Page 39 of The Vow We Made
He holds up his hands and grins. “Never would I ever.” He loves to wind me up at every opportunity. “So, come on then. Tell us what happened?” he asks.
“What?” Playing it down is the name of the game. If he knows how interested I am in Victoria, he’ll rip me to shreds. “It was a good night.”
“Cool. Are you seeing her again?”
“In a few days. I’ve got a couple of double shifts this week and Victoria’s going to Scotland for a job interview.”
“Is she planning on moving up there?” Confusion is written all over his face.
I roll my eyes, “No, you idiot. She’s launching a management company for make-up artists and is pitching for an opportunity. Some big historical drama thing.”
“Whoa, sounds important and I presume they’d be filming in Scotland.”
The prospect hadn’t crossed my mind. “I suppose they would.”
It’s stupid to worry about her being away from me, especially at this early stage, but already I wonder where this leaves us if she got the job.
I forget Will is here for a minute, until he points out, “You obviously hadn’t thought too much about it.”
I love my brother, but if he saw the picture running through my mind, life would not be worth living due to the amount of piss taking he’d put me through. He can’t know how eager I am when I’ve taken Victoria out just once so I play it down and shrug. “No, not much.”
I hate knowing she isn’t in a position of loyalty where I’m concerned. Not yet anyway. What if she meets some strapping Scottish cameraman or worse still, an actor? There’s no understanding between us, it’s early days and she’s free to date who she wants.
“Mate?” Will asks. “Yes or no?”
“Yes or no to what?” My mind was wandering. Again. What the hell has she done to me?
“A lift to the airport? You said she was flying to Scotland, so why don’t you take her to the airport and I’ll drive you.”
I cross my arms and widen my stance while shooting a questioning stare. “Why would you do that?”
“Because for the last ten minutes, I’ve been talking and you haven’t listened to a word I’ve said. I’ve never seen you so bloody soppy over a woman, so go sweep her off her feet before someone else does.”
My thoughts exactly.
“So which is it? Going for it or not?”
I sense the smirk creep across my mouth because, for all his piss-taking, my brother is a bloody star.
I won’t let him know it, not straight away. “I can see what you’re up to,” I tell him, shaking my head. “You’re building ammunition to get me back for dropping you in it so many times.”
Affectionately, he slaps his hand to my back. “Not this time mate. I won’t ruin it for you and you were probably right to give me a hard time.” He smiles with tight lips and nods as if he’s deep in thought.
This isn’t like Will. He’s come over all serious on me and I wonder what the hell has happened to make him talk like this. “What’s going on?” I ask, genuinely concerned.
“Nothing major. I’ve been re-evaluating my love life, that’s all. I wasn’t good to Chloe and you were right, she deserved more. I’m not proud of that fact, so from now on, it’s a clean slate for me.”
This isn’t Will’s style. “Fuck me, you alright?” Everything in life is a joke to him, apart from now and I don’t know what’s changed his tune.
“Never been better.”
I sit and think for a minute, realising he must have a reason for this change of heart.
“You’re not telling me everything.”
“Nothing to tell.” He smiles and then I know for sure.
“Oh fuck. Who is she?” His eyes bulge and his mouth drops, as if I’ve accused him of something so bad, he can’t speak. I don’t let it go. “Come on, spit it out.”
