Page 20 of A Summer of New Beginnings
‘Thanks, gorgeous. Hey, I can’t wait to see you. Maybe we can sneak in a meeting? I don’t think I can wait two weeks. And before we know it you’ll be off on your travels.’
She was relievedhe wanted to see her but decided to stand firm. ‘Like I said, your focus should be on Caleb. I don’t want to detract from that. But I promise as soon as he goes home I’ll be right there.’
‘Hmm… if you insist on keeping away I might just have to come and break into your apartment.’ He chuckled.
‘Don’t forget I have a Marco. He’s not a dog but, I’m telling you, he can be a lot worse.’ She laughedas the image of Marco humping Josh’s leg came to mind.
‘What’s so funny?’
Zara tried to quell her amusement. ‘Oh, just my stupid sense of humour. Listen, I should go. Up early tomorrow. Unlike some of us, who get to play football and go to museums for the next two weeks, there are those of us who have to go in to work to earn a crust.’
‘Yeah, well, you can always ditch work and come with us.’
‘Night, Josh, lo—’Oh, shit, that was bloody close.‘Lovely to hear from you.’ She hung up before any comments could be made about her ridiculous almost-confession. It had begun to trip from her tongue and she’d felt this way for so long, it felt natural to say it. But now wasn’t the time.
*
Four days later she was sitting eating breakfast with Marco when out of the blue he asked, ‘Josh hasn’tbeen in touch for a couple of days, has he?’
Zara sighed. ‘No, but only because I insisted he focused on his son. I’m regretting it, to be honest. I miss him like mad. I don’t know what to do.’ She placed her spoon down and stared into her yogurt and berries as if the answer might miraculously appear there. An image of the berries forming words in the bowl sprang to mind.They’d no doubt spellout ‘Get a life, loser’ or something equally scathing.
‘Maybe you should just give in and call him? Ask him out for a quick drink. I’m sure he’s missing you just as much. Honestly, if I see you scroll through those bloody selfies you took once more I’m going to go over to his place and drag him here by his bed hair.’
Zara cringed and put down the phone that had become somewhat of a hand accessory.The post-coital, silly bed selfies were really sweet. Cheesy but lovely. But looking at them only made her miss him more.
‘What the fuck is wrong with me, Marco? I’ve pretty much loved him since the day I met him but I daren’t tell him in case it leads me to find out that he doesn’t feel the same. It’s pathetic. And not normal.’ She huffed.
Marco grinned. ‘Well, Zara Bear, you’ve never beennormal. I mean, you put ketchup on everything. You drift off into your head all the time and let’s face it;I’myour best friend. So I think the whole normal thing is a ship long since sailed, honey.’
She couldn’t help giggling. ‘Sod off. And I don’t put ketchup in yogurt.’ She tilted up her bowl as if to prove a point. But then she did begin to wonder what that would actually taste like…
‘Ohmy God, you’re considering it, aren’t you? See! Case in point! Not a shred of normality in you, girl.’
*
After stewing on the idea of calling Josh for the majority of her working dayandbeing faced with an ever-increasing to-do list, thanks to the recent departure of her colleague Dillon, Zara couldn’t focus. As soon as the clock hands ticked round to five p.m., she grabbed her bag and dashedtowards the exit. She was owed some time and she was damn well going to take it.
She had just reached the door when Noah’s voice stopped her. ‘Zara! Before you leave I have the details through about your bike hire for the NC500. Do you want to come in and we can go through it?’ he called from the doorway of his office.
With her back towards him, she sighed and rolled her eyes.A bike is a bike,surely?But, as obedient as ever, she turned and walked slowly towards her boss. ‘Look, Noah, would you mind awfully if I take a rain check? I’m shattered and I have somewhere to be tonight.’
Not used to people saying no, he looked a little stunned. His eyebrows were raised and the slow nod of his head told Zara he wasn’t keen on it. ‘Oh. Right. But it’s vitally important you get the right bike.We need to send some more details. Dillon, of course, had his own titanium-framed bike that cost him over four thousand quid…’ His nostrils flared at the mention of his new arch nemesis.
‘I totally understand, and I promise I’ll give it my full attention tomorrow, okay?’
‘Sure. Sure. Enjoy yourafternoon.’ He stressed the word as if to make a point that she was some kind of part-timer. But Zarachose not to bite.
‘Great. Bye, Noah.’ She dashed once again for the door. It was raining hard and the fact that she had chosen the Tube again today became a huge relief. She couldn’t cycle over to Josh’s house in this bloody weather. Turning up looking like a drowned rat wouldn’t do.
Once off the train at the right stop, Zara put up her brolly and set off walking to Josh’s little flat. As shewalked the rain became heavier and the wind whipped up so much that her umbrella turned inside out and broke.
‘Oh, shit!’ She wrestled with it for a while but to no avail. Eventually she stuffed the mangled metal and plastic into a dustbin and began to jog. She knew very well she was going to look like a drowned rat when she finally got to Josh’s but at least she’d get to see him. Maybe she’deven get to meet Caleb too.
She rounded the corner of his street and the rain was coming horizontally straight at her. She lowered her head and stared at the pavement as she walked quickly, too out of breath to jog any more.
She was freezing cold, in her flimsy little suit and heels and wished she’d rethought this whole visiting surprise. She reached the point in the road where she knew sheneeded to cross and lifted her chin to check for traffic.
Something caught her eye and she fixed her gaze on Josh’s building. A couple stood on the steps under a large stripy umbrella. It looked like a nice sturdy one, unlike the ridiculous excuse for a rain cover she’d just had to ditch. The umbrella lowered and she saw that Josh was its owner. The dark-haired woman with him was presumably Katie.
She stepped forward and lifted her arm to wave but stopped when Josh slipped his arm round the waist of the woman and pulled her into his arms. What happened next broke her heart. His companion tilted her chin up to meet Josh’s lowered face. And then he kissed her. But it wasn’t the kiss of two long-lost friends. It was the kiss of two people still head over heels in love.
