Page 47 of Tangled With the Wrong Guy
‘Just a coincidence,’ said Joel. ‘I mean, loads of padlocks right there, someone dropped a key.’
‘But we should try it?’ said Chloe. There was magic in the air. That sense she’d had before, that something was at play.
They lifted their wrists and looked again at the padlock.
‘Wait,’ said Joel. ‘Kiss me, Chloe, just in case this works. My separation anxiety is real.’
She smiled, and twined her free hand around his neck and he pulled her close, then pressed his lips to hers.
‘Let’s give it a go, then,’ he said, pulling apart.
Chloe was reeling from the kiss. It had been so full of emotion, and feelings, and goodbyes; she was suddenly in tears. She took a deep breath. Whether or not thiswasgoodbye, she didn’t want to break down.
She held up the lock, and he slipped in the little key and turned it. Chloe wasn’t at all surprised when it clicked open.
Joel shook his head in disbelief. He slipped the lock off their shackles, and with a shake of their arms the chain fell to the floor, landing in a silvery heap on the wooden bridge.
They were free.
Chloe rotated her wrist, flapped her hand about, easing it. It felt oddly unsettling to be unshackled.
Joel was still staring at the padlock, the key sticking out of its hole.
‘Should we put it there, with the others?’ she said, looking over at the lamppost. ‘I know it’s only been one day, but–’
‘Onenight,’ he said. ‘One bizarre but unforgettable night. Yes, our … story deserves a spot on the lamppost.’
‘We need to put our names on it, though,’ said Chloe. ‘How do we do that without a knife or a pen?’
Joel removed the key from the lock and scratched it across the gold surface. Incredibly, a J appeared. His eyebrows shot up. ‘What’s this, a diamond-tipped key?’ Then he carved a C. And then drew a heart around the initials.
Chloe was battling those tears again. ‘Can I hold it?’
He passed it over, and she stared at the letters, side by side, the J butting into the back of the C, just like how they’d woken up this morning.
She flipped the padlock over and frowned. On the back was a tiny serial number. Then she gave an incredulous laugh. ‘No. That’s just …’ She held it out to show him. The number running along the bottom of the lock read:10092024.
‘Yesterday’s date,’ he said. He stared at Chloe. ‘What the actual fuck?’
She smiled. ‘I have no idea what’s going on, but I’d call that a sign, wouldn’t you? I might even call it magic.’
‘Are you in truth an angel?’ he said. ‘And will I take one last look at the view from the bridge, and when I turn back you’ll have disappeared?’
‘I’m real enough,’ she said. ‘All of this is real but somehow unreal. Come on, let’s attach the lock.’
They went over to the lamppost, and Joel put an arm round her. ‘You do It, Chloe. And, hey … how about we make a pact, to come back here in a year’s time, same time, same place. Meet me right here at – must be about nine o’clock. Nomatter where you are, what you’re doing; whether you’re still in your shop or designing some fancy garden somewhere, drop everything and come here. Say you will?’
‘Yes, Joel, I will,’ she whispered. ‘I’ll see you here, nine o’clock a year from now, no matter what. That’s a promise.’
She found a space on the chain that had been attached to the lamppost, and slipped the padlock round it, closing it with aclick.
‘Chloe and Joel forever,’ she said.
He picked up the chain from where it had fallen, saying, ‘I’m keeping this. And … one last thing.’ He took her hand and led her over to the glass barrier. ‘Ready?’
‘I’m ready.’
‘Kiss it,’ he said.
