Happy Hour (A Romantic Comedy)

Chapter 2

"What on earth are you doing, Em?"

Paige pokes her head over the top of the hedge I'm currently hiding behind.

"Shhhh," I hiss, gesturing frantically. "Get round here! Quick!"

She circles the shrubbery and gracefully drops down beside me, made more impressive by the fact she's wearing a ballgown. Thank goodness the ground is dry. "What the hell is going on?"

"See that guy over there?" I whisper, raising my head slightly to check he's still there. He is. I duck back down before he can see me.

She has a quick look. "Tall? Light brown hair? Good looking? With a toddler?"

"Yep." I breathe.

I was really hoping I had been imagining the toddler.

I'd also thought up a lot of scenarios in my head over what would happen if I ever saw Christopher O'Brien again but none of them involved me panicking and diving behind a bush to hide from him.

"Shit, I need to get the camera." I panic. Which is in front of the bush. In plain sight of him. But this is Glasgow and I can't leave it unattended . . . Like most cities someone will make off with it in record time if I don't retrieve it.

"I'll get it." Paige stands up as casually as she can in her finery and wanders back around to the other side. She flicks through the photos on the camera and nods. "I think we've got everything we need anyway if you're needing to make a quick escape," she says to me. I'm sure she's probably getting a few funny looks for talking to a hedge but Paige doesn't really have a self-conscious bone in her body.

"Cool." I wait for Paige to return to my side of the hedge before standing and quickly walking in the opposite direction, away from Chris and his kid. That was close.

I can't help throw one last glance over my shoulder though and I freeze.

Chris is looking straight at me. There's an amused expression on his face.

Not only did he actually witness the whole event, I'm fairly sure he's recognised me too.

Blushing furiously, I turn away and rush Paige off until we're out of sight.

"What was that all about?" My friend asks me. She steps out of her dress, revealing a black vest top and skinny jeans underneath, and bundles her long flowing magenta curls into a haphazard bun on top of her head. As soon as her filming time is over, Paige likes to go as casual as possible.

"Did I ever tell you about my biggest crush when I was young?" I reply, putting my camera away. "That was him."

"Er... oh wait." Paige frowned for a moment, thinking, then her expression brightened. "The guy who you thought hated you but then he kissed you?"

"That's the one." I nod grimly. "And that's the first time I've seen him since that kiss."

"Wow. So suffice to say you panicked?"

"You could say that." I cringe. I thought, at 32, I would be cooler than this. Apparently not.