Meet Clara Morgan (Clara Andrews Series - Book 3)

by Lacey London

  ‘No thanks. Gonna hit the gym. Fancy sharing a pizza when I’m done?’

  Nodding in response, I reach up for a kiss on the nose. For a moment I consider asking him about George, but I seem to have a gag reflex that prevents me from saying his name out loud.

  ‘Your mum has instructed me to write our guest list for the wedding. Anyone that you want me to add?’ I hold my breath as he screws up his brow.

  ‘No, not really.’

  ‘You haven’t already invited anyone? Any friends or family members that you haven’t told me about?’

  ‘Just a few of the guys from the golf course. John, Dave and Matt, you know the gang. Catch you later.’

  Breathing a sigh of relief, I flash him a smile and return to my list. Thank God for that. If he hasn’t invited George, then that means that Janie has. Waving him off, I keep the smile on my face until he is out of eyesight. The second the door slams shut, I jump to my feet. I have got to talk to Janie.

  Chapter 13

  Pouring myself a large glass of Rioja, I creep over to the spare room and hold my ear to the door. It’s at least an hour since Janie dropped the George bomb and I have been sat out here chewing my nails ever since.

  To cut a long story short, George and Oliver are old travelling buddies and a couple of years ago when I first starting dating Oliver, I kind of dated George at the same time. Yes, I know that sounds terrible, but it really isn’t as bad as it sounds. For starters, I didn’t even know that they knew each other and the dates only overlapped a couple of times before I broke it off with George. Anyway, Oliver found out and the whole thing blew up. Since then we haven’t seen nor heard a word from George and now I really need to find out exactly what Janie knows. Hearing footsteps behind the door, I run back to the couch and try to act calm.

  ‘Clara!’ Janie pops her head around the door with a face like thunder. ‘Get in here!’

  Almost spilling my wine, I scramble over to the spare room. ‘What’s wrong?’

  Barely covering her modesty with what I hope isn’t my best towel, she points to my shampoo furiously. ‘What the hell is this?’

  ‘It’s shampoo.’ I look at her as though she has gone mad and take the offending bottle from her.

  ‘Shampoo?’ She spits out the word like it is cancerous and motions to her hair. Now that I look at it, it does look rather odd. Her usual platinum blonde locks are looking rather dry and dare I say it, a little green. ‘What kind of shampoo turns your goddam hair green?’

  Trying to regain the use of my tongue, I stare at the bottle in my hand and scan the label.

  Beautiful Brunette colour depositing shampoo. Helps to keep brunette hair vibrant. Do not use on blonde or red hair.

  ‘Um, Janie, this is only to be used on brunette hair.’ I murmur, not quite knowing where to look.

  ‘What?’ Snatching the shampoo from my hands, Janie turns a mild shade of purple. ‘Then they should put that on the freakin’ label!’

  ‘Well, they do put it on the label, it’s on the back at the bottom.’ Taking a step back to ensure that I don’t get a slap, I wait for Janie to realise her mistake.

  ‘Are you kidding me? Who the hell can read that? Damn thing should come with a warning!’ Tossing the bottle across the room angrily, Janie stomps into the bedroom and drops her towel. ‘Just get me a drink, Clara and for the love God don’t palm me off with that pathetic excuse for wine!’

  Practically running out of the room, I head for the kitchen and pour a large amount of bourbon into a glass. Hearing her stomp around, I try my hardest not to laugh. I always wondered what would happen if you used brunette shampoo on blonde hair, I guess now I know. What I don’t know is why she thinks that George is coming to our wedding and I really need to get to the bottom of it before Oliver gets home.

  Armed with the glass of Jim Beam, I am half way back to Janie’s room when I decide it best to take the entire bottle. If there’s one thing that makes Janie happy, it’s alcohol and lots of it. Gently tapping on the door, I let myself in when I don’t get a reply.

  Looking around the room nervously, I relax a little when I notice that Janie has hopped back into the shower, at least she can’t hit me from in there. ‘Janie? I’ve got you some whiskey. Do you want me to leave it on the dressing table?’

  Waiting for a reply, I perch on the end of the bed and pretend not to notice the diamante thong that is hanging from the windowsill. I don’t even want to know how it’s got there.

  ‘I hate England.’ Janie declares, throwing back the shower curtain.

  ‘Why?’ Handing her the whiskey, I consider offering her a hug, but the way that she snatches the glass from me makes me think otherwise.

  ‘Seriously? You even need me to answer that!’ Throwing back the bourbon without so much as a wince, she slams down the glass. ‘Where do I start? Apparently it’s not acceptable to order a scotch with lunch, you can’t take a shower without freezing your ass off and the shampoo here turns your freakin’ hair green!’

  I open my mouth to defend my beloved country, but I have to hand it to her, she has got a point. You do get foul looks if you order an alcoholic beverage before noon, showers in winter are almost impossible to endure without shivering to death first and as for the shampoo, well I’m guessing that brunette colour depositing shampoo turns blonde hair green in America too.

  ‘It’s not all that bad and just think, you’ll be back in Texas in no time.’ Topping up her glass, I place a hand on her arm reassuringly.

  Janie squints her eyes at me and tries to drag a comb through her straw like hair. ‘You tryin’ to get rid of me, Andrews?’

  ‘No! No, of course not!’ I reply, letting out a nervous laugh. ‘Anyway, I have been doing my guest list and I was just wondering about Oliver’s friend. Did you say his name was, George?’ Hoping that I am sounding convincing, I look away as she exchanges her wet towel for clothes.

  ‘What about him?’

  ‘Well, it’s just that when I asked Oliver who he had invited to the wedding, he didn’t mention him.’

  ‘That’s because he doesn’t know that he’s coming, I invited him. It’s meant to be a surprise, but don’t worry, Oliver and G are good buddies.’

  Letting her words sink in, I try not to show how sick I feel. She obviously doesn’t know what happened between us or she wouldn’t have invited him. If he turns up at our wedding, Oliver will go mental. It’s not exactly what you want to see at your wedding is it? The old friend you haven’t spoken to in years that dated your new wife behind your back? Disaster waiting to happen. I have to speak with George and tell him not to come.

  Watching Janie squeeze into a pair of skin tight gingham trousers, I rack my brains for a way to get in touch with him. I deleted his number years ago and I can’t exactly ask Oliver for it.

  ‘Do you have a phone number for this George or an email address so that I can give him all the wedding details?’ Twisting my engagement ring around my finger, I bite my lip as I await her response.

  ‘That won’t be necessary. You can tell him in person on Wednesday. Does my ass look big in these?’ Janie twirls around in her obviously too tight jeans that yes, do indeed make her bum look big. ‘My ass, do these jeans make it look big?’ Motioning to her backside, she looks at me for an answer.

  ‘No they don’t. What did you say about Wednesday?’

  ‘George will be arriving with the girls on Wednesday for Gina’s wedding. He is Dallas’s boyfriend after all.’

  Almost choking on my own breath, I hold up my hand. ‘Wait a minute. George and Dallas are an item?’

  ‘Yeah, they have been dating almost a year now.’ Shrugging her shoulders, Janie tugs on a pink halter neck top.

  ‘But… but I thought that George was British?’

  ‘He is British, but he moved to America a couple of years ago. Now, what do you think of these shoes?’

  Oh, crap…

  Chapter 14

  By the time that lunch arrives the following
day, I am literally about to explode. All morning I haven’t been able to concentrate on anything that isn’t George related. My mind is boggling with so many questions that I don’t have the courage to find out the answers to. Why did he move to Texas? How did he end up dating Dallas? Is Oliver ready to forgive and forget? Scratching my chin with frustration, I am seriously contemplating taking up smoking just to calm down.

  When Oliver came back from the gym last night and Janie finally disappeared to Gina’s, I really thought that I was going to tell him about George. However, as the night went on I just couldn’t bring myself to say it and before I knew it we were tucked up in bed snoring away. Or at least Oliver was, I spent the majority of the night tossing and turning, scared that I would shout out George’s name in my sleep.

  Hurling my handbag up onto my shoulder, I push through the studio doors and take the lift down to the ground floor. Not bothering to stop and make small talk with the girls on reception, I have a quick scan around for Lianna. As soon as I opened my eyes this morning, I sent her a desperate text message demanding that she meet for lunch and ever since then I have been counting down the hours. My dad swears that no matter what the question is, Google has the answer, but sometimes a girl has problems that only a best friend can fix.

  Spotting her skip down the stairs in a stunning red pencil dress, I beckon her over and hold open the door.

  ‘Hi! How are you? Where are we going, The Bistro?’ Lianna plants a pink kiss on my cheek and links her arm through mine.

  Shaking my head I push her out into the street. ‘No time for that. Come with me.’

  *

  Sat in the tiny coffee shop opposite work, it has taken me half an hour to fill Lianna in on the whole crazy situation and now that I have said it out loud, I’m feeling worse than I did before.

  ‘And Oliver doesn’t know any of this?’ Li screws up her nose as she tries to process what I have just told her. Lianna knows better than anyone the havoc that George caused.

  ‘Nope.’ Taking a bite out of my tuna baguette, I pull a face at the rancid taste and reach for a paper napkin. ‘As far as I am aware, Oliver hasn’t seen or heard from George since all that happened between us. The whole thing is like a really bad soap opera.’

  Chewing on a chicken wrap, Lianna pushes her glasses up her nose thoughtfully. ‘So let me get this straight. Janie doesn’t know that Oliver and George have fallen out and she has invited him to the wedding?’

  I nod in response and take a much needed gulp of coffee. At £6.50 for a triple shot espresso, it’s the best money I have ever spent.

  ‘And now George has moved to America and is dating Oliver’s cousin? I’m guessing that Oliver doesn’t know that either?’

  Nodding again I let out a big sigh. ‘Yup and that’s not all. Gina has invited Dixie, Dolly and Dallas over for her wedding this weekend and George will be coming with them. Just kill me now.’ Watching her eyes widen, I shove a handful of crisps into my mouth. Comfort eating at its finest.

  ‘What a mess. Are you going to tell Oliver?’ Lianna reaches for my crisps and I bat her hand away.

  ‘I thought about it, but what exactly can I say? If George is dating Dallas then our paths are going to cross at some point.’ Tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear I finish off the remainder of my baguette. ‘A part of me thinks that maybe it is best to get it out of the way now and then we can all move past it.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Li replies. ‘You never know, George may see this wedding invite as an olive branch and the three of you could kiss and make up. You are probably worrying about nothing.’

  Leaning back in my seat, I suddenly have a glimmer of hope. ‘You know what, I think you could be right. It has been a long time after all and they do say that men don’t harbour resentment as long as women do.’

  ‘Exactly! It could just be water under the bridge.’ Draining her mug Lianna jumps to her feet. ‘Anyway, I gotta go. I need to phone Janie to go over wedding photographers. I’ll text you later.’

  ‘Have fun.’ I shout after her as she sashays out of the café.

  Watching her march across the street, I can’t help but hope that she may be right. I mean let’s face it. I do have a habit of blowing things out of proportion and always thinking of the worst case scenario. After all, it appears that we have all moved on and with Oliver and I getting married, it does seems like such an insignificant, petty thing to hold on to. So what if I dated the guy? Maybe we will even laugh about it one day. It can be a funny story to tell our grandchildren! I can see it now, the age old story of how Grandma double dated Granddad with Great Uncle George. How sweet.

  7.39pm

  To: claraandrews001@firemail.co.uk

  From: lianna-banana@lime.com

  Subject: Don’t worry… Be happy!

  Don’t worry about George, everything with work itself out. Just remember that I’m always right, except from when I am wrong… which is quite often.

  LOVE YOU!

  xxxxxxxxxx

  Chapter 15

  Unfortunately for my new found confidence, Oliver didn’t make it home that night and thanks to Marc’s impromptu stag do, he didn’t make it home last night either. Usually I would be livid at being left alone with Janie, but I have been so caught up in the whole George fiasco that I haven’t had the time to think about it. However, I have been able to come up with a plan. Well, if you can call burying your head in the sand and hoping for the best a plan.

  For the past two days, Janie has been in total wedding planner mode. Every time I have seen her she has had a phone to her ear, barking orders at a different caterer, registrar or florist. She has even organised Gina’s hen do for tomorrow. Personally, I think that a hen do so close to a wedding is a recipe for disaster, but hey, what do I know?

  Anyway, forty eight nauseating hours later we are stood in arrivals at Heathrow Airport and I am feeling rather anxious. My stomach churns as I look up at the clock. Their fight got in twenty three minutes ago, any second now they should be here. Janie is frantically scanning the crowd in search of Dixie, Dolly and Dallas or The Three D’s as Oliver calls them. Not knowing quite what to look for, I am keeping my eyes peeled for George. Unfortunately, I know all too well what he looks like. All morning I have been replaying Lianna’s advice in my head, but as time ticks by it is having less of an effect.

  ‘There they are!’ Janie’s impromptu scream almost makes my heart stop. ‘Yoo hoo! Girls!’

  Pushing her way through the sea of people, Janie begins making noises that only a pack of geese would understand. Trying not to lose her, I grab onto the sleeve of her jacket for dear life. When she finally comes to a stop, my jaw literally drops at the three girls that are stood in front of me. These are the prettiest, scariest women that I have ever seen in my entire life. Tall, tanned, blonde and wearing clothing that would make Janie look conservative. I fight my gut instinct to give them my coat to cover up. Seriously, people are stopping and staring.

  ‘My girls!’ Janie throws her arms around their necks as they all scream in unison.

  Taking a step back to avoid losing my hearing, I offer them a shy smile and thankfully, they smile back.

  ‘Hey! You must be Clara!’ Pulling me into the screaming mob, one of the girls squeals with excitement.

  I try to reply, but anything that I say will just be muffled by their incessant screeching. Thankfully, she soon puts me down and returns her attention to an ecstatic Janie. Trying to get my breath back, I take a moment to study Janie’s girls. They are younger than I thought, barely out of their teens. The oldest one must be twenty three max. Their faces are almost identical, huge green eyes with full pink lips and annoyingly high cheekbones. Long blonde curls cascade down their backs, making me have some serious hair envy. The only thing that separates them is their tattoos. If they were wearing suitable clothing, I wouldn’t have even noticed them, but when you are wearing nothing more than a pair of ripped denim shorts and a crop top, a wrist tattoo is kind of hard t
o miss. My horoscope obsession makes it easy to decipher the squiggles. A crab, a lion and a scorpion. Definite zodiac signs.

  ‘Clara, get over here!’ Tugging me by the arm, Janie pulls me in beside her. ‘This is Dixie, Dolly and Dallas.’

  Just as I am trying to work out who is who, I see something that makes my stomach drop to the floor. In all the hysteria, I had almost forgotten about him. The dark gentle curls, big brown eyes and gorgeous olive skin, definitely George.

  ‘Oh and this is George. Isn’t he a hottie?’ Janie squeezes his biceps and plants a red kiss on his cheek.

  My entire body freezes as he heaves his rucksack onto his shoulder and slips an arm around the scorpion’s waist. Our eyes lock and for a moment I genuinely think that I might stop breathing. It has been so long that I had almost forgotten what he looked like. Well, either that or my brain has just blocked out how disgustingly handsome he is. Just as I am praying that the ground will swallow me up, he holds out his hand.

  ‘Hey, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Clara, was it?’ He shoots me a small smile as I stare at him open mouthed. ‘Wow, Oliver’s a lucky guy.’

  What is he doing? Not knowing what else to do, I take his hand and give it a limp shake. Is he really going to pretend that he doesn’t know me? Shouldn’t I say something?

  ‘Where’s Prince Harry at?’

  ‘Can you go inside Buckingham palace?’

  ‘Does the Queen sign autographs?’

  The Three D’s voices ring in my ears as we start to make our way towards the exit. I try to get George on one side to ask what the hell is he playing at, but he seems to having a pretty in depth conversation with Dallas’s tonsils.

  Of all the scenarios I have predicted in my head, him pretending that he has never met me before was not one of them. Is he going to act like he doesn’t know Oliver either? How would that even work? Maybe he has had a bump on the head and he really doesn’t remember me! Then all I would need to do is give Oliver a good whack and we might just get away with this.