“As much as I fancy the idea of you having no knickers, bring a change of outfits. Something you can go for a walk in. There are private gardens at Kensington that we can explore.”
I smile into the phone. “I’d like that.”
“We also have an invitation for tomorrow night.”
“Really?”
He clears his throat. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to go if you don’t want to—please know I’m okay with that. I know this is sudden. That we’ve only had a few dates. But Curry Takeaway went home and told Clementine about us, which led to Liz and Roman knowing about us, and they want to get to know you better. The squad would like to get together for dinner. Very casual. Christian burning something on the grill, Liz forcing avocados on us, that kind of thing. Bella is coming in from Oxford for the weekend, because she is attending a historical building preservation benefit dinner with Uncle Henry on Saturday night. If it didn’t involve Uncle Henry and history, she wouldn’t be here, but since she is, Liz is going to try and talk her into coming over. Victoria will be there, and Christian always invites his best mate, Charlie, from his Cambridge days. James will still be at Cambridge, but most of the squad will be there. And if you would like to go, I would be honoured to take you.”
I suck in a breath. I know what this means. Xander wants me to meet his inner circle. He knows, after only a few dates, that we have potential for something amazing. Something beautiful and real, and that is why he wants to bring me into his world.
“I would love to.”
“Good. I’m glad you want to meet them. They’re important to me.”
“Then they are important to me, too,” I say softly.
“Thank you. This means a lot to me, that you are willing to do this.”
“Of course, I’ll do it. I wish I didn’t have to do it with the imprint of a face mask gone wrong on my face, but I’ll do it.”
“You’re beautiful,” Xander says. “The face mask burn only adds to your intrigue.”
I laugh. He does, too.
“Speaking of my face, I’m going to apply an ultra-rich moisturiser and try to get some sleep. I have massive projects tomorrow, and people will expect the three-dimensional icing flowers to look like flowers. They’re picky like that.”
Xander chuckles. “All right. Sleep well.”
“You, too.”
“And Poppy?”
“Yes?”
“I miss you.”
Then he hangs up.
I hold the phone to my heart and close my eyes.
I miss you.
He already misses me.
It’s not some smooth line that has just passed his lips. Xander’s not saying it because he knows it’s what every girl wants to hear.
Xander just spoke from his heart.
“I miss you, too,” I whisper out loud as I speak from mine. “I miss you, too.”
Chapter Eighteen
It’s Fate
“May I have a moment before you press the doorbell?” I ask nervously.
Xander stares down at me. It’s Friday night, and we’ve reached the door to Ivy Cottage, Christian and Clementine’s home.
And it’s time for my introduction to the squad.
“Poppy, I told you, you have nothing to be nervous about,” Xander says, putting his hand on my back and dropping a kiss on the top of my head.
I feel comfort from this intimate gesture. Never in a million years would I have thought Xander would have such a sweet, loving nature.
But despite that comfort, my anxiety is at a fever-pitch inside of me.
“You’re sure I’m dressed, okay?” I ask. Xander said casual, so I went with a navy-and-white striped boatneck jumper and slim-fitting jeans, and I put on a pair of navy ballet flats to go with it.
“You look perfect. You always do,” he says, rubbing my back. “You’re beautiful. It doesn’t matter what you wear.”
“I know what you said about not needing to dress up, but I want to make a good impression. These people are so important to you, which makes them important to me. I want them to like me. But I’m so different to them, Xander. Here I am, this girl from Wales who has grown up so unlike them, working in a chip shop and watching biscuit tutorials on YouTube for fun and having to save money to pay bills every month. I’ve never been out of the United Kingdom, and they’ve travelled the world and had posh holidays and have lived a completely different life to me. So not only