Page 53 of Love Me Ever After
This was usually where I came into my own, persuading the reluctant groom-to-be that this was indeed the venue of his dreams. But a pressing need to pee again overcame me. I seriously hoped that after all the sex Mason and I had had recently, this wasn’t a UTI. Perhaps I should have had cranberry juice instead.
“Excuse me a moment, I’ll be right back. I just need to get something from my office.” I dashed off.
To make my excuse seem legitimate, I stopped by the office and grabbed the folder which contained pictures of previous weddings. It often helped potential clients to visualise what their own day might look like. David certainly looked as if he needed convincing.
“Everything okay?” Sonya was chewing on her banana, which sent me into a jealous frenzy.
I stared at her, unease creeping through me. “Actually, Sonya, I don’t know.” Then I turned and left the room.
The rest of the meeting with Naomi and David went well. From the way we left it, they were extremely likely to want to book us. I gave them the dates we had free and told them to get back to me as soon as possible.
The afternoon dragged. I was meeting Georgie for drinks later. Mondays were her day off from the restaurant and we hadn’t caught up in an absolute age, since the tasting session in fact. We were headed to the Winking Fox, hoping to get in before the tourist crush.
It bothered me that I hadn’t heard from Mason today. Of course I knew he was busy. Of course I knew he didn’t have to message me every minute of the day. But given how huge this interview was for us and the potential implications of it, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was avoiding me. He was meant to be attending a candidate dinner this evening, leaving little opportunity for us to talk.
Georgie was already in the pub and waved from the table she’d managed to secure. A bottle of white wine in a cooler sat in the centre, two empty glasses waiting.
“Hey!” She stood up and gave me a hug. “Long time no see.”
I hugged her back, then we both sat down. “You’re one busy lady these days.”
She laughed. “God, yes. This is harder than workingina restaurant. There’s all the paperwork, rotas, accounts, payroll, staff recruitment.” Georgie rolled her eyes. I knew she was only half-joking. Having her own restaurant was her ultimate dream and I was delighted to see it working out for her.
“And you’d swap it all to go back and work in Anna’s Kitchen?” I grinned.
“Not on your life. I mean, Tess and Ellis were great and it’s how I met Alex, so I probably shouldn’t complain.” Georgie took the bottle out of the cooler. “Wine?”
“Thought you’d never ask.”
She filled both our glasses and we clinked them together.
One sip of the crisp Chardonnay and I practically retched. It wasn’t one of my favourite grapes, but tonight it tasted totally different. I set the glass down on the table. It was possible the wine was corked. I’d try it again in a little while.
We chatted about the restaurant, the hotel, Alex and Mason. It was good to spend some time with a girlfriend and simply talk without any kind of agenda. Sara had been MIA a lot recently, spending more and more time with Noel. She still paid her rent and came home to pick up clean clothes, but to all intents and purposes, she had pretty much moved out. I wondered how long it would be before it was Mason and I who had to look for another housemate.
I picked up my wine and took a big mouthful and screwed up my nose.
“You okay? You’ve barely touched your wine.” Georgie’s concern was welcome, until she followed it up with, “and that’s totally unlike you.”
“Do you think it tastes funny?” I waved my glass at her, urging her to try some.
She took a sip. “Tastes fine to me.”
“I hope I’m not getting sick. There really isn’t time for me to be off work with the events we’ve got coming up.” My shoulders slumped. I lowered my voice and whispered. “I think I might have a UTI. I can’t stop peeing.”
Georgie narrowed her eyes. “Repelled by wine, peeing a lot. Have you had any weird cravings lately?”
I thought back to the banana I’d been desperate for this morning. I really did hate them, so why did I nearly cry when Sonja ate hers? Unless…
I swallowed hard. “Um…yes…”
Her jaw fell open. “Darcy went through something similar just before she found out she was pregnant.”
It was the exact conclusion I’d come to at the same time as Georgie said the word out loud.
What the fuck?
How?
