Page 90 of Once Bitten, Twice Fried
“I have to tell you first, it’s important.”
“It’s also important for me too. Plus, you didn’t let me explain to you on the phone the last time.”
Julie felt a pang of guilt, but powered through.
“You’ll tell me afterwards.” She took a breath and continued before Zoe could interrupt. “I love you, Zoe. I always did. Ten years ago, ten years from now, I don’t think it’s something I’ll ever shake off.” Julie’s blood was roaring through her wholebody. Her legs were made of cotton. She tried to decipher Zoe’s expression but a billion other things were going through her mind.
“I thought I had gotten over you and then you came back into my life. I haven’t been able to think about anything or anyone else but you. I’ve always been terrified to lose you and it led to me running away when I should’ve been honest with you. I’m sorry I hurt you every time I pushed you away. I always thought you didn’t care about me as much as I did about you.” She stopped.
Zoe had her mouth slightly agape but didn’t say anything.
Julie didn’t want the moment to get away from her. It was time for her to come clean to her best friend. To say the words she’d waited too long to say.
“I want to be with you. I know you’re getting married this month but I needed to tell you that. I don’t know if what happened at Yasmine’s wedding meant something for you, but it meant a lot to me. Whatever your answer will be, I’ll always wish for your happiness. But it’s been killing me not to tell you, and I can’t run away from it any more.” A weight fell off Julie’s shoulders as she finished. She was so relieved to have said her piece, she almost didn’t care what came next.
“Julie…” Zoe started. “Is that true?” Her cheeks coloured.
Julie nodded.
Zoe’s expression was curious. Julie hadn’t expected her to take it so well.
“Okay. Um. I think it’s best if I just say what I had planned to say. Maybe that would be the best way to respond to… to what you said.” Julie had never seen Zoe seem so nervous. She nodded faintly as Zoe took a breath and shifted on the bench to better face Julie. “So first, I’d like to go back to what happened when I stood you up at the hotel.”
Julie nodded again. She still remembered how betrayed she felt.
“It was never my intention to leave you hanging and I’m very sorry about it. But…” Zoe touched her chest with her hand. “I’m a celebrity. My life is under constant scrutiny. That morning I stood you up, my assistant called me to tell me that there were some rumours about Tom’s infidelity in the tabloids. Of course, that wasn’t true but my producers needed me back because that was bad for my show. God, when I say it now it sounds stupid, but just, please believe me that in my world, that counts as an absolute emergency. I really didn’t have any choice in the matter, and if I had, I would’ve never stood you up. I’m so sorry I did though. ”
“Oh.” Julie looked out over the pond. “That makes sense. I understand why it was a big deal.” She regretted not trusting Zoe earlier. It might have saved her so much heartache.
“You couldn’t know. It’s something that I still struggle to realise myself. It’s so bizarre to have people constantly picking apart every detail of your life.” She took a deep breath. “Anyway, it was a crisis for a little while.” Zoe frowned. “And then, my agent decided to tell the tabloids that there were no issues between Tom and I and that, in fact, we were getting married later this month, which wasn’t true at all.”
Julie’s gaze snapped back to Zoe. It wasn’t true? That changed everything. Zoe noticed Julie’s shock. “I know right? It was such a dumb decision.” She sighed. “It was stressful to deal with my assistant and Tom - and not to mention, you - but then…” She paused. “Then I realised something thanks to Nicki - she’s my assistant.”
“I know.”
“You know?” Zoe looked puzzled.
“Erm, let’s say we’ve spoken to each other. I’ll explain to you later.”
Zoe raised a brow, but moved on. “Anyway, Nicki helped me realise that I’ve been running around for a long time and that what I wanted in life is one, to be cooking and be a chef. No more of this silly telly celebrity business. Or at least, not to the point where it takes over my life or keeps me out of the kitchen.” She looked Julie straight in the eye.
“And two.” Zoe took Julie’s hand in hers. “Two…” She swallowed. “Two is to be with you.”
“Really?” Julie wasn’t sure she heard her correctly.
“Yes. And of course I accept your apologies for the past ten years. In case you’re still uncertain how I feel about you, what happened at Yasmine’s wedding was just confirmation that there’s nobody else like you.” She scooted closer to Julie. “I love you too. And I have for a long time.”
Julie’s insides were bursting with joy. Zoe Lang loved her too. She tried to keep her focus.
“Wait, what about Tom?” Julie asked nervously.
“I ended things with him yesterday.” Zoe looked down. “It was tough but it was the right thing to do. He’ll be alright. We’ve been making each other unhappy for long enough.”
“Yesterday?”
“Oh god, do you think I’m moving too fast?” Zoe bit her lip.
Julie chuckled. “I don’t know, let’s wait another ten years to be sure.” She moved towards Zoe, but before she even got halfway there, she felt a hand grazing her face and settling at the back of her neck, then she felt Zoe’s full lips pressed against hers. Julie leaned into the kiss and fireworks exploded in her head. Zoe’s lips tasted a little bit like pineapple and it might just have reconciled her with that wretched fruit. Her hand weaved through Zoe’s soft hair.
