“How did you guys ever become mates?”
“Oh, right. I’d better sit down for this one. It’s a long story.” Naomi wasted no time pulling a chair up to the table and sitting her arse down on it, encouraging us to do the same.
Harry sighed as he took his seat. “It’s not that long of a story, Noo,” he told her, his tone amused but exasperated. “And isn’t that your date over there?” We all turned to look over at a man hovering between the bar and our table with a look of confusion on his handsome face. I vaguely recognised him.
“Who is that?”
“Oh, he’s just some guy fromHollyoaksthat my agent set me up with. No biggie. Anyhoo, you were asking how we met? Well, we went to LSE together. I was with Toby back then until… well anyway we became friends through him. But maths is not my bag in case you haven’t guessed.”
“Noo, that’s not true, mathsisyour bag. In fact, you are a maths genius and could have worked anywhere you wanted. You just–”
“I just think it’s boring, hence, not my bag.”
“Noo’s IQ is over 180,” Harry said. “She actuallydoesenjoy discussing mathematical theory believe it or not. Probably more than she enjoys prancing about on stage.”
“But you became a musician instead?” I asked, my head tilted to the side with curiosity.
Naomi shrugged. “Maths and music are pretty similar when you get down to it. It’s all about counting. Writing a catchy song that will sell is the same as solving a tricky equation, but way more fun. I wrote songs for other people at first until I started performing my own stuff. But then a couple of years ago I contacted Harry for a favour, and because I missed his grumpy face. I get really tired of the shitty dudes my PR company sets me up with, so Harry pretended to be dating me for a while.”
“It wasn’t just that you were tired of the media attention, Noo,” Harry said quietly.
She blinked at him then gave her head a quick shake. Harry took a deep sigh. Naomi’s smile dropped and she leaned forward. “Did you say anything to Toby?”
Harry’s eyebrows went up. “No, why?”
Naomi looked away, her cheeks flushed. “Nothing… he… Well, he cornered me after that awards event the other night and asked me what ‘little problem’ I had that you were helping me with. As if it’s any of his business.”
I thought back to my conversation with Noo that night outside the ladies’ toilets. “He must have overheard you telling me that at the event. Remember? You said that was why Harry was helping you out.” I asked.
“See,” Harry said. “I haven’t even told Verity.”
Naomi crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine, but the man’s hanging about like a bad smell for some reason.” Naomi looked over at me and I resisted the urge to ask her what her ‘little problem’ was – she’d had some champagne the other night and it had obviously made her more likely to share. She sighed. “I have a stalker. He’s pretty persistent. It’s been a bit scary. Harry’s been taking me out over the last year to put him off.”
“Oh, Naomi,” I said in a soft voice, my hand automatically covering hers on the table. “I’m sorry, darling. That’s really horrid.”
She shrugged, trying for nonchalant but her other hand shook as she tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s fine. Goes with the territory.” She let out a bitter laugh. “At least that’s what I’m trying to convince Toby of at the moment. He always was a pushy fucker though.”
“So, it really was you and Toby at uni. You and Harry werenevera thing?” I asked. I hadn’t quite believed Naomi when she told me that before.
“No!” they both said together. Harry looked truly horrified and Naomi started laughing.
“Yeah, it’s tragic,” Naomi said with a deep sigh and a totally put on sad expression. “He butters my muffin, but I don’t even come close to smoking his salami. Such is my lot in life.” Harry rolled his eyes again, but did it smiling.
“I have never ‘buttered your muffin’, Noo,” he said. “You only ever had eyes for Toby.”
Naomi shot him an annoyed look and sprung up from her seat. “Anyway, I better get back to Mr Hollyoaks over there. And, by the way, Harry, I agree with Verity – youareone hot nerd.” She touched Harry with her finger and made a hissing noise, pulling it away as if it burnt her, winked at me, then flounced off back to her annoyed-looking date.
“She doesnotstrike me as a mathematician,” I said through a grin.
Harry shrugged. “She’s actually way smarter than me or Toby. I think that’s really how she’s managed to be as successful as she has. It’s a bit scary really.”
“And she hasn’t met anyone?”
Harry shifted in his seat. “I think something’s off about Noo to be honest. She dropped out of the LSE so abruptly. It never really made sense. And before that she lost weight and kind of … lost her spark, going from outgoing and confident with an almost dazzling quality about her to quiet and sombre.” My eyebrows went up and he smiled. “I know, kind of hard to imagine Noo without spark. We never got to the bottom of it. She cut us all out, not just Toby, but he took it the hardest. He was so angry that he went a little crazy – you know, getting hammered every night, sleeping around a lot. Eventually one of the girls he slept with got pregnant. They ended up getting married, and by the time Toby realised that Noo wasn’t dating anyone else and didn’t seem to be moving on it was too late. Then his wife cheated on him and they had a messy divorce finalised last year. His daughter’s fifteen now. She’s a sweet kid. He’s been a bit of a mess for a while and has sworn off relationships. Once he opens his eyes, he’ll see Noo’s still there waiting for him. It’s complicated. Toby’s still so salty about the whole thing.”
“Sounds it.”
“Is Naomi safe?”
