CHAPTER TWO
There were two things I was certain of by the time our entrees had arrived.
1) Henry was being too nice
2) I loathed him.
In fact, it took every ounce of me not to fling my oyster at him - he was being too polite. He didn't even seem phased when I kicked off our impromptu interview by avoiding any, and all, questions about myself.
Instead, I complimented the restaurant and how nice it was of the manager to sit us at the chef's table - a private space in the kitchen where we could watch our food being prepared. A privilege of dining with Emily Margot, no doubt.
I'd only eaten where normal people sat, but now I wondered if I could ever go back. I loved the cosy yet fine dining atmosphere at Louisa's - the mood lighting, candlelight, and soft music - but this, this was something else. I was in the engine room of one of London's hottest new restaurants.
This was how the other side lived. I didn't dare ask how much the chef's table cost at a restaurant like Louisa's.
I sipped at my chilled water, willing it to ease the knot in my stomach. Emily sat opposite me, while Henry sat beside her.
My own personal hell.
When I'd told Cameron that Henry Copeland from The Herald wanted to chat to me about Sunshine, he'd all but pushed me back into the elevator. He didn't even care that he was missing out on dinner at Louisa's, which he had booked three months ago for us to celebrate locking in Ladybug, a women's healthcare brand that was all the rage right now.
'Take the bloody booking. Dinner's on me for all I care - just make it worth it. Please.' Cam said, as he rode down in the lift with me. He then proceeded to recite every single talking point about Sunshine he could fit in the space of that elevator ride.
I'd begged him to come, but he insisted it was my time to shine.
'Thank you again for this interview,' Henry said, pulling me back to the present. He was squeezing some lemon juice over an oyster. I knew he was trying to get us back on track, but I wasn't going to make it easy for him... no matter what I'd promise Cam. Henry's phone, which he had placed on the table between us, was paused on the two-minute mark.
'Don't mention it.' I put my glass down. 'Any friend of Emily's is a friend of mine.' I had no idea where that came from and I wanted to kick myself for it. Who said that? Only people who were clearly rattled.
I risked a glance at Emily just in time to see the smile fade from her lips.
She was enjoying this!
'So,' I started and tried to appear as neutral as I could. 'How long have you two... known each other?' I leaned forward as I said this, resting my forearms on the table.
I didn't want to know... but I also wanted to know.
Did he make her laugh as much as I used to?
Henry sat back and rested one arm on the back of Emily's seat. They exchanged a warm glance before turning to me at the same time. 'Almost a year, I'd say,' he answered.
God.
'Lovely.'
I should've flung an oyster at him.
I forced myself to look away from the couple, and to the kitchen to our right. None of the chefs paid any attention to us as they moved in sync with each other. Every so often, a couple of tickets would come through and the head chef would bark orders at everyone.
She reminded me of a drill sergeant.
When I turned back to our table, I caught Emily staring at me with such intensity it made me suck in a breath through clenched teeth. I had a feeling I knew what she was thinking.
Why didn't you tell me you were back?
Why didn't you tell me you were back?
Why didn't you tell me you were back?
Henry cleared his throat and reached for his phone. 'Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions before our mains come?' he asked.
I was too distracted to come up with an excuse. 'Ask away.'
Henry tapped play and slid the phone towards me.
'For our readers who are familiar with Sunshine, and Cameron of course, but aren't aware of your part in the business - how would you describe it in your own words?'
In all of our press coverage so far, I was a sentence at the most. Co-founder. Business partner. Doctor. Cameron was everything else. I'd been so bad at answering questions during the first few months of our partnership, that journalists just defaulted to Cameron for interviews.
I didn't blame them.
'I...' I paused, and took another sip of my water. As much as I wanted to make some shit up, I knew I had to answer Henry's questions properly.The Herald had massive reach, and I didn't really want Cameron to throttle me if I messed this up.
'I'm the primary healthcare provider at Sunshine,' I answered, finding sudden interest in an empty oyster shell. 'Which is the fancy way of saying I'm a doctor who offers virtual consultations to patients who don't necessarily need face-to-face appointments.'
Henry nodded his head. 'And you exclusively treat young people?'
'It's true our focus is on young people, but our services are open to anyone should they reach out to us.'
That was straight out of the Book of Cameron.
'And why young people?'
I ran a finger over the shell.
'Well, being a former youth myself, I know how... invincible I thought I was. I never went to the doctors unless my uncle made me. And even then, I couldn't be bothered leaving the house half the time.'
'Invincible?'
It was an odd detail to pick up on, but I was sure he was getting at something.
'I grew up thinking I wanted to shoot guns for a living,' I said, matter-of-factly.
Henry nodded his head. 'Yes, that's right. What made you leave the army?'
I felt Emily's gaze pierce a hole in my face.
'I fulfilled my commitment,' I answered after a pause. 'And it was time for me to...' I trailed off as the chef arrived with our mains. The gnocchi for me, pappardelle with lamb ragu for Henry, and the seafood linguine for Emily.
Our eyes met over her plate of food as it was set before her.
'... to start over,' I finished. Every time she looked at me, I felt my insides go all wobbly - oh, shut up.
'... to reinvent yourself,' Henry said, more to himself, than us. He tucked into his food and chewed on it thoughtfully. 'And the name? Was that your idea, or Cameron's? I can't quite remember.' Henry put down his knife and fork, took a sip of his wine, and waited for me to answer.
'It was Cameron's,' I explained. 'His grandparents called him Sunshine.'
Henry nodded, but didn't continue eating. The man had an incredible poker face, his blue eyes gave away nothing as he continued to study me. Did he know about me and Emily? Surely. But how much? Once again I was faced with a question I didn't (100 per cent did) want to know the answer to. Goddamn it.
'What are the next steps for Sunshine?' Henry was eyeing his phone. I was sure he was considering the same problem all journalists who tried to interview me had - I wasn't good talent.
'Honestly? That's a Cameron question,' I answered as if to prove his point. 'I treat patients.' Henry reached for his phone and pressed stop on his recording app. 'I hope I gave you enough to work with.' I absolutely did not, and Cameron was not going to be a happy chappy.
'Not quite. But that's OK. I'll keep this in the back pocket.' And with that, he set his phone beside his plate.
3) Annoyingly polite.
'I wasn't lying when I said I wasn't good at this.' I offered an apologetic smile.
'Not a problem' Henry replied, and added, 'I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other soon anyway.' And just like that, the distant journalist who was prying for a quote vanished. All that was left was a smiling man with a knowing look in his eyes.
Alarm bells sounded in my head.
'Why's that?' I said through a mouthful.
'Any friend of Emily's is a friend of mine.' Henry winked at me as he repeated the same stupid words I'd used earlier tonight.
I couldn't help but snort.
Of course he was funny. Goddamn it.
Henry leaned back in his seat, obviously pleased with himself. With his out-of-office mode switched on, he suddenly looked smug, and then... like he was up to some -
'For a guy who doesn't think he carries himself well, you're doing awfully well tonight... considering your ex is sitting opposite you.'
I almost gagged on my spoon. So did Emily, but she was graceful enough to recover quickly. I ended up spluttering all over the table while she shot Henry a murderous look.
He shrugged at her. 'It was the elephant in the room. At least now we can talk like three adults trying to enjoy a wonderful meal.'
I sculled the rest of my water. Henry did have a point. I could be an adult in this situation and handle this maturely... or I could -
'I've never been very good at the whole adult thing.' The words slipped out before I could think better of them. 'Which is probably how I found myself in this situation, sitting opposite my ex and her new boyfriend.'
Emily's gaze sliced mine to pieces, forcing me to look away.
'I'm n -'
'Well maybe it's karma.' Emily said defensively, her tone had completely shifted. And it should've been all the warning I needed to bite my tongue. But I never could do that around her.
Dinner was all but forgotten as I folded my arms across my chest. 'Go on, this should be good.' I sounded cocky, I was anything but.
Emily's lips twitched, but she rose to the challenge. She put her cutlery aside, pushed her plate away, and rested her elbows on the table - fingers laced beneath her chin. 'If tonight is at all uncomfortable for you, and I assume it is, maybe it's the very least of what you deserve for not telling old friends you were back.'
Every word was laced with such restrained fury, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand tall.
'Old friends?' If Henry was still sitting there, I didn't notice him. Emily was staring at something over my shoulder, I assumed she was counting to ten to stop herself from throwing something at me.
'Bobby.'
I scoffed. 'Old friend, is he?' I'd bet the entirety of Sunshine that Bobby didn't consider us friends. If anything, I was like the infuriating cousin he was forced to sit next to at Christmas dinner.
'And me?' She said this softly, but her green eyes were still ablaze.
It took all of me not to run away.
We'd stayed in touch during our first few months apart, not out of obligation to each other but because we genuinely wanted to be friends. After being each other's worlds, it seemed impossibly cruel to just... stop talking. But Emily was busy and so was I, and it got harder and harder to find time for us. And when we did, the internet connection was sometimes so bad there wasn't any point in talking. It wasn't long until the routine chats became few and far between.
By the time a year had passed, we'd stopped talking. Next time turned into next month and before I knew it, I was too embarrassed... and too insecure to reach out. So I let time pull us further and further apart.
Henry cleared his throat, reminding me he was sat right there.
'I didn't know...' I tried to answer honestly, but I wasn't sure I could find the right words. I didn't even know what I wanted to say.
'Didn't know what?' Emily pressed.
I could feel myself sweating.
'Can we drop this, please?' I sounded frustrated.
'Not a chance,' Emily's voice cracked liked a whip. 'You owe me an answer, Se - Lincoln. Give me that at least.'
'Christ,' I hissed, and unfolded my arms so I could grasp at air. 'It's not like you couldn't reach out to me, Emily. This is a two-way street. And can you blame me for staying away? I assumed you would've moved on - I thought as much, and I didn't want to know about it. Screw being the bigger person, because this -' I gestured at the space between Henry and I. ' - sucks. There's your answer.'
Emily stared at me, lips pressed into a firm line. The fire in her eyes had gone out a little.
Nobody said a thing, even the noise from the kitchen seemed to have dimmed.
I shut my eyes and breathed in deeply, thinking about all the things I could draw when I was safely home. A stick-figure Lincoln digging a tunnel to the centre of Earth seemed like a good idea.
'I'm sorry,' I heard myself say, as my body began to retreat. 'I should go.'
I made to stand when something - no, someone stopped me. Whoever it was had gripped my shoulders, forcing me to sit.
I looked up into a face I immediately recognised - how could I not when his carbon copy sat opposite me. He looked the same as ever; luscious hair, angular face, the glasses, the perfect stubble I wished I could grow as evenly.
When he was sure I wouldn't move - and I couldn't if I tried - George Margot walked around our table until he stood behind Henry's seat. I watched first in shock over his sudden appearance... and then in complete and utter humiliation as he leaned down and kissed Henry's cheek.
My face burned, I was sure I was crimson.
'Sorry to intrude,' Georgie said with a crooked smile, as he rested one hand on Henry's shoulder. 'I just couldn't resist the temptation to drop in on an old friend.'
A/N
Thanks for all the support with the rewriting, everyone! You're all too kind. See you next week x