‘I don’t need to be in the office for another hour, why don’t we all grab breakfast together?’ Jasmine suggested, much to mine and Luca’s horror.Had I accidentally gotten myself involved in some sort of threesome situation? Was that what this was?
‘Jas, I really don’t think—’
‘I have to go!’ I shouted over Luca, the words coming out much louder than I’d intended. I gave up with the buckles, shoving my feet uncomfortably over the straps and wobbling unsteadily towards the door. ‘You two seem like a really great couple and all—’when this asshole isn’t getting other women’s numbers at bars, snarked the voice in my head, ‘—but I’m really not into, you know –group activities.’
A giant crevasse had appeared in Luca’s forehead and Jasmine’s head fell bemusedly to one side as they both blinked at me.
‘Hold up, do you think Luca and I are together? Liketogether, together?’
I frowned. ‘Well, yeah?’
They both looked at each other for a second before dissolving into peals of laughter, Jasmine doubled over clutching her stomach, Luca leaning against the kitchen counter for support. God, this was going from bad to outright painful.
‘Jas is my cousin,’ Luca wheezed when he could finally draw breath.
Cousin?My mind rewound to when we’d first met, her opening the door in nothing but Luca’s t-shirt.
‘I crash here sometimes if I work late,’ she explained, answering my unspoken question. ‘My office is just around the corner and it’s a lot easier than shlepping back to Lewes after missing the final train.’
‘Which seems to be a twice-weekly occurrence these days,’ Luca chastised. ‘And that key I gave you was for emergency purposes only, not so you could let yourself in willy-nilly.’
Jasmine batted his reprimand away with the back of her hand. ‘Anyway, Luca’s single, Jenny. Like,verysingle,’ she added. I blushed. I didn’t think this situation could get any more awkward, but somehow the knowledge that Luca wasn’t dating Jasmine, that he wasn’t dating anyone, made the fact that I was standing mere metres from him and his tiny towel a whole other level of uncomfortable. Luca made a noise somewhere between a sigh and afucks-sakeas he turned and semi-jogged towards the safety of the bedroom, muttering something about clothes.
The buckles of my shoes dug painfully into the fleshy soles of my feet, demanding to be removed, so I took a seat on the bench in the hallway, easing my feet free with a sigh of relief.
‘Sorry about all the confusion,’ I muttered for want of something to say, smiling shyly up at Jasmine who was brushing crumbs from the top of her folder. ‘For thinking you and Luca were, you know—’
Her face contorted in horror before winking at me. ‘No harm done. I don’t know who was more horrified by that prospect – me or Luca!’
I laughed, remembering the way her eyes had almost popped out of her head. ‘Most definitely you.’
‘Seriously though, Luca’s a good guy.’ Jasmine chuckled, her eyes crinkling softly at the edges with unmistakeable fondness. ‘Still a little scarred from the past – I mean who isn’t, am I right? – but he’s one of the good ones.’
‘Why, what happened?’
‘Oh, he was seeing someone for a long time. They were engaged and everything. Rachelif-I-don’t-post-about-it-on-Instagram-it-didn’t-happenGallagher,’ Jasmine jeered with a shudder. Clearly, she was not a fan. ‘Anyway, a few months before the wedding he found out that Rachel had been seeing someone else on the side for basically the entirety of their relationship.’
‘That’s awful,’ I gasped, my mouth falling open in shock.
Jasmine pursed her lips. ‘That’s one word for it. Anyway, it’s been over a year and he’s still carrying it around like a dead weight. That feeling that he’ll never be good enough for someone, you know?’
‘From what I’ve seen, Luca has no problems attracting the opposite sex.’ I found myself wondering what he’d done with the phone number from that woman at the bar. Had he just taken it to be polite? Tossed it in a bin on the way home? Or was it still folded neatly in the pocket of his jeans? Saved and waiting for later? Jasmine tilted her head, not disagreeing with me.
‘Sure, but that’s nothing serious. That’s why I got my hopesup when he wouldn’t stop going on about you. Honestly, the past few weeks it’s been Jenny this, Jenny that.’
‘Well, don’t believe anything he’s told you.’ I smiled shyly, brushing a wayward strand of hair away from my face.
‘Oh my gosh, here I am trying to set you up with my cousin and you’re already spoken for. She’s a beauty, can I see?’ Jasmine squealed excitedly.
My brow furrowed with confusion. But then I followed her gaze to my engagement ring, the oval-shaped diamond showing off in the morning sunlight, casting iridescent rainbows all over the walls as though demanding to be seen. Guilt flooded through my veins, cold and sharp, at the realisation that for a second, just one second, I’d forgotten I was wearing it.
‘Oh, umm—’
But Jasmine had already skipped towards me, her olive-toned fingers taking my left hand gently in hers as she made the customary coos that all women make when presented with a sparkly ring. Pigeons every last one of us.
‘So, who’s the lucky guy?’
‘He’s, umm .?.?.’ I thought about telling her. Coming clean. But the words lodged themselves in the back of my throat, unwilling to be spoken out loud. I coughed but they stayed there, solid and unmoving, making it difficult to breathe. ‘Joe,’ I croaked eventually. ‘His name’s Joe.’
