Page 51 of Sincerely Yours, Anna Sherwood

Lloyd finishes up introducing him to Monty and Burnley and then hesitates. Now, he looks at me. It’s a furtive, awkward look, more towards my elbows than my face, but he seems to be weighing something up.

Whatever it is, he’s too late to decide either way – Will takes a seat, expanding our little circle. Lloyd follows suit, striking up a conversation with Freya,apparently a topic from some earlier discussion they’ve had.

‘So what do you do, Will?’ Elaine asks him. ‘Are you at uni?’

‘Yeah. Edinburgh. Classics.’

‘Edinburgh! God, you couldn’t have gotten much further away, could you?’ Monty says, laughing, and Will glances at Lloyd before smiling along with the joke.

‘Tell me about it. Means I don’t get back much during term time, but I like it there. Nice part of the world, you know?’

‘Oh, for sure.’ Monty nods with authority, although I remember him saying the other week he’s never been to Scotland. I decide not to point that out.

‘Classics?’ Elaine asks then, smiling politely. ‘That’s so interesting. So different, too!’

‘Different?’ Will asks. His mouth quirks up, one eyebrow lifting, in a look that’s uncannily like Lloyd. ‘To what?’

‘Well. Just, um. You know.’ She gestures around vaguely, but we all know what she means.Different to Arrowmile. A blush starts to creep up Elaine’s neck and face as she stammers, ‘I just haven’t met a lot of people studying it, I suppose. Ended up in a bit of a STEM bubble, with a Maths degree.’

‘Inevitably.’ Will nods, not unkindly. And then hetells her, ‘The science thing was never really my forte. Lloyd’s the geek.’

His twin pins him with a deeply unimpressed look. It’d be borderline threatening if he weren’t obviously trying so hard not to smile. ‘Says the guy who tried to teach himselfLatin. Forfun.’

Will pushes his glasses up his nose. ‘Itwasfun.’

‘I didn’t realize you were a science nerd, mate,’ Dylan says, speaking across to Lloyd now. His game with Louis is abandoned; I’m not sure who won, and don’t think they know either. ‘Thought you were more into the business side of things and that was why you were always hanging around the labs. Checking in on investments and progress and stuff.’

‘Yeah. I mean, yeah, obviously.’ Lloyd’s shrug is easy, his smile blasé. ‘I was just pretty good at science in school. Picked up a few things, hanging around at Arrowmile over the years.’

I don’t miss the look Will cuts him, or the way Lloyd pointedly ignores his brother. Will sees me looking and his mouth twists into a curl that seems to say:What can you do?

It slots something into place. Another piece in the jigsaw of who Lloyd Fletcher is, one I didn’t know I was curating. The whole exchange, seeing this new dynamic, feels meaningful in a way I can’t quitepinpoint. It’s a corner piece in the jigsaw, anchoring something – I’m just not quite sure what yet.

‘Bet you’re proper jealous of him,’ Burnley tells Lloyd, jerking his head at Will. ‘He gets to enjoy a summer of freedom while he’s home from uni, and you’re stuck working.’

Lloyd laughs it off, and the conversation slides quickly into the subject of summer holidays. It’s a frequent one among the interns so nothing new, but I let myself get carried along the familiar rhythm of it, with Will’s occasional comments sparking new interest.

Lazy in the afternoon sun, cosy with friendly company, my mind wanders to how Lloyd told Will about the night we kissed. Did he tell him about last Friday night, too?

Not that it matters. Obviously. We can’t be anything more than colleagues.

Friends. As challenging as that is.

The party shows no sign of ending anytime soon. The venue is booked until ten o’clock, with the intention of people sticking around a while longer picking at leftover food or continuing the morale-boosting bonding experience of lawn games and free drinks.

The heat of the day is just starting to abate and I’m at the pop-up bar to get a drink. I hadn’t wanted togettoointo the party spirit at what is predominantly a work event, so I’ve been sticking to soft drinks all day.

One Pimm’s won’t hurt, though.

As I order, a body sidles up beside me, heavy and unbalanced. An arm presses into mine before they right themselves.

‘Can you make that two, please?’ Will flashes me a quick smile, pushing his glasses up his nose. ‘Hiya. Sorry, I didn’t mean to crash into you like that.’

‘Had a few too many beers?’

‘Just naturally woefully uncoordinated,’ he corrects me.

‘Well, better than sneaking beers out of a crate and being sick in the office.’

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