“What do you mean, practice run?”
“I don’t know,” I said, trying to sound as if I was thinking up ideas on the spot. “You and I could go for a drink—have a fake date.”
“You and me?” She scrunched her brow as she handed me back my phone. I bit back a smile at the way her freckles danced across her nose.
“Yeah. Like we could dress up and pretend it’s a date. And because you know me, you won’t feel nervous. You’ll get your confidence back so you’re in strong form for your date with Brian.”
She shifted around the sofa and looked at me. I could almost see a thousand thoughts in her head all competing with each other.
I wanted to hear every single one.
“So, we pretend we’re on a date and if I’m a disaster, you can maybe give me pointers?” She didn’t look horrified by the idea.
“Right. And if I do anything outrageous, perhaps you can point them out and—”
“Sounds good,” she said.
The muscles in my neck all let go at the same time. “You’re up for it?” Had she understood what the idea was?
“Yeah. But if we’re splitting the bill, can we not go to that Heston Blummenthingy restaurant? I just walked by there and the prices are insane.”
“What about if I pay?”
“Is that allowed? I mean, doesn’t that violate our split-the-bill rule?”
“For the sake of the experiment, let dinner at Heston Blummenthingy’s restaurant be on me.”
She held my gaze as if she was considering saying something. She looked away. “Okay then, dinner. You and me. What do I wear?”
I picked up my phone again. I’d seen something the other day that I thought would look gorgeous on Hartford. Now was the perfect excuse to buy it for her. “This,” I said, holding up my phone.
“Pretty. But how much?”
“What size are you?”
“They price it depending on size?”
“No, just tell me your size.”
“Twelve UK. Which is why I’m not eating any of your late-night cake.”
I chuckled. She had nothing to worry about. She was perfect. “And shoe size?” If I was going to dress her, it would be head to toe.
“I have shoes,” she said.
“Shoe size?” I’d seen some beautiful Lanvins that would work perfectly with that dress.
“Six. Although they might have grown to a size twelve today. They feel like they’re busting out of my shoes right now.”
“You want a foot rub?” I asked.
A grin unfurled on her face. “You’re the best. But I like you too much to do that to you.”
I smiled back. “I like you enough to mean it when I offer you one.”
“Do you think the neighbors in Borehamwood are as friendly as you?”
I laughed. I hoped not.
Twenty-Three
Hartford
There must have been some mistake. I looked at the beautiful black lace dress I’d just uncovered from the clouds of tissue it had been wrapped in. It was the one Joshua had shown me on his phone. I picked up the card that had come with it to read it for a third time.
You’ll look beautiful. I can’t wait to see you in it tonight. Love Joshua
The man had lost it. What was he buying me clothes for? It wasn’t just the dress—he’d sent shoes too. And a handbag. Maybe he was afraid I might turn up to dinner in scrubs and embarrass him. To be fair, it was a distinct possibility. Maybe he had all his hopes pinned onto this Brian and wanted me to impress him so he could feel less responsibility for me. That was probably it. For all I knew, he did this with every date. If so, it was impressive. And a little controlling, especially if he didn’t know the woman. I grabbed my notebook from my dressing table and scribbled a reminder. Joshua and I had agreed to give each other feedback on the date and I didn’t want to forget. I’d tell him that for a girlfriend, this was an amazing thing to do, but for a first date, a little overbearing. Then again, I could think of a million women who’d be blown away by a guy buying them a dress like this before a date. My seventeen-year-old self would have exploded at the thought.
It was an hour before Joshua said we had to leave, so I had plenty of time. I set to the task of taming my hair just as my phone buzzed.
I’ll be there in an hour. Can’t wait to see you. xx
A pre-date text? With two kisses? Oh, his charm was in overdrive tonight. I needed to have a quiet word with my ovaries to let them know Joshua was putting on a show and not to get over-excited. I’d been fortifying my forcefield all week, and thank God. Here I was, about to go on a fake date with Joshua, having to remind myself that this situation might have been my teenage dream but it still wasn’t real. When did life get so complicated?