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Back Just for December Save as PDF
Chapters (54)
  1. Cover
  2. PRAISE FOR LAURA JANE WILLIAMS
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. Acknowledgements
  50. Publishing Credits
  51. Keep Reading …
  52. About the Author
  53. Fiction by the same author
  54. About the Publisher

He holds up his hands in surrender, shaking his head and heading back towards the bus. Jeez. Some people are just obviously better on the page than they are in person. That’s fine. He’s misjudged her.

‘No,’ she says, pulling a face. ‘You don’t get to make this—’ she gestures between them as she speaks ‘—my fault. I’m not difficult. You are too … too … fake.’

This is ludicrous. Are they really arguing right now? Duke is aware of people starting to look in their direction.

‘People are staring,’ Duke says, contorting his face into a smile and speaking through somewhat gritted teeth. ‘Can we not?’

Evie looks around and seems to take note of the glances in their direction, looking back at Duke and mirroring his pasted-on ‘smile’.

Through equally gritted teeth Evie says, ‘Let’s just call this quits, shall we? Leave each other alone? Like I said last night, we don’t have to be besties.’

Duke shrugs, realises it looks hostile to the last of the lingering eyes on him, and so opens out his arms so that his body language seems more congenial. Evie looks at him, horrified, and then inserts herself, putting her arms under his in an awkward collision of their angry bodies. They are hugging, now. They are grimacing and hugging and talking in hushed, snatched whispers.

‘Weird,’ Evie quietly says, after she’s pulled away and folks have started to file into the bus, ready to go to set. She doesn’t look at him, but at the ground.

‘Super weird,’ Duke echoes, letting her walk in front of him as he tries to figure out what the hell just happened. They went from snapping to hugging? In the blink of an eye? Bizarre. She’s mercurial, this author. Duke finds himself breathing shallower, unnerved.

Putting as much distance between himself and Evie as he can, Duke lets a few others onto the coach ahead of him, and then clambers up the steps himself. The thing is packed, a sea of tired faces staring blearily into their phones, so he looks down to his immediate left at the seat behind the driver, the only seat free on the bus. In the neighbouring seat, Evie looks up at him, stony-faced, and then back down at her phone. He sighs and sits beside her. They do not talk. Duke half leans into the aisle to avoid accidentally brushing up against her. He holds himself as rigidly as he can as the bus takes bend after bend through the Bavarian streets.

When they finally pull up at their destination and the doors open, Duke flings himself down the steps to the safety of the land, confused as to how a silence between two people can feel so wordlessly aggressive. He decides, then, to leave her well alone. What a mistake trying to befriend her has been. He’s practically got frostbite from her cold-hearted attitude.

7

Evie