Page 48 of Promise Me Ever After
Georgie: Ems… are you at work? And is Sonya there?
I had no idea if Ems was even working today, but I knew Sonya was. Desperate to talk to someone about Alex, the job had fallen to Ems, but I didn’t want my potential boyfriend’s mother to be in on the gossip.
Ems: Yes and no. What’s going on???
Without waiting another minute, I called her.
“What’s going on? Why can’t Sonya be around?” Ems paused. “Wait. You and Alex, right?”
I groaned. “Why do things have to be so difficult?”
“What happened? I mean, I can guess and don’t want all the details, but you two did leave together.”
“We went back to his house, which I thought was a house share. Then I bumped into Sonya in the kitchen first thing this morning.”
“Ouch. How was she?”
“Ever so protective over her only son.Pretty much warning me off him and telling me I shouldn’t hurt him.”
“She hasn’t said anything.” Voices from Ems’s end started, and I froze. “No, leave it there. I’ll talk to Sonya and come back to you. Thanks.” The breath I hadn’t realised I’d been holding blew out at the realisation it had been someone else and not Sonya. “Sorry, Georgie. Now, where were we?”
“I was explaining Sonya’s inability to see her son as a grown-ass man.”
“She’ll get used to the idea. It was only the other day she was moaning about the fact he was still at home. I think she’d be happy for him to shack up with you.”
“Whoa, hold on, it’s a bit soon for all that.” Memories of moving in with Russ after only a few weeks flooded my brain. I couldn’t make the same mistake again. “We’ve only slept together once.”
“But do you want a repeat performance?”
The tingle which danced around my core every time I thought back to the previous evening answered for me.
“Maybe,” I lied.
“You two would make a good couple though.”
“It’s nothing serious.” It was meant to be fun. I wasn’t meant to see a future in it.
“What’s stopping you from taking it further?”
“Ems, we’ve had one night together.”
One amazing night which I would happily repeat every night.
“Come on, Georgie. If you know, you know. I think the fact you’re even talking to me about it means you want more. Had it been a one off, I doubt we’d even be having this conversation. And you wouldn’t be worried about Sonya. Shit, talking of which, she’s back.” Ems’s tone took on a panicked note. “Give me a call later. If you fancy a drink, we can talk some more.”
“Sure. Thanks, Ems.”
A drink was the last thing I wanted. The nagging, slow-burn of a hangover crept over me. My bed called to me, for sleep this time and nothing else.
When I woke up, it was mid-afternoon and not long before my shift started. I rolled over in bed and reached for my bag from last night, thinking a cigarette might help me think. My hand closed around what I thought was the packet. Instead, I discovered a rectangle shaped present, wrapped in shiny pink paper. There was a tag attached.
Georgie, hope you have a memorable thirtieth birthday, love Alex x
I ran my fingers over Alex’s scrawl. He’d certainly given me a birthday I would never forget. But he’d never said anything about a gift.
Intrigued, I ripped off the paper to find a black box. Taking off the top, my jaw dropped as I saw the silver bracelet inside, a dainty silver chain with tiny star charms embellished on it. I had pointed it out to Darcy a couple of months ago, before I started my new job, telling her I’d probably buy it when I got my first pay check. I’d forgotten all about it, but clearly Alex and Darcy had been colluding and not just about the party.
I grabbed my phone from the bedside table.
