Or at least, he did, back when he would talk to me.
‘I know he challenges you,’ she continues, eyebrow raised yet again. ‘I told you already– when I see potential, I do everything I can to make it grow.’
‘The Summer Splash,’ I mutter.
‘And the overnight, and the co-head position,’ she says. ‘The second he told me he was interested, I realised you’d make theperfect pair. And I was right, obviously– you’re great partners. You should really look into why that is.’
She does pretty much everything she can do with her face but wink– I fear if she did wink, the woman doing her eyeliner would swing for her. But everything else is enough. Evie has many great qualities, but subtlety is not one of them.
‘You want us to date?’ I say.
‘I want you to getmarried!’ She throws her hands up exasperatedly. ‘But, I suppose, yes, you could start with a date. With the chemistry between you, I’m surprised you haven’t already exploredsomething.’ She laughs but stops quickly, catching my darting eyes before I have time to cast my guilt into oblivion, then shrieks in excitement. ‘Oh, you have! Recently?’
I nod, still stunned.
‘Well, good. It’s about time you two did this properly.’ She beams from ear to ear.
I sigh. ‘It’s not quite that easy.’
Thanks to me it may never be again.
‘His request to work separately,’ she says musingly, connecting the dots. ‘He said you didn’t need him in the office any more. I thought it genuinely came from a mutual place.’
I have spent the last few days desperately trying to avoid the creeping sadness I’ve felt loom every time I think of Aiden. But as she shares her side of the story, I visualise his lone working request in 4K. It’s too much– the image stabs me square in the chest and I feel a tear roll down my cheek. Evie gasps and sends a glam team member to lightly dab it away with a cotton pad.
‘Come here!’ she says, shooing her glam team away and bringing me in for a big bear hug. ‘Go on, tell me what he did.’ She brings my face close, not afraid of make-up stains on her silk robe.
‘It wasn’t him.’ I sigh again, trying to keep my voice steady and keep the rest of the tears at bay. ‘It was me. I overthoughtthings and ruined them before they started. And now it’s been weeks and he’s barely spoken to me.’
I hug her tighter as I speak, afraid to let go and return to facing the big, bad Aiden-less world of my creation. That’s when I feel the vibration ripple up through her chest to her mouth. A small giggle sounds as I pull away to verify it.
‘Oh, honey, if you think that this isyour faultthen you two are going to be absolutely fine.’
She pauses for a moment as she spots my expression and realises that she may have missed the mark just a bit. So, she readjusts, calms herself and ushers me over to her vanity to join her in the chairs before she continues.
‘Maddison. He hasn’t stopped talking about you this whole time. You may have set things back, but the ship is definitely still docked.’
My body goes still, time slowing around me as Evie’s words sink in. I’d lost all hope but a tiny flicker of a light, nestled deep in the furthest crevasse of my heart. As Evie speaks, I feel it flicker in time with her words. Evie Eesuola, influencer extraordinaire and apparent fairy godmother, is convinced that the clock hasn’t struck midnight just yet.
‘You think I can save this?’ I ask softly.
‘Oh, absolutely,’ she whispers. ‘Go get him.’
I feel a glow within my chest, the small flame of hope burning brighter.
‘I will,’ I nod, giving her a fleeting smile. ‘But first, I’m so sorry– I need to talk to you about this job.’
She settles back into her chair and fixes me with one of her trademark, penetrating stares. So, I take a deep breath, nervously meet her eyes and dive into my pre-prepared speech.
I leave Evie’s room with a fire under me like no other, barrelling down the stairs, through the kitchen and back to the grounds. I run across the green, barely dodging a tray of gourmettacos and scouring the sea of people before spotting a familiar face. It’s not the one I want, but one that could possibly help me.
‘Gus– have you seen Aiden around?’ I ask briskly.
He jumps as I grab his elbow, almost dropping his bespoke cocktail.
‘Maddison! I’m so proud of you!’ he says, loud and joyful, coming in for a hug that I assume is egged on by the drink. ‘You’re out of here and you should be! I never understood why you’ve stayed so long! You’ve got something special, you know? You’re so good at this and Pippa knows it. It’s why she keeps you down.’
‘Really?’ I ask.
