their busiest days. Her phone buzzed with a message and she frantically dug in her bag for it, hoping to see an apology from Joel. Instead, there were several notes from Megan as to what she had to do the following day and the precise timings for everything. Gratefully, she took off the boots that seemed to have been welded to her for the past few days and shoved her feet into a pair of fluffy slippers.
Jacinta was already waiting on the sofa with two steaming glasses of wine, the cinnamon smell permeating the air. “So. Tell me more about this guy you had dinner with.”
Lydia plopped onto the cushion beside her. “There’s nothing to tell. We had dinner, we spent pretty much all of yesterday together, he kissed me and then he stormed off earlier, without saying anything. I’m worried that all he wants is his money back and he doesn’t want to see me again.” The stark facts made Lydia wonder whether the last couple of days had been anything more than a simple fantasy.
“A kiss is not nothing, Lyds. Neither is him coming to your rescue when you needed it most.”
When they’d got on the plane, everything had been fine. She couldn’t explain his sudden mood change and how it had come about so quickly in a little over an hour and a half.
“Maybe he’s just not that into me.” A tear threatened to spill out and Lydia brushed it away before Jacinta could see. Getting upset over something that hadn’t even really started was stupid. There were more important things to think about, like her parents’ anniversary party, Christmas and New Year.
