Page 29 of Love ad Lib
A reply came through almost immediately.
Libby: It’s okay. I’ll have a think about it.
6
Libby gulped from the mug of instant coffee, hoping it would bring her clarity. Sat in the hospital café, she was exhausted and still had to walk three miles home. With Harper arriving ahead of schedule, the moment she’d been in denial about for months had suddenly hit.
What was she going to do?
She’d assured Claire she’d find someone to take her place for the workshops and comedy nights but hadn’t approached any of her contacts. Improv required a certain level of trust and experience, and no-one had seemed an adequate replacement for her best friend.
The only option currently on the table was the offer she’d just received.
Poor Henry. During the session at Conqueror, she’d made sure to hide her reaction when he told her about his family. That night she’d googled the Foxbrookes. Within a minute she was thanking her lucky stars for her exceedingly normal parents and siblings, and was filled with empathy for him.
The flickering strip light above her sparked a thought. What would his proposal mean for her relationship with Lucas?
Would this be the red rag that prompted him to realise and declare his feelings? She imagined his righteous indignation. ‘Pretend to love someone else? But Lib-Lob, you’re mine!’ Lucas was going to be every Jane Austen hero rolled into one.
Lucas might not be awake yet, and he often took hours or days to reply to her messages, so she sent him a series of texts.
Libby: Morning! Claire just had her baby! A little girl called Harper! So cute. I’ll send you a picture xxx
Libby: [Picture of Harper]
Libby: Btw I just got the weirdest job offer.
Libby: One of the guys I did the workshop with at Conqueror wants to pay me to be his fake girlfriend at his thirtieth birthday celebrations. Can you believe it?
She waited for five minutes, dunking a stale croissant in the remains of her coffee. Was he even awake? Maybe a few more would prompt a reply.
Libby: His family have been hassling him to get a girlfriend, so he told them he did have one to get them off his back, and now he has to find one in a hurry lol x
Libby: The job would be for four days x
Libby: His birthday celebrations are lasting that long x
Still nothing.
She took her tray to the cleaning station, checked directions for the walk home, then sent one final message.
Libby: His name is Henry Foxbrooke.
Her phone rang before she’d reached the front doors of the hospital.
‘Lib-Lob, babe, what the fuck?’
Libby tried not to squeal. Lucas’s voice was the sexy growl she was hoping for.
‘Sorry, did I wake you up?’
‘Yeah, I had a late sesh last night. Still in bed.’
Her heart leapt as she pictured him on the double bed that was parked in the corner of his studio. Lucas had been living there for the past year after a disagreement with his previous landlord.
‘Did you see the picture of Claire’s baby?’ she asked.
‘Yeah, that’s cool. But are you serious? Foxy Foxbrooke wants to pay you to be his girlfriend? Lib-Lob, I can’t see you putting out for him. You’re not like that.’
