Love & London: The love story 2021 needs. Heartbreakingly beautiful and hilariously funny!

by Ellie White

  "You've known him your whole life. Surely, you know him by now. Are you sure it's not a date?"

  "He was rather persistent about it but it doesn't mean anything. I'll go to dinner and get to know him again and then we can find a way to coexist peacefully. Can we change the subject now, please?"

  Laura thinks about it for a moment before shrugging.

  "Well, we'll see. Anyway, moving on from your work-based drama, let’s get down to business," Laura says, pulling out her note pad. "Harry, I need to know your resolutions."

  Harry pulls his note pad up on his phone and clears his throat confidently. "I am going to lose a stone and find the love of my life"

  "So, same as last year then?" Laura confirms, writing it down.

  "Yep, what about you?"

  "I am going to learn a new hobby. I'm open to suggestions, if you have any? Nothing dangerous or too expensive. And I'm going to start going to the gym I joined last January and have yet to do my induction at," she says, writing it in her notebook before closing it with a satisfied smile.

  Every year, she does this and, every year, I have nothing to add so she’s surprised when I speak.

  "I'm going to start dating again, that's my resolution. I think it's about time I get myself back out there. Say ‘yes’ to doing more and trying new things. Return to the land of the living."

  My friends look at me blankly, stunned by my declaration. Since Philip died, I haven't expressed any interest in meeting anyone new so I think they had resigned to the fact I would be alone for the rest of my life. As much as my parents (and Philip's parents, too, for that matter) have tried to set me up with their friends' sons, I've always found a way to avoid it but something has changed recently. Maybe turning thirty triggered something in my brain because I was suddenly very aware that I had barely lived my twenties at all.

  When was the last time I did anything other than work? I can't remember.

  Laura shakes her head as if she’s not hearing right. "You want to meet someone?"

  "I don't know if I want to settle down right away or have a bunch of babies but I'm thirty! My biological clock is ticking so maybe going on a date is a good start."

  "Give me your phone. I'm setting you up on some apps. Tinder, E-Harmony, just the basics to get you started," Laura says as she and Harry ignore me, tapping ferociously on my iPhone. I have anxiety just thinking about what they're doing. "Plenty of Fish?" she asks as Harry nods to her in agreement before concentrating on the tiny screen again.

  "Does James know you're here tonight?" Harry asks.

  "Oh, hey, there's your brother," Laura says at the same time. She waves across the bar to him. "Oh, God, Jake is with him and that guy. What's his name?"

  "Simon? Oh, he is to die for. I have not stopped dreaming about him since your brother’s birthday party last year," Harry says, fussing his longer-than-usual brown hair and straightening his slim fit, checked shirt. "How do I look? Please let them sit with us, Maggie. That guy is hot and gay. You know the only guys I seem to be attracted to are straight, except this one. Please, please, please."

  Before I can protest, my brother waves back and makes his way over to our table, followed by Jake and a nervous looking Simon. I don’t know him all too well but he seems nice enough.

  "Mind if we join you?" James asks, nudging Simon over to the empty spot next to Harry. I smile as I see what is going on. Simon is just as taken by Harry as Harry is by Simon.

  "Sure," I say as I scootch along to make room in the six-seater booth for my brother when Jake slides in, flinging his arm to rest on the seat behind me. Great, my new-slash-old bestie.

  "Hi, Maggs," he says, flashing me a wide smile. "Fancy seeing you here."

  I give him a look that says, ‘Yeah, funny, since I told you that this was exactly where I was going to be’.

  My brother takes our drink order and heads to the bar, whisking Laura away to help him.

  "Sorry for just turning up. Simon really likes Harry and you said he would be here. What kind of wingman would I be if I didn't help him hook up, right?" Jake whispers, leaning in close to my ear so Simon and Harry can’t hear. I can feel his breath as he speaks and it sends prickles down my neck.

  "You don't need to explain anything to me. Harry will thank you for playing cupid." I smile. I look over at the two new love birds cooing over each other already. Man, they work fast.

  "Can you tolerate me for a little while, then?" His voice is lower than usual and I look at his arm still around me but he makes no attempt to move it. I get the feeling he's flirting with me again. Usually, I can read him like a book but, for the first time, I can't.

  "I suppose I can try," I quip back at him.

  He grins at me, his eyes sparkling in the warm lighting of the pub. "Be careful. You might even start to like me."

  "I never said I don't like you, Jake," I say, returning his grin with a small, flirtatious smile. "I just think you're a bit of a shithead.”

  “That’s good to know.” He laughs, raking his fingers through his hair, his cheeks slightly pinker than normal as James places our fresh drinks in front of us, oblivious to our exchange.

  Jake passes me my drink from the end of the table, his gaze lingering on me before he holds his own glass up to mine in a cheers.

  ***

  A few hours pass and Helen and her friend, Cylvie, finally arrive. Helen and James met when he was doing a construction job at the Victoria Apollo. She was in the Wicked ensemble at the time and had not long graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. I couldn’t think of a better match for my brother.

  Helen and I have always gotten on well. Cylvie, on the other hand… Not so much. She's tall, skinny and so perfectly French but she has the personality of a wet paper bag. No matter how much I try get her to warm to me by asking questions, complementing her or including her in conversations, she just looks at me as if I'm speaking Swahili or something. I know her English is flawless so it's not like she can’t understand me.

  Even Laura, who is a sees-the-best-in-everyone kind of person, can't stand her.

  Despite Cylvie being her usual bitchy self, I have enjoyed the extra company tonight. What has surprised me most is that having Jake here has also been rather nice. He's good company when he's not trying to torment me and he's quite funny when he isn't pushing me towards breaking point. Maybe it's the alcohol he keeps buying me that is making me warm up to him more.

  I noticed a change in him this afternoon when we had a joint meeting with our Heads of Department in preparation for working together over the coming weeks. He let me take the lead and only spoke up when I invited him to. It took me off guard to see him take a step back when he is used to being the big man in charge.

  As expected, Harry and Simon have gone off to their own booth and are busy trying to taste each other's tonsils. For someone so shy, Simon really came into his own after a few drinks. He and Harry looked so comfortable together, it was like they'd known each other for a lifetime. Maybe this is the year Harry gets to tick off one of his resolutions.

  "So, you not on the pull tonight, mate?" James asks Jake, nodding towards Cylvie who is draped seductively over the pool table as she and Helen play.

  "Nope, got a deal with my partner here," he says, draping his arm around my shoulder and, once again, I enjoy the feel of his touch. I roll my eyes at him as I try to ignore that fact and he responds with a small chuckle. "What was your rule again? Something about not seeing or hearing about my 'sexual conquests'?"

  "At work, yeah. I'm not going to stop you chatting someone up in a pub. Feel free. It's not like Cylvie hasn't made it blatantly obvious she's desperate to shag you," I say, unable to keep the edge out of my voice when I say her name.

  "There's that jealousy again," he says, teasing me. "Think I'm good here anyway," he adds with a shrug.

  It was as if she knows we're talking about her as she comes and sits opposite Jake, not even trying to look at me or James.

  "What
's that, Laura? My round? Okay," my brother shouts to Laura at the bar who hasn't said a word but looks at us in confusion before he makes his escape. As much as he doesn't dislike Cylvie, it's obvious he can't stand to be around her as much as the rest of us.

  Jake grips me tighter, moving his hand to fall around my waist and pulling me closer into his side. "Protect me," he whispers to me, almost hiding in my hair. I give a little giggle as though he's said something flirty for effect and take hold of his other hand that sits in his lap.

  "You two?" Cylvie spits, looking almost nauseous.

  "What can I say? She called me a shithead and I melted,” Jake says, nuzzling my hair again.

  "We're just, you know, friends," I say, truthfully, although I look at him as though we're sickeningly in love. I clearly missed my calling as an actress. Jake cocks his eyebrow at me in amusement.

  "Call me when you see sense and want an upgrade, Mills," she says, looking me up and down with another loathsome look before getting up out of the booth and heading straight for the door.

  "Where did Cylvie go?" Helen asks, looking around when she gets back to the table a moment later.

  "Excuse me," I say as I push Jake away from me so I can climb out of the booth over him, not waiting for him to move out of my way.

  "Maggs! Maggie!" Jake shouts after me but I don't listen to him as I make a beeline for the ladies’ toilets.

  It's funny how another woman can cut you down so easily with one simple look, a look that says more words than she could ever say out loud.

  I wash my hands and splash the icy water up my arms. As I dry my hands, I look at myself in the floor to ceiling mirror and it's as though all my imperfections are glowing for the entire world to see, flashing neon lights drawing attention to every lump and bump. I'm not stick thin like Cylvie; I'm not supermodel gorgeous like Helen or even quirky and confident like Laura.

  I have cellulite and little, silver stretch marks and that doesn’t bother me because I have nice parts too. I have long, blonde hair that's highlighted regularly and my skin is almost flawless besides a monthly, hormonal breakout. I try to do yoga every now and then and I eat right most of the time but I also enjoy myself. Cider and carbs aren't ideal but they're tasty and that's all that matters, right? I enjoy myself and I'm happy in my own, perfectly average skin.

  When Cylvie looked at me and took note of every part of me that is inferior to her, it struck me.

  I'm no Michelle Keegan but I'm not ugly either. Is it ridiculous to think that a man like Jake could fancy a girl like me? Not that I want him to fancy me but is it that unbelievable?

  "Get your shit together," I say to myself in the mirror before I realise there is someone standing in the doorway watching me.

  "She's a bitch and we all know it. Don't listen to her," Laura says, linking her arm through mine. "You're worth a million Cylvies and she knows it. She's just jealous because Jake showed you more attention tonight than he could show her in a lifetime."

  I don't respond, I just look at her, my beautiful best friend who always knows what to say.

  "Come on, the witch left, anyway. Let’s get another drink," she says, our arms still linked as we head back into to the pub.

  "What are you doing tomorrow?" James asks as I take a seat opposite him and away from Jake. He frowns making a little crease appear between his eyebrows. "Mum wants to come into the city. She wants to go to Harrods. Since Auntie Sarah is coming from New York to visit, she wants to buy some ridiculously overpriced biscuits or meats or some shit, I don't know. I thought we could meet her for lunch somewhere nice, maybe an afternoon tea in their tearoom. She'd love that."

  Auntie Sarah is Dad's sister and she is always trying to one up Mum. She lives in Manhattan and shops on Fifth Avenue so thinks she's way above us all.

  "Sorry, I'm working."

  "You're working? Tomorrow? It's Saturday. Your dad is your boss. Surely, that means you can slack off a bit."

  "I'm the boss’ daughter. It means I have to work twice as hard for half the respect," I say, as a matter of fact. Sad but true.

  "People respect you. You just have to look at your team to see they worship the ground you walk on," Jake says, butting into our conversation, leaving Laura and Helen to their own conversation.

  "And what about you? It feels like I'm treading water with you sometimes," I ask, raising my eyebrows. He seems taken aback with my sudden change in my attitude towards him and doesn't say anything to dispute what I said which, to me, speaks volumes.

  "What about tomorrow, late afternoon? After she's finished shopping? Grab an early dinner?" James asks.

  "Yeah, I suppose that would work"

  "Woah, woah, woah," Jake says, waving his hands at me. "You forgot our plans already?"

  "You two have plans? Together? Tomorrow night?" my brother, asks looking between us. "Saturday night?"

  "Yeah, I got us a table at the Paternoster Chop House."

  "You booked us a table at the ‘First Dates’ restaurant!?" I ask, stunned.

  "Sasha said you've always wanted to go and that you love the show so I called a friend who knows someone who got us a last-minute reservation."

  "Hang on, back up a moment. You two are going on a date? To the ‘First Dates’ restaurant, no less, and you didn't tell me?" my brother asks, looking between us with the biggest smile on his face. He almost looks pleased that his best friend with a big reputation for shagging anything with a pulse is going out for dinner with his little sister.

  "It's not a date, it's one of his stupid rules for working together."

  "It's not stupid, it’s so you can see I'm not a complete knob," he says as though it explains things.

  "But you are a complete knob," James says with a laugh.

  "Not all the time, just some of the time," he quips back.

  "If you insist on going to work, finish early and you can meet me and Mum for lunch at Harrods. Half past twelve, no excuses. You've got some making up to do after you left early the other night. You know she worries about you, more so this time of year. Just show her you're okay."

  I know I'm not going to win the argument. My brother is right, I should really make the effort, I said so myself when I declared my New Year’s resolutions to Laura and Harry.

  As much as I hate shopping, especially in Harrods on a Saturday lunchtime and especially when the January sales are on, Mum loves it and I love Mum so I agree.

  CHAPTER THREE

  When I walk into my office on Saturday morning, the last thing my hungover self expected to find lounging in my chair with his feet on my desk was Jake Mills.

  "You, Ms Jones, are late," he says, dramatically looking at his empty wrist as though he's looking at the time.

  "You are way too enthusiastic for 9 am on a Saturday and what do you mean I'm ‘late’? It's 4 minutes past 9," I say, taking the Maxwell's takeaway cup he hands me and smelling the mocha inside. "How do you know my coffee order?"

  "I sent a text to Thomas last night, got him to ask Sasha what time you usually arrive on a Saturday. She said 9 am so I arrived at 8:55. You always have a takeaway cup from Maxwell's so I went there first and asked them your order and this is what they gave me. You know, you could just say ‘thank you’."

  "Thank you," I quickly add. "Sorry. I'm not usually so rude when people surprise me with a coffee. My brain is a little foggy this morning."

  "That's why I bought these," he says, throwing boxes of Paracetamol and Ibuprofen to me which I completely miss and have to scoop up from the floor. "I wasn't sure which one you prefer so I bought both to be safe. It was an impressive volume of alcohol you consumed last night. I have to say, you drank way more than I thought you could."

  "It's my hidden talent," I reply in a deadpan tone, shrugging my jacket off and removing my dark RayBans that kept the winter sun from blinding me on my way here. “So, why did you come here? Why didn't you just come to my flat? What if I'd stayed home, hungover?"

  "I thought it would be more o
f a dramatic gesture to surprise you here. I knew you'd be here because, every time I told you to take the day off, you looked at me like I had grown an extra head or something," he says, smiling. "You're meeting your mum and brother at 12:30 and I thought you might like some help to make sure you're not late. Plus, it's a good excuse to find out what you do all day. I've never really thought much about it but I'd really like to know."

  I look at him in complete bewilderment. His sudden personality transplant and the bulldozer that has taken up residence in my brain overnight aren't helping me process anything right now.

  "You're serious, aren't you, about this working together stuff?"

  "I am, Maggs. I know I don't show it to you often, if at all, but I really am committed to this company. I love my job; how many people can say that and mean it? I want to show you how committed I am to you, too, as your business partner. I know I've not given you much reason to trust that but I hope I can prove it to you now."

  A smile spreads over my face as I listen to his passionate speech: His words are genuine. I feel like I'm seeing him for the first time in years. He's being honest and almost vulnerable when he asks me to trust him and, with every word, I find myself softening towards him.

  "Okay, let's get started," I say, shooing him out of my chair, still smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

  I set my laptop up, pull out the files I'm working on and he patiently sits on the other side of my desk, carefully watching my every move.

  "What?" I say, putting my coffee down, unable to take his staring much longer.

  "I had fun last night. It felt great to be hanging out with you and Laura again. Harry is hilarious too, you know. When Simon let him up for air, he seemed like a really cool bloke."

  "They seemed to really click and Harry is the best."

  "You warmed up to me, too, I could tell. I feel like I got to take a peek behind those big, brick walls you've built. It was nice."

  "That's what alcohol does to a person. Releases those inhibitions, right? Gets people to let down their guard?"

  "Do you want to talk about what it was that Cylvie said that made you shut down again?"