Right Number, Wrong Girl

“That’s mean.”

“Well, we were boys, and we were little arseholes.”

“That’s fair.”

He smiled over at me. “Do you have siblings?”

“No. I’m what my mum calls a miracle. Boy, did that give me a big head as a kid until I realised what that actually meant.” I rolled my eyes. “When I irritate her, she likes to point out that I was the strongest swimmer out of all her potential children, and she’s never forgiven Dad for it.”

Henry dropped his chin with a small laugh. “Do you get along?”

“We do, mostly. We’re quite similar, so we clash a lot. It drives Dad insane.”

“Do they live in London, too?”

“No, Norfolk. Just outside King’s Lynn. That’s where I was raised.”

“Really? How the bloody hell did you end up in London?”

He was so shocked I couldn’t help but laugh.

“University,” I replied. “Camilla and I both went to neighbouring universities, so we roomed together because it was cheaper. After, we just kept living together because it made sense.”

“So how did you end up here?”

“Until I was made redundant, I worked pretty standard office hours.”

“Nine to five?”

“In theory. More like eight ’til six by the time my commute was done,” I replied, wrapping my arms around myself. “Cam often worked weird hours and people like to call when they really shouldn’t, so I took calls for her. Especially on weekends. After that, I ended up being her kind of pseudo-secretary because everyone called our home number if they couldn’t get through to her on mobile. That was how I ended up talking to Nancy.”

Henry nodded slowly. “That makes sense. Here’s the library.”

I looked up and into the decadently decorated room. “Thank you.”

“Anytime. Do you need anything?”

“No, thank you. I’m fine. I have a lot to get done.”

Henry nodded. “Doesn’t Camilla arrive tomorrow?”

“Uh, no.” I told him what I’d told Nancy. “So it’s on me.”

“Great. That’s all we need. You here for even longer.”

I glared at Hugo as he strolled casually into the library. “You’re not helping.”

“I’m not here to help.” He grinned at me. “I’m here because Rupert hadn’t seen you and was worried you’d gotten lost.”

“She did get lost,” Henry answered. “I found her sitting on the floor somewhere near to Nancy’s office.”

Hugo glanced at me. “Guess she wasn’t happy that you’re here and not Camilla.”

“You could say that,” I replied vaguely. “Do you know when your mum gets back?”

“Tomorrow morning. And I’m going to assume she’s going to want a meeting with you, probably to nit-pick every single little thing you’ve done.”

“Hugo,” Henry groaned.