Page 62 of Happily Never After
‘You’re kidding!’ On the screen, Liv’s face is a mask of horror.
‘I wish I was,’ I tell her. ‘He was waiting for me when I got back from my sightseeing trip.’
‘What on earth was he thinking?’
‘He somehow got it into his head that me telling him to piss off and never contact me again actually meant that I still loved him.’
‘That’s some seriously fucked-up logic. How does that even work?’
‘According to him, I wouldn’t have been angry if I didn’t still care about him.’
‘Delusional, but you’ve got to admire his persistence, I suppose. What are you going to do?’
‘I don’t know! That’s why I called. I need advice, urgently.’
‘Hmm. OK, how did you feel when you saw him?’
‘Shocked, mainly, then angry. Why?’
‘And why do you think you were angry?’
‘Because life here is difficult enough without Angus coming in and stirring the pot. Honestly, I thought Gina was going to have a coronary.’
‘Which one is she?’
‘Ringleader, snotty cow.’
‘Oh, yes. What’s it got to do with her?’
‘She’s on her high horse because Angus isn’t a writer and this is supposed to be a writing retreat. Plus, he obviously let on that he was looking for me, so not only does she think he shouldn’t be here in the first place, she’s blaming me for it.’
‘I’d tell her to piss off. What?’
I grin. ‘I kind of did, but it was a bit stronger than that. I’m not sure she’s speaking to me now.’
‘Good for you. Interfering old bat. It’s not your fault Angus is there. I mean, it kind of is, but you didn’t invite him, did you? And if the criteria for staying were that strict then the hosts should have told him he didn’t meet them and turned his booking down.’
‘I think we can assume Gina and I aren’t going to be besties. I’m not convinced she doesn’t blame me for Finn being here as well.’
‘I thought he was flying under the radar.’
‘So did I, but it turns out Lynette would make a sieve look watertight. Those two are thick as thieves at the moment, so I guess Lynette had no compunction about throwing Finn under the bus. At least he wasn’t here to cop the flak.’
‘Have you heard from him?’
‘Yes. The presentation went well and he’s optimistic.’
‘And how did that make you feel?’
‘He put kisses on the end of his messages.’
‘Did he now?’
‘Yeah, but then so did I, so maybe he was just responding in kind.’
‘But you hope not.’
‘I did like it.’
