conversation, rather than a quick phone call run-down.’
‘Not that’s it’s any of my business,’ she then said, with a sigh. ‘Given my past and how often I don’t want to share it with anyone, the last thing I should be doing is sticking my nose into other people’s affairs.’
‘But you meant well,’ I said softly. ‘And given what you’ve told me, I shouldn’t have said what I did about your intentions towards Finn.’
‘That’s true,’ she shot back, but I could tell she was teasing.
I was forgiven, although I did still feel bad about it all.
‘Hannah at the pub made it pretty clear that she thought I’d behaved badly too,’ I told her. ‘She wasn’t best pleased to see me last night.’
‘Oh,’ Chloe squeaked, her voice a hundred octaves higher than it had been. ‘What did she say?’
‘It wasn’t exactly what she said,’ I recalled, ‘it was the way she said it.’
‘Well,’ Chloe quietly said, ‘I can’t say I’m surprised. She has a vested interest, you see.’
‘How so?’ I frowned, moving my legs because they had gone to sleep under the weight of Nell’s lean body.
The sudden silence was so complete I thought the call had been cut off.
‘Chloe?’ I said, moving the phone away from my ear to look at the screen, ‘are you still there?’
‘Yes,’ she said, ‘I’m here.’
‘What’s this about Hannah having a vested interest in my stupid comment?’
She let out a long breath.
‘You promise you won’t tell anyone,’ she eventually said.
‘I promise,’ I said back.
I was fast getting used to keeping secrets.
‘Well,’ she swallowed, ‘Hannah asked me out on a date a few weeks ago… and to begin with I said no.’
‘I see.’
‘Not because she’s a girl,’ Chloe hastily added, ‘and that’s not why I don’t want you to tell anyone. It’s just because…’
‘You haven’t been out with anyone, since…’
‘Exactly.’
‘I can understand that,’ I told her, although really, I couldn’t begin to imagine the turmoil she was in.
‘But then she kept asking and, in the end, just last week in fact, I said yes.’
‘But that’s great,’ I told her, because it was.
It was a huge leap and I was delighted that she’d made it.
‘I know,’ she said, before adding, ‘but then the guilt that I was moving on with my life really began to eat away at me. Just the thought that I was even starting to consider doing all the things again that Ade couldn’t, stopped me in my tracks.’
‘And then I said what I did and tipped your survivor’s guilt into a whole new stratosphere and made you cancel your date with Hannah.’
‘I couldn’t have put it better myself.’
‘Shit,’ I said. ‘No wonder she was so pissed with me. When was this date supposed to happen?’
‘Tonight,’ she said sadly.
‘All right,’ I said, sitting up straighter in the bed. ‘There’s still time. Here’s what you have to do.’
‘I don’t have to do anything.’
I ignored that.
‘Send Hannah a text right now,’ I carried on, ‘telling her that your date is definitely back on and then get yourself up to the city to buy a new outfit.’
‘I can’t do that,’ she laughed.
‘Yes, you can,’ I said firmly. ‘You must.’
‘Why?’
‘Because otherwise I’ll never forgive myself and you’ll feel guilty about that too.’
‘That’s a low blow,’ she scolded.
‘I know,’ I told her, ‘but has it worked? Will you text her?’
She was quiet again.
‘Chloe, will you text Hannah and tell her that you’ll go out with her tonight?’
‘Yes,’ she eventually said, ‘yes, I’ll do it.’
I let out a cheer, making Nell jump.
‘And you’ll let me know how it’s gone, won’t you?’ I smiled into the phone.
‘Surely, you won’t want the full kiss-and-tell, will you?’
I rather liked that she was so invested in her evening that she thought there might be a kiss to tell me about.
‘No,’ I said, ‘I’m not that nosey. I’ll just want to know that I’m going to get a warmer welcome when I go back to the pub again, that’s all.’
* * *
Having properly cleared the air with Chloe, I felt much better, but the feeling didn’t last when I crossed the road and walked by Finn’s studio. There was no sign of life, so there was no point in knocking and, given my continued annoyance with him, that was probably no bad thing. Zak had given me no reason to think that his personality change hadn’t been the real deal and that I should doubt his words, but I knew I would be better off tackling Finn when I’d got my temper reined back in.