Page 17 of One Day Like This (Excess All Areas 1)

He held his breath until she started to walk toward him, then he released it with a whoosh.

Now what, genius?

She checked the bags she always seemed to be carrying too many of. “Did I forget something?”

She patted the back pocket of her jeans, likely looking for her phone.

“No. Just come back inside.”

“Matt. I really need to get going to work.”

“I know. This won’t take a moment.”

He pushed the door open for the second time to let her in. “Where’s the wedding?”

She dropped her bags on the floor. “At a large hotel on the banks of Lake Windermere in the Lake District.”

Great. Iz, who already looked like a heroine fromWutheringfuckingHeights, would be wandering the hills and water’s edge. She’d wear a pretty dress covered in flowers. Her hair free instead of the way she forced it into sleek lines every day.

Wild Iz was perhaps the hottest Iz there was.

“And when is it?”

“Two weekends from this weekend.”

Matt ran through gig dates in his head. They were miraculously free because Luke had booked it off for some reason he couldn’t remember right now. “Saturday?”

Izabel bit her lip and winced. “Yes. Well, no. There are events on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning.”

“Should be called your wedding week, not your wedding day. How are you going to get up there, Iz?”

He could tell by the lines on the bridge of her nose she hadn’t thought about that. “I’m sure there’s a train.”

“Yeah. And how much will that cost. Forty quid? Fifty quid? And what about accommodation? Izabel. Hotels on Lake Windermere likely cost a bloody fortune.”

“Look, I don’t know why the sudden interrogation. I’ll figure something out, Matt. I’ll see if someone will let me crash in their room with them. Or find a hostel or something cheaper close by. Hell, I can even camp. It’s summer. Why did you call me back here to talk logistics?”

“Because I’m taking you and I need to know what I’ve signed up for.”

“But you just agreed it was best if—”

“I was half asleep when you knocked on the door and offered me an out. And I wasn’t honest with you.”

“What? I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I. Bring me your bags that Friday morning. I’ll stick ’em in the car and pick you up from the shelter after work and we’ll head straight off. And if you can get out of there early so we aren’t stuck on the M6 in rush hour traffic, even better.”

“But ... Luke.”

Yeah, Luke.

“I’m not lying to him. I’ll come up with something and sort it out with him.”

Izabel shook her head. “No, I should be the one to do it.”

Matt huffed. “I admire the spark of independence, but we both know when it comes to conflict, you’re like a fucking kitten. You’ve got claws, you’ve just not figured out how to use them yet. Luke’ll say no, and then I’ll be getting a text saying we’re not going.”

Wrinkles appeared across the bridge of Izabel’s nose, the closest she ever came to looking truly indignant. “You make me sound like a pushover.”

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