the new image,’ I added, nodding at the cover-all shirt.
‘It’s all right, isn’t it?’ he said, looking down at his chest and smoothing the fabric. ‘I’m not into the kind of stuff Finn wears, all those symbols and stuff, but I’m sick of being a carbon copy of Dad. I always thought he was the strong one in the family, but actually that’s Finn. I’ve realised now that it’s taken a lot for him to stick to his guns and follow his heart, especially when he didn’t even have me in his corner.’
‘Are you going to tell him any of this?’
I really hoped he was.
‘You must be joking,’ he laughed. ‘He’ll think I’m taking the mick.’
‘He might not,’ I told him, ‘especially if you say it all to him just like you’ve said it to me.’
‘I’m not sure I could do it again,’ he grimaced, puffing out his cheeks, ‘and you gave me your word that you wouldn’t tell, remember?’
‘I remember,’ I smiled.
‘Not a word to Finn or anyone else, all right?’
‘Of course, I said so, didn’t I?’
‘That’s all right then,’ he said, standing back up, ‘people will soon get the idea that I’ve changed when I stop being a—’
I was pleased that he didn’t finish that sentence, even though there were many and varied words he could have called upon to describe his former self, most of them anatomical and none of them flattering.
‘I bet Jacob will be first to see that you’ve turned over a new leaf,’ I laughed.
‘You reckon?’
‘Absolutely. If you can get through the next few weeks without flirting with Poppy then everyone will know that you’re a changed man.’
‘That’s a big ask,’ he said, shaking his head, ‘but I’ll do my best. She’s a cracking girl though, and so are you, Freya.’
‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘I think.’
‘I’m surprised Finn hasn’t snapped you up by now,’ he grinned, a little of his former puckish self peeping through the shiny new façade. ‘You’re just his type, but then…’
‘Then what?’
‘No,’ he said, holding up his hand, ‘not my place to say. The old Zak would have done, but the new Zak knows it wouldn’t be right to go around talking about Finn’s disastrous love life.’
I was intrigued and he was halfway there already. Perhaps I could coax a little more out of him.
‘Has it been that disastrous then?’
‘Just a bit,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘He’s definitely damaged goods.’
I wished I could shake his head hard enough to make the memories fall out so I could take a look at them.
‘But then, given what Finn’s said,’ Zak then shockingly carried on, ‘you haven’t fared much better yourself, have you? Although at least you were doling it out rather than being on the receiving end. It’s got be easier that way around, right?’
I was poised to quiz him about exactly what Finn had said, when a group of lads came bursting in and carried him off.
‘See you next week, Freya!’ he called as they dragged him away, leaving me choking down an unpalatable cocktail of shock, annoyance and confusion.
Chapter 15
I felt really put out that Finn had been going around sharing what he thought he knew about my romantic past, especially when I ran our former conversations through my head during the chilly walk back to Nightingale Square and realised that he didn’t actually know anything of consequence.
He might have heard enough from me during our time in The Dragon after the city switch-on to furnish him with the broadest details of my broken engagement, but that didn’t give him the right to discuss it, especially in his brother’s presence. I hoped he hadn’t jumped to any conclusions about what had happened, and if he had, then I was going to have to set him straight.
I also hoped that he hadn’t been playing fast and loose with the details of our passionate clinch in the studio. His apparent indifference to the experience did make me think that he’d prefer to keep that to himself, but then again, it hadn’t ever crossed my mind that he would talk about my former love life either.
I had promised to go over to the Grow-Well the next day but as it was Saturday, I didn’t have to be early, so I took a cup of tea and a bowl of porridge back up to bed for a lazy start. I had just finished the porridge and was rehearsing what I was going to say to Chloe when she beat me to the punch and