BooksBarbecue
Back Fancy Meeting You Here Save as PDF
Chapters (52)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. DEDICATION
  3. PART ONE
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. PART TWO
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. THIRTY-NINE
  44. FORTY
  45. FORTY-ONE
  46. FORTY-TWO
  47. FORTY-THREE
  48. FORTY-FOUR
  49. FORTY-FIVE
  50. FORTY-SIX
  51. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  52. ABOUT THE AUTHORS

‘Hugo! I really need to speak to you about something.’ Evie clutched the edge of the bench a little too tightly.

‘Can’t it wait?’

‘No!’

Hugo looked at her, startled.

‘I’m sorry, Hugo. It’s really important,’ said Evie.

Hugo sighed. ‘What is it, Evie? It’s three o’clock in the afternoon in LA and I got the midnight flight here. I’ve hardly slept for twenty-four hours,’ he said, coming back towards her and perching himself on the bar stool.

‘It’s just … I ran into Chloe the other day,’ Evie said, blurting it out, the secret unravelling like a loose thread caught on a fence.

Hugo gripped the other side of the bench, his jaw clenched.

‘Hugo, I’m worried.’

THIRTY

Thirty

Hugo sat, shoulders slouched, as Evie finally recounted what had happened with Chloe. How his ex-girlfriend had wanted to tell Evie ‘more’ about Hugo, but how she was determined to hear it from him, first.

When she finally finished, Hugo let out a long, ragged breath and said, ‘Shit, Evie, you’ve been sitting on this for days? I’m so sorry.’

Evie picked at her cuticles, waiting for Hugo to go on.

‘God, I’m just furious with her!’ Hugo looked so worn down with tiredness. His eyes were red around the edges.

Evie felt a shiver down her spine. This was awful. ‘Let me make us both a tea and you can tell me what’s going on. Please Hugo, I just want to put this behind us.’

Evie went about making tea, placing teacups and milk on the island bench. She loved spending time in this part of the house. In her mind, there was nothing more romantic than an island bench. She thought of the wines they had drunk here together, the meals they had cooked, the newspapers they had read, and the crosswords they had struggled through, not to mention the scenes they had written. But now, standing on either side of the kitchen bench, Evie felt a gulf open up between them.

‘So, what did Chloe want to tell me?’ she pressed.

‘God knows, Evie. Things didn’t end well with Chloe, you know that,’ Hugo said wearily. Evie nodded noncommittally. ‘During the last year we were together, we drifted apart. She got a job writing for The Guardian, and got busier and busier, and I guess I became consumed with my research for the book. We were so used to writing and working together on stories when we were studying, but when our course ended, we were suddenly being pulled in different directions. We were away from each other so much we probably didn’t realise how little we were enjoying each other’s company until it was too late. But then again, maybe we were always destined to outgrow each other. That can happen.’