BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (84)
  1. Chapter one
  2. Chapter two
  3. Chapter three
  4. Chapter four
  5. Chapter five
  6. Chapter six
  7. Chapter seven
  8. Chapter eight
  9. Chapter nine
  10. Chapter ten
  11. Chapter eleven
  12. Chapter twelve
  13. Chapter thirteen
  14. Chapter fourteen
  15. Chapter fifteen
  16. Chapter sixteen
  17. Chapter seventeen
  18. Chapter eighteen
  19. Chapter nineteen
  20. Chapter twenty
  21. Chapter twenty-one
  22. Chapter twenty-two
  23. Chapter twenty-three
  24. Chapter twenty-four
  25. Chapter twenty-five
  26. Chapter twenty-six
  27. Chapter twenty-seven
  28. Chapter twenty-eight
  29. Chapter twenty-nine
  30. Chapter thirty
  31. Chapter thirty-one
  32. Chapter thirty-two
  33. Chapter thirty-three
  34. Chapter thirty-four
  35. Chapter thirty-five
  36. Chapter thirty-six
  37. Chapter thirty-seven
  38. Chapter thirty-eight
  39. Chapter thirty-nine
  40. Chapter forty
  41. Chapter forty-one
  42. Chapter forty-two
  43. Chapter forty-three
  44. Chapter forty-four
  45. Chapter forty-five
  46. Chapter forty-six
  47. Chapter forty-seven
  48. Chapter forty-eight
  49. Chapter forty-nine
  50. Chapter fifty
  51. Chapter fifty-one
  52. Chapter fifty-two
  53. Chapter fifty-three
  54. Chapter fifty-four
  55. Chapter fifty-five
  56. Chapter fifty-six
  57. Chapter fifty-seven
  58. Chapter fifty-eight
  59. Chapter fifty-nine
  60. Chapter sixty
  61. Chapter sixty-one
  62. Chapter sixty-two
  63. Chapter sixty-three
  64. Chapter sixty-four
  65. Chapter sixty-five
  66. Chapter sixty-six
  67. Chapter sixty-seven
  68. Chapter sixty-eight
  69. Chapter sixty-nine
  70. Chapter seventy
  71. Chapter seventy-one
  72. Chapter seventy-two
  73. Chapter seventy-three
  74. Chapter seventy-four
  75. Chapter seventy-five
  76. Chapter seventy-six
  77. Chapter seventy-seven
  78. Chapter seventy-eight
  79. Chapter seventy-nine
  80. Chapter eighty
  81. Chapter eighty-one
  82. Chapter eighty-two
  83. Chapter eighty-three
  84. Chapter eighty-four

I stare at the screen. What the hell’s that supposed to mean? Things have changed? Jake has always been a good one for cryptic messages. My heart picks up a beat. Was Pip right all along? Has Jake’s relationship with Neve come to a sticky end? I click the message closed as I really have no idea how to reply to it. Is this what I wanted to hear all along? I’m not sure how I should be reacting. My heart is still pounding and my stomach is sick and hollow. But my brain is refusing to provide any form of sensible analysis. How do I feel about Jake now? My palms are clammy with anxiety and my emotions are thrown into utter turmoil as I wonder what will be waiting for me when I return.

With unsteady fingers, I bash out a rather non-committal message to Edie with much blah, blah, blah in it. I grab my parcels and head out of the cybercafé. I’ll have to rush now because I’m going to be late meeting Dean. Dean—I sigh inwardly. My heart knows how to react to this quandary. It still does a backflip every time I think of him.

Perhaps more than Jake is aware—things have definitely changed.

Chapter sixty-one

Chapter sixty-one

Jake didn’t want to be doing this, but Pip had insisted. Gallery launches weren’t really his type of thing—not that he’d been to one, but he was pretty sure that there were a whole lot of other things that were more his cup of tea. His spirits sagged some more as he saw the queue of people trying to push their way into the tiny backstreet shop.

Pip slapped him soundly on the back as they fell out of the taxi in Charlotte Street. ‘You can’t stay at home moping.’

‘I can,’ Jake said. ‘If I’d done more staying at home and moping, perhaps I wouldn’t be in this bloody stupid situation now.’

It was a freezing-cold night and, rubbing his hands together for some meagre warmth, Jake flicked up his collar against the icy air. He wondered whether it was warm in Nepal. He wondered where Lyssa was now. What would she be wearing? What would she be doing? Who would she be doing it with? Pip paid the taxi driver and they joined the throng of people on the pavement in the vain hope of getting a glass of flat champagne and a few limp canapés.

‘It’ll turn out okay,’ Pip said jovially. ‘You wait and see if it doesn’t.’

‘Do you really think Lyssa will take me back?’

‘Well…’

‘Would you, if I’d been such a prat?’