evening in jeans that are frayed at the hem and a sweatshirt that has CAMBRIDGE embroidered across the front. I nearly sigh with relief when I see her outfit.
“I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” I say, feeling a shyness come over me.
She laughs. “No, but this is an excellent occasion for a second meeting, don’t you think? Please come in. May I take your coat and your purse?”
I nervously step inside, my stomach flipping up and down like a roller coaster. I fumble out of my coat and hand Clementine my cross-body bag.
“Thank you,” I say.
“You’re welcome,” she says, grinning. “I hope you’re hungry. Christian is making fajitas for us out on the grill.”
Despite the nervous state of my stomach, I’m excited about this news. I love Mexican food.
Xander walks by my side, and I see a bunch of people clustered around the table in the kitchen. I hear loud music, and with irony, recognise the song as “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls.
Even the playlist knows how important this party is for me.
Everyone is laughing and talking, but as soon as Xander and I enter the kitchen, we’re greeted with a chorus of hellos. Then it falls quiet, with all eyes focused on Xander and me.
I swallow hard. I hope nobody can hear how loud my heart is thundering against my chest right now.
Xander puts his arm around my shoulders, as if knowing I need that source of reassurance from him.
“Everyone, this is Poppy Davies,” he says. I look up at him and find he’s smiling down at me. Then he lifts his head and cocks an eyebrow up at the group. “And yes, I’ve finally brought a date with me.”
“How much did you pay her to go on this date with you?” Christian jokes from his position at the worktop, where he’s got a platter of chicken out. His comment causes everyone to laugh, including me. “Poppy, whatever it is, you sold yourself short. He’s incredibly annoying.”
I can’t help but laugh again, and I slide my hand up Xander’s back and rub it affectionately. The second I touch him, a smile lights up his face, and warmth fills my heart.
“I’ll tell you if you tell me how much you paid Clementine to say yes to being Mrs. Curry Takeaway,” he jokes back.
“Oh, I’ll be paying that bill for the rest of my life,” Christian says, winking at Clementine.
I smile. I love the relationship Christian and Clementine have. Then I glance back up at Xander, amazed that I already feel like I’m starting to build this kind of relationship with him, too.
“Well, it’s about time you got here,” Liz says, sliding off her stool and coming over to us, interrupting my thoughts. She looks lovely and casual in a black wrap jumper, dark wash jeans, and ankle boots, with her blonde hair swept up in a messy knot at the nape of her neck and several delicate gold necklaces.
“It’s only half-past seven,” Xander points out, furrowing his brow.
“Fifteen minutes I’ve had to wait to greet Poppy properly,” Liz exclaims, her blue eyes lighting up. “Hello, Poppy, it’s lovely to see you again.”
To my surprise, she reaches out and hugs me.
I feel relief seep through me from her embrace. In all my interactions with Liz at The Biscuit Cutter, she has always struck me as genuine. I know she wouldn’t hug me if she truly weren’t happy to have me here.
She steps back, puts her hands on my shoulders, and flashes that radiant smile of hers at me. “I’m so happy you’re here. I can’t say that enough.”
“Thank you,” I say, my relief growing by the second. “I’m glad you think so.”
A tall man with hazel eyes and dark brown hair approaches me, and Liz releases me as he joins her.
“Hello, Poppy. I’m Roman, Liz’s fiancé.”
I smile. I remember that Roman works as a gardener at a local estate, a job he still holds to this day. Like Clementine, he is someone who comes from my position. An ordinary person who, because of the person they are with, is thrust into a completely different world from the one they know.
But unlike Roman, if I were to become engaged to Xander one day, I wouldn’t be able to keep my job.
I shove that unsettling thought aside and focus on the now. The moment I’m living in, with these people tonight.
And the incredible man who brought me here.
“It’s nice to meet you, Roman,” I say, shaking his hand.