Chapter One
Chloe
December 2nd 2018
“Chloe, I said, we’re here.”
“Oh, bollocks,” I grumbled and closed out of the email I’d been reading on my phone, then shoved it in my bag. I looked up and reached for the door. “Sorry, in a bit of a daze this morning— Edith. Why are we here?”
Edith shrugged like she had no idea what I was talking about, but the blush in her pale cheeks and the curve in her lips told me she knew exactly what she was doing. Her gray-ish blue eyes twinkled beneath tortoiseshell glasses. “What’s wrong with here?”
“Well, I didn’t ask to be brought here, for starters.”
She grinned and wagged her dark eyebrows. “I thought you might fancy a f—”
“EDITH.”
She threw her hand over her mouth to hide her cackle. She failed.
I sighed and leaned back against the seat of her little old banger car. “Edith. It’s not even six in the bloody morning after an exhausting three days away—
“What? Rolland has a lovely home.” She tossed her graying-brown hair over her shoulder. “It’s as fit as he is. I see no reason you can’t unwind with him before you go back to Bodleian.”
“Codswallop. Cheeky but codswallop nonetheless.”
Rolland. My boyfriend of two years. I didn’t see him a lot. And that was predominantly my fault, in his words. Not that he was wrong. The first year I’d been preparing to apply for All Souls College and hadn’t wanted to be distracted…and since I’d got that fellowship I hadn’t made much time for him at all.
“Chloe, you spent our entire three days at Cambridge telling me how you wanted to fix your relationship with Rolland—”
“Yes, I know I said that—"
“And it’s December 2nd, your birthday is only a few days away.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “And your point is?”
“Your birthday and Christmas are coming. All that ‘tis the season rubbish, right?” She playfully shoved me. “Perfect excuse. Now go on up there and surprise him. Show him you are serious about him. Go on, I’ll drop your bag off to your flat later.”
“It’s six in the morning—”
“Breakfast in bed, Chlo.” She reached forward and tugged on my light gray jacket. “You look smashing in your little three-piece-suit.”
I narrowed my eyes even more. “Why are you pushing this? You don’t even like Rolland that much…”
She threw her hands up. “For Christ’s sake, I’ve barely met the man, Chloe. But you like him and I trust your judgement. Besides, think how lovely your children would be coming from two blonde haired, blue eyed parents.”
My stomach turned. I’d never wanted children. Rolland wanted me to have like five of the little monsters. I wasn’t a definite no on that but I was only twenty-two. I had time to decide. Rolland was thirty and already wanting to go that route. Stop it, brain. Stop convincing yourself you two aren’t right together without even trying.
Damn it.
“Shit or get off the pot, love,” Edith whispered.
I sighed. She was right. I didn’t need to be in the library this early. I could spend some time with my boyfriend. He would like that. Maybe I would even like that. I nodded and licked my lips, shoving the passenger door open.
“Wait, change your shoes.”
I frowned at her over my shoulder. “If me wearing Ugg boots prevents a morning shag, then he’s clearly not the man for me. Now let me go before I talk myself out of it again.”
As she giggled, I jumped out of the car with my handbag hanging off my shoulder. I slammed her car door shut before her laughter made me lose my nerve. My gaze swept up the stone wall of his building, landing on the third-floor balcony of his flat. This is exactly the kind of thing he wants from you, Chloe. Get up there.
I swallowed through a rush of self-conscious nerves and hurried to the front door. He’d given me a key to his place a year ago. It only took me a second to snag them out of my bag and let myself in. The metal keys jingled together as I sprinted up the three flights of stairs. By the time I got to his door, my lungs were screaming and I was breathing far too hard for such little activity. I need to exercise more. I bent over and put my hands on my knees to catch my breath and spotted my tan-colored Ugg boots. My flats were in my handbag for when I got back to Oxford, and for a moment I