“I’ll have the same as her, cheers,” I told the waiter without even looking at the menu. “Whatever the hell a burrata salad is.”
“Why would you order something you’ve never heard of?”
“I’m putting my faith in your judgement.”
“That’s awfully brave of you.”
“Nah. I trust you.”
The two of us fell into easy conversation once the waiter brought us our bottles of beer and we waited for our food, talking about our friends and what the hell was going on between them all before we slid into talking about our lives back home. She told me about the multiple jobs: the little fashion boutique she worked five shifts a week in and the dance school she helped out at. She even managed to fit a few hours of voluntary work in at her grandfather’s care home to cheer him and the other residents up, which only made my appreciation for her grow.
The more she opened up to me, the more I wanted to know.
At this point, I could have learned a whole new language based around her, and it still wouldn’t have been enough.
For now, though, I let her take the lead. Something told me she needed it after being bulldozed more often than not byBailey and Rhea. Good friends, I’m sure they were, but man, could they talk.
Phoebe asked me about Andy’s and Jace’s intentions with the girls, but I had to tell her that when it came to women, I never knew what those two were thinking. Andy liked the chase of the ‘it’ girls, and Jace liked to charm his target with jokes and quick wit until he broke even the most hardened souls down. Meeting Bailey and Rhea so soon in the holiday had been too good to be true for the pair of them, as though all this had been fate and the six of us had been destined to meet all along.
Shame I didn’t believe in any of that stuff.
Coincidence, sure. Fate? What a load of bollocks.
“And here you are, stuck with me,” she said, shaking her head. “Poor guy.”
“I’m not complaining,” I took a sip of my beer. “There’s still so much to figure out about you.”
“What else do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
Her smile rose. “Like?”
“What kind of music do you listen to?”
“Anything with good lyrics. If there’s a story in it, I’m going to listen to it.”
I should have known. Her love of stories seemed to sway everything in her life.
“What about you?” she asked.
“Would you believe me if I told you my answer’s the same as yours?”
Phoebe tilted her head my way. “Yes, actually. I would.”
Something passed between us that felt incredibly right, as though another piece of my former self melted away in front of her because of her, exposing me even more.
“Favourite movie?” I asked to break the tension we seemed to create so easily.
“How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days,” she answered without hesitation.
“Never seen it.”
Something in her smile faltered, but she quickly righted herself and inhaled a breath through her nostrils that made her tits bounce before sighing. “She makes this hot guy fall for her within ten days. He’s supposed to walk away at the end of it, but… you know… things happen between them. Romance and all that.” She shrugged a shoulder. “A little unbelievable, I suppose.”
A few days ago, I’d have agreed, but looking at Phoebe now… “Stranger things have happened,” I said, watching her reaction.
She forced out a barely-there laugh and gestured between us. “Nothing stranger than this, Henry.”
