Page 14 of Tangled With the Wrong Guy
They went quiet. Joel looked deep in thought. Then all at once he blurted, ‘To live is the rarest thing in the world.Most people exist, that is all.’
She looked over at him. ‘That’s a bit bleak.’
‘Oscar Wilde.’
‘It’s probably true.’ Chloe let out a sigh. ‘I guess most people in the world don’t have much of a choice, really. Just getting on with their lives, day by day.’
She was pretty sure they were closing in on Oscar now – she recognised the weeping angel on their left. Chloe had the distinct impression it was reacting to their conversation.
‘Chloe,’ said Joel, ‘do you ever stop and wonder what the fuck you’re doing with your life?’
‘Right now, I try not to think too much on that. I take it a day at a time. I’m just so thankful to my aunt for whisking me here, away from Huddersfield.’
‘Like a fairy godmother.’
She nodded. ‘Yes. But you know, even though I’m living in the world’s most beautiful city, doing my dream job, I guess … I’m still only existing right now.’
He smiled. ‘And somewhere along the way your sense of humour took a holiday.’
Chloe had been aware she was thawing – it was difficult not to, as Joel the idiot drunk evolved into Joel the interesting human being – but she wasn’t yet ready to explain and, fortuitously, a fox saved her from having to. ‘Oh, look!’ She pointed as the flash of orange briefly lit the shadows.
‘A fox!’ he whispered. ‘I would never have expected that.’
‘The wildlife’s really making a comeback here. Loads of different types of trees now, too.’
‘So you’re into all things green?’ he said, as they set off walking again.
‘Yep. Flowers, trees, all of the plants. And you’re into … data. What sort of data?’
‘Stuff for insurance companies, mainly. Risk analysis.’
‘Oh.’
‘I’m good at assessing risk.’
Chloe glanced at him, and found herself saying, ‘Maybe I should have got a risk assessment before I agreed to say “I do”.’
He nodded, looking unsurprised. ‘Thought it might be something like that.’
‘I don’t really want to talk about it. And maybe you should’ve assessed your risk when considering who to invite to your stag.’
‘Good point.’
‘Why are those bozos even your friends?’
‘They’re my mates from school, apart from one, from back home in Essex. I don’t really have any other close friends now I’ve moved to Sheffield. Just … Zara.’
‘Your fiancée.’
‘Yep.’
They went quiet again.
‘Will you go back to Huddersfield?’ he asked.
‘Not if I can help it.’
‘I’ve never been there. Is it a shithole?’
