Virgin

My phone buzzes and my first thought is: my missed call from Izzy, but when I see Liam’s name on the ID, I smile … and the day just got better. It’s like he knows when I need him to bounce off. He’ll understand. I laughed at him when he got together with Vanessa, but he just smiled knowingly and said one day I’d understand. He’s probably the only friend I have who would not take the piss out of me for getting hooked on a girl after one night.

I hit the green button on my screen. “You fucking fell off the face of the Earth, man. Where the hell have you been?” I ask with a laugh. I wait to hear his snarky comeback, but there isn’t one. Instead, I hear a strange sniffling sound. “What’s up, bro? Are you sick?” I ask warily.

“Tyson?” A woman’s voice, thick with tears.

Just like that, my blood runs cold.

Chapter Ten

Izzy

“Stop being so coy and bloody well tell us what happened last night,” Lina demands.

The dressmaker is getting Charlotte into her meringue dress, a complicated affair with boning, petticoats, tapes and stuff so we’re staying well clear and having a quick glass of champagne outside the bedroom.

“I had a great night,” I say casually. “We went dancing to this really fun sixties club, then we ended up in his hotel room.”

“Ended up in his hotel room? What the hell kind of story is that?” Catherine huffs. “We need details, girl. How many times? Positions? Length? Girth? You know, the usual works.”

“Well, at least tell me the guy has a small dick,” Kylie says, gulping down her champagne.

I smirk.

“What?” she explodes. “Are you telling me he is to-die-for good looking, rich, famous, and has a big dong too!” She shakes her empty glass at me. “I’ll say this for you, Izzy Faraday. You sure know how to pick your one-night stands.”

I frown. “It was not a one-night stand. We’re meeting for dinner tonight.”

Not only Kylie’s but both Lina’s and Catherine’s jaw drop. “What?” all three cry in unison.

I had to pinch myself in the taxi because I simply couldn’t believe what happened to me could be real so I totally get their surprised faces. “Yeah, we’re meeting for dinner tonight,” I say, and can’t help feeling totally smug about it all. Tyson is so amazing. Everything had been so perfect.

“Are you guys going to date?” Lina asks in a shocked voice.

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “We didn’t get a chance to talk much last night—”

“I bet,” Kylie interrupts sourly.

“But I really hope we do. He’s really special,” I say ignoring Kylie’s sarcastic comment. “Anyway, we’re meeting for dinner to talk. He wanted to come for the wedding, but I didn’t think it would be fair to Charlotte. It’s her big day, and the last thing I wanted was to make it anything else but her day.”

Catherine is the first to let out a whoop of joy. “That’s incredible, Izzy. I mean, do you realize that you’ve hooked up with the famous Tyson Eden? The guy who’s been voted by GQ as the number one guy you’d sleep with in secret, but wouldn’t take home to meet mama.”

I grin. ‘Last night was perfect, Cat. Just perfect. It was everything I ever dreamed of.”

Catherine grins back, genuinely happy for me. “I’m glad to hear that, honey. You deserve a good man.”

“Be careful though. He’s known to be a player,” Kylie says.

“Stop raining on her parade,” Lina scolds Kylie. “A man is a player until he meets the right woman. Look at Clooney. The guy was a confirmed bachelor until he met Amal.”

“That reminds me. I should call him. He asked me to give him a missed call so he has my number too,” I say, digging into my purse, my stomach lurching with fear. I search all round, then frantically pour the contents of my purse out, but my phone’s not in it.

“Don’t tell me …” Catherine says.

I look up at my friends with a frown. “I can’t believe it. I’ve lost my phone.”

“Where was the last time you had it?” Lina asks.

“I keyed in his number in the hotel room and remember putting it back into my purse in the elevator. I must have dropped it in the taxi.” I pause. “Or maybe I left it at Monsieur Armand’s shop when I went to collect the ribbons.”

“You’ve got everything backed up, haven’t you?” Cat says.

I nod. “Except his number.”

“Can’t you call him at the hotel?” she says.

“No, he said he was going to see his friend who lives two hours away about a horse.”

“I don’t think you should call him, anyway. You don’t want to seem desperate,” Kylie says.

Lina turns to Kylie. “Excuse me. Don’t want to seem desperate? You’d have rung his phone five times by now if it was you.”

“Never mind, I’ll just see him tonight.” I look at Catherine. “Do you think he will be upset that I didn’t call?”

“Of course not. He will just assume that you were busy with the wedding. Talking of the wedding here comes Charlotte.”

I turn towards the bedroom door and Charlotte is standing there with a horrified expression on her face. “I tore the veil,” she wails.

We all rush towards her. It is only a tiny tear and Catherine who is a whizz with DIY stuff says she can repair it with a bit of glue. I run downstairs to look for glue. I will think about Tyson later.

Chapter Eleven

Tyson

“Vanessa?” I ask in disbelief. Only she would call from his phone … and there’s only one reason why she would call in tears.

“Yes,” she confirms with a sniff.

‘What’s wrong with Liam?”

“First off I got to tell you that I’m going against Liam’s wishes here. He didn’t want me to tell you. We’ve argued about it numerous times. I’ve told him he should tell you, that you would want to know, but …”

I grip the phone tight. “Tell me what, Ness? What is it?”

She lets out a choked sob. “I’m calling from the hospital, Tyson. Liam’s been here for weeks.”

“What?” It should have come out as a shout because there was a lot of emotion behind that word, but it exits as a horrified whisper.

“I’m so sorry. I wanted to tell you—”

“For what?” I manage to sputter.

“It’s cancer, Tyson. They operated last night.”

“What the fuck?” That comes out as a shout, shocking the people bustling around me. “Liam’s got cancer? For how long?”

“He’s known for six months.”

“Six months!” I exclaim, utterly shocked. Liam is the only true friend I have. He’s more like a brother. He’d have my back no matter what, and the same goes double for me. I’d do anything for him. And he didn’t even want to tell me he has cancer. Cancer! Him? My head spins.

“Tyson, I’m sorry,” she sobs brokenly. “I know it isn’t right, and I told him so many times that you would want to know. That you deserve to, but … he didn’t want to see pity on your face. He didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for him. And he knew you would, because you love him. I know you do.”

“Oh, fuck,” I whisper, stunned. He’s twenty-six, just like me. People in the prime of life don’t normally get cancer. That’s for people who don’t take care of themselves, the ones who smoke and drink too much, and eat food full of nitrates and shit like that. Not us.

“He knew there was nothing you could do for him. There was nothing any of us could do, believe me. I’ve been with him every day and I’ve never felt so helpless in all my life. Watching him waste away …”

I shake my head, wishing I could make sense of the thoughts racing through it. Liam has cancer. He’s dying. He’s wasting away. And he didn’t tell me. “You said there was an operation?”