Page 141 of Love ad Lib
‘Lib—’
‘No, Henry, you can’t pay for this. It’s not your fault.’
‘But—’
‘Look, I’m clearly the problem here. Mr Pussy has lived here for—what,yearsin this beautiful flat without any issue, and now I’m here and he’s tearing the place up. I’ve never had a cat before so it must be something I’m doing wrong.’ She waved her hand at the wounded armchair. ‘This is my problem to fix.’
She wanted to shut the conversation down before it grew legs again and crawled uncomfortably over her skin. No matter how much Henry insisted, she couldn’t take any more money from him. So, she’d dipped further into her overdraft to fix or replace everything Mr Pussy had destroyed.
Henry opened his mouth to argue but was interrupted by a ping from his phone. He took it out and stared at the screen, his face impassive.
It rang.
He declined the call and put it back in his pocket.
Libby knew what was coming next. She looked away and braced as if preparing for an electric shock.
Sure enough, her phone buzzed with an incoming message.
Dervla: Hello darling, how are you today? Do you have any idea when you’re coming back up? Henry’s been too busy with work to let us know. XXX
It buzzed again.
Dervla: Any luck with getting Gram-Gram and Eveline signed copies of Polly Hart’s books? Doesn’t matter which ones. You must have a couple spare around the office? XXX
And again.
Estelle: Give your boyfriend a kick up his arse and tell him to reply to his messages. Hope you can make it back up here soon, with or without my brother. And if you can get signed Ploppy Fart books for Eveline and Gram-Gram I will owe you FOR LIFE. Love from your new friend (whether you like it or not) xxx
Libby put her phone down, suddenly nauseous. No matter how her relationship had changed with Henry since they’d first arrived in Foxbrooke, their initial lie sat in her stomach like an undigested meal, refusing to go away. She was falling head over heels in love with him, but how long could they keep this charade with his family going?
And did Henry even consider a future with her? No matter how wonderfully he was treating her, was she his girlfriend? What would happen once he went back to work? Was this just a holiday fling for him?
She glanced across the room as Mr Pussy rubbed against her leg. Henry was staring out of the window, his face strained. She had to be brave and ask the awkward ‘us’ question to know if she needed to start the process of disengaging from him and closing down her heart just as it was opening.
She took a breath.
He turned, abruptly. ‘Libby. I need to talk to you about something.’
Oh god. Here it comes.
He rubbed a hand over his head. ‘I haven’t been truthful.’
She let her breath out slowly, trying to stay calm.
‘I need to tell you something, but I’m worried you’ll think less of me.’
Her mind raced. ‘You can tell me anything, Henry.’
She perched on one end of the sofa, her knees pressed together. Mr Pussy leapt onto her lap, turned in a circle, then collapsed in a furry heap and started purring.
Henry sat at the other end of the sofa, his hands interlocked.
Digging her nails into her palms, she waited.
He cleared his throat. ‘I told you I had extra leave days I had to take, which is true, but not the whole story. I, I’ve been suspended.’
What?She stared blankly at him, struggling to process his words.
