Page 55 of The Last Kiss

“Ha! You said five.”

“Sorry, four and five are the same, I should have said that.”

Luckily, we are stopped by the clack of Rebecca’s heels. Louboutin’s today, the red of the sole to match the red of her silk shirt. “Jules, a word.”

Flynn frowns at me and I glance up at him. Why does it sound like I’m in trouble? He shrugs, but it has none of the appeal of a French shrug.

Stop it. Stop thinking about him.

Rebecca ushers me in. “Julia darling, I’ve been watching you.”

“You have?” Okay, bit weird but we can roll with it. “I promise I said no to Flynn if that’s what you are worried about and heard him asking.” I pull at the edge of my blouse. “I know that would be frowned upon.”

“What’s that, darling?”

“Flynn… uh.” I stop talking.

“Oh, he’s asked you out again has he? I have to say, Julia, you’ve done well to avoid his advances all this time. I put his desk there just so he’d give you a little sunshine.”

“I can assure you all he’s given me is a migraine.”

Rebecca tinkles her little laugh. “So, tell me about your plans for this weekend?”

Oh… that’s what this is. It’s the Friday afternoon pity chat. Ha-ha! I do have plans.

“It’s Paige’s fourth birthday, so Liv has a party planned at her house.”

“A day with the Notting Hill set. All married and settled down, are they? Smug and satisfied?” Rebecca views monogamy the way that I view raisins; unnecessary, total waste of time (and calories) and maybe a trick of the devil himself.

“Nope, I don’t think so.”

I’ve never stopped to ponder on just how Liv has managed to surround herself with people as equally useless in love as her. I find myself shrugging, my mind automatically slipping to a mysterious little pocket of France where a man I unexpectedly miss lives. It’s been six weeks since our night of Boutique Hotel Heaven and I’m pretty sure fate has decided twice is enough.

Damn you, fate.

And damn me for being a stubborn bitch. What’s a number or name swap between two people who have shared bodily fluids?

“Okay, so listen.” Rebecca straightens her spine and recrosses her legs, flashing me the vibrant red of her soles. Her fingers clasp a diamond pendant around her neck, and I sense something in her that I’ve never seen before. I can practically smell it. Uncertainty.

“So, I don’t want you to be upset.”

My smile tightens on my face. “That’s not a great start.”

“I know how desperately you want to get us digitised.”

“Rebecca, I’m not doing it because I’m bored; it’s the only way for us to survive.”

“Yeees… that’s the thing, darling. We might not try. The board are in discussions to fold.”

I stare at her, my mouth hanging wide open. “What?”

“It’s not definite, not at all, but I just wanted to talk to you about it. You’ve been here such a long time, given so much of your creativity and drive to me, when really you probably should have left ages ago and gone somewhere better.”

I rub absently at my chest. I know and she knows why I’ve stayed. “I want to be here. It’s a massive part of my life.”

“Julianna, there is so much more to life than being here with a needy ex-socialite and a bunch of crusty old men.”

“Don’t be so harsh on yourself. You’re more than an ex-socialite.”