Chapters (28)
I looked at the back of Ryan’s head, his ears still flushed, and felt smug. It felt good to see someone put the idiot in his place.
I warmed to Reggie at once, and as we got to know one another over the coming weeks, I started to see her socially, too. I think most people thought of me as her little sidekick, but I didn’t really mind. I felt she was the first true friend I had ever had. She did some modelling work on the side and earned enough to rent her own place, and when things became increasingly difficult for me at home, eventually I moved in with her in our final year of sixth form. I never looked back.
Later, things really took off for Reggie. Without a second thought, she had dropped out of uni, having been snapped up by a prestigious model agency. By now she was earning a ridiculous amount posing for magazines and on the catwalk. And no wonder. She moved like a gazelle, the epitome of grace and elegance. I felt like the dowdy supporting actress to her exotic and infinitely more glamorous leading lady. Any time I had ever brought anyone home, their interest in me, if ever there had been any, waned noticeably as soon as they saw Reggie. It wasn’t her fault, but it did little for my self-confidence, however much she tried to reassure me. With my poker-straight, medium-length mousy hair and slim but unremarkable figure, I felt decidedly average, and had all but given up on finding someone who found me either attractive or interesting. My only real assets, I had been told, were my almond-shaped, hazel eyes, inherited apparently from my father. One smooth-talker (who had lasted a whole two dates) had described them as ‘the hypnotic eyes of a she-wolf’. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but it clearly hadn’t been enough to keep him coming back for more.
Even before we moved to Avoncote, I had been seeing less and less of Reggie, as her modelling commitments took her away from home for long periods of time. We chatted regularly on the phone and she had congratulated me half-heartedly on the nuptials. Although she didn’t say as much, I suspected that she was even less enthused about the idea of the pregnancy. She and Jack were civil to one another, but didn’t really get along for some reason. They had very different priorities and I think their personalities clashed.
Reading between the lines, I think that deep down she thought I was making a mistake. Reggie was my friend, and I knew that she had my best interests at heart. I loved her dearly, and was saddened that the two people who meant the most to me in the world couldn’t be friends. But I knew Jack was the one for me, and nothing would persuade me otherwise.