Mr. Park Lane (The Mister)

I shook my head. “Never. I mean, he had his pick of girls. And when he was round at our house—which was all the time—if he noticed anyone, he noticed my sister, Thea.”

“Stop.” Autumn put up her hand. “Of course he noticed you. Look at you.”

Bloody Americans and their over-the-top positivity about everything.

“Quite. And think about how I looked with a monobrow and braces.”

“Awww. How adorable,” Hollie said. “This is even better than I thought. You blossomed into this beautiful butterfly and now Joshua has seen what was under his nose all along.”

These girls were crazy. Like, batshit. I needed to change the subject or they were going to start planning my wedding to Joshua. And as much as that sounded like a dream come true to my fifteen-year-old self, I was pretty sure we’d all end up in prison if that was the road we started on.

Stella might have more ability to read the room than I gave her credit for, because she promptly changed the subject. “Some basic baking tips: start with all your ingredients at room temperature, including eggs. Put your oven on and grease your pans and tins first thing. Even before measuring any ingredients.”

From my bag, I pulled out the notepad and pen I’d brought and jotted down the two instructions before setting my pad down. “Actually,” I said, hoping to steer the conversation into more realistic territory, “as well as baking, I was hoping you could help me out with a few tips and pointers on dating? Because—”

“We’d be delighted,” Stella said. “Anything we can do to help. Joshua is a great guy and it’s about time he found someone special rather than ricochet between Miss Tuesday Night and the model of the week.”

Miss Tuesday Night? Did I even want to know who that was? I shouldn’t have come here. These women thought I was here to bond because they were all wives and girlfriends of the group of guys Joshua was friends with. Hadn’t Joshua explained who I was? I was just going to have to talk really fast and get out my side of the story. “I’m not Joshua’s girlfriend. Or soon-to-be girlfriend. I’m just the daughter of his mum’s best friend. I hadn’t seen him in over a decade before last week. But I do have a date at the weekend and I haven’t got a clue what to wear or talk about or anything. Any tips would be much appreciated.” I exhaled. I got the feeling if you didn’t talk fast in this group, you didn’t get to say anything.

Hollie and Autumn exchanged a glance. “It could work,” Hollie said.

“Make him see what he’s got to lose,” Autumn replied. “We don’t want to play games, but sometimes men like Joshua need a little nudge.”

“That’s what I said to Beck,” Stella said.

Oh God. They weren’t getting it. “I’m not looking to nudge Joshua. I just got back to England. The only things I own can fit into a backpack. I just want to start work, impress my boss by having outside interests, and date someone to prove I’m not an antisocial workaholic. And at some point, I need to find somewhere to live. Joshua isn’t on my list of things to ‘do’.”

“Here, measure out two hundred and twenty-five grams of this butter and put it in with that sugar I’ve measured out in the bowl already,” Stella said, then added casually, “So you’re not interested in Joshua?”

I hopped off my stool and got to work. “More like I’m not into masochism.”

Stella’s eyes grew wide. “Joshua is into kink?”

How did this conversation just keep getting worse? “No! Maybe? I don’t know. I meant that I’m not into pain. I’m not a teenage girl anymore. I know better than to pine after men like Joshua.”

“Good for you,” Autumn said. “But you’re baking cakes with him and hanging out together. You don’t think there are flirty vibes?”

I shook my head. I didn’t want to hesitate and give these girls a crumb of something that wasn’t there. I tried to suppress the memory of his hands massaging my leg, his thumbs digging into the muscles of my calf. If I so much as blushed in front of this crowd, I’d never hear the end of it. Joshua had to flirt like he had to breathe—he was made that way. Always had been. So if there were flirty vibes between us, it was nothing to do with me. “And then I use the whisk to cream them together?”

Stella nodded and held the bowl for me, clearly understanding I needed all the help I could get.

But not even the loud whir of the electric whisk could stop these girls and their effort to matchmake. “Well, doesn’t mean we can’t have hope,” Autumn said. “I mean, you’re beautiful. He’s beautiful. You’ve known each other since you were kids—it’s like a fairy tale waiting to happen. But in the meantime, tell us about the guy you have a date with.”