Sadie’s noticed, though. She keeps crossly trying to elbow Genevieve out of the way, and yelling “Move!” in her ear-but Genevieve’s ignoring her completely. She must be made of strong stuff.
“Lara!” Genevieve greets me with a fake smile. “I’m so sorry. I don’t want to disrupt your evening á deux with Ed!”
“No worries.” I give her an equally fake smile.
“Have you known each other long?” She gestures between Ed and me with an elegant, silk-cuffed wrist.
“Not long, no.”
“So how did you two meet?”
I can’t help a surreptitious glance at Ed. He looks so uneasy at the question that I want to giggle.
“It was in the office, wasn’t it?” I say, to help him out.
“In the office. Yes.” Ed nods in relief.
“Well!” Genevieve laughs-the kind of bright, trilling laugh you give when you’re really quite annoyed about something. “Ed, you are secretive! I had no idea you had a girlfriend!”
For a split second, Ed and I meet eyes. I can see he’s about as keen on that idea as I am.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he says at once. “I mean, that’s not-”
“I’m not his girlfriend,” I chime in hastily. “We’re just… it’s kind of a one-off-”
“We’re just having a drink,” Ed supplies.
“We’ll probably never see each other again.”
“Probably not,” Ed affirms. “Definitely not.”
We’re both nodding in total agreement. In fact, I think we’ve bonded for the first time.
“I… see.” Genevieve looks totally confused.
“Let me get you another drink, Lara.” Ed gives me the warmest smile he has all evening.
“No, I’ll get them!” I beam back at him. There’s nothing like knowing you only have to spend ten more minutes with someone to make you feel suddenly generous toward them.
“What do you mean?” A voice is shrieking behind me, and as I turn I see Sadie heading toward me. Her glow has disappeared; she’s a whirl of fury. “It’s not a one-off! You made a promise!”
She’s got a nerve. How about “Thank you for dressing up and looking like a fool, Lara”?
“I kept my promise!” I hiss out of the side of my mouth as I approach the bar. “I’ve done my side of the deal.”
“No, you haven’t!” She glares at me in outrage. “You haven’t even danced properly with him! You’ve just shuffled around dismally.”
“Too bad.” I get out my phone and pretend to be speaking into that. “You said you wanted a date, I’ve given you one. The end. A glass of champagne and a G &T please,” I add to the barman, and reach into my bag for some money. Sadie’s silent, which probably means she’s gearing up for a banshee moment… But as I look up, she’s gone. I swivel around and see her back beside Ed.
She’s yelling in his ear. Oh God. What’s she doing?
I pay for the drinks as quickly as I can and hurry back across the bar. Ed is staring into the middle distance, that glazed, transfixed look on his face again. Genevieve is in the middle of an anecdote about Antigua and doesn’t even seem to have noticed Ed’s faraway expression. Or maybe she thinks he’s transfixed by admiration for her.
“And then I saw my bikini top!” She trills with laughter. “In the sea! I never lived that one down.”
“Here you are, Ed,” I say, and hand him his G &T.
“Oh. Thanks.” He seems to come to.
“Do it now!” Sadie suddenly swoops forward and shrieks in his ear. “Ask her NOW!”
Ask me? Ask me what? This had better not be about another date, because it’s not happening, no way, whatever Sadie wants-
“Lara.” Ed focuses on me with what looks like some difficulty, his forehead furrowed more deeply than ever. “Would you like to be my guest at the Business People dinner?”
I do not believe it.
In shock, I swivel my eyes up to Sadie’s-and she’s looking at me with an expression of triumph, her arms folded across her chest.
“Don’t say yes on my account,” she says carelessly. “It’s up to you. Entirely.”
Ooh. She’s good . She’s a lot smarter than I thought. I didn’t even realize she was paying attention to the conversation.
This is impossible. There’s no way I can turn down an invitation to the Business People dinner. It’s such a huge event. It’ll be stuffed full of important business types… I’ll be able to network… make contacts… It’s a massive opportunity. I can’t say no. I just can’t.
Damn her.
“Yes,” I say at last, stiffly. “Thank you, Ed, that’s very kind of you. I’d love to come.”
“Good. That’s great. I’ll send you the details.”
We both sound as though we’re reading lines from cards. Genevieve is looking back and forth between our faces, bewildered.
“So… you are a couple,” she says.
“No!” we reply in unison.
“No way,” I add for emphasis. “Not at all. I mean… never. Not in a million years.” I take a sip and glance over at Ed. Is it my imagination, or does he look just the tiniest bit offended?
I last about another twenty minutes, listening to Genevieve show off about every single holiday she’s ever been on, practically. Then Ed glances at me, and my empty glass, and says, “Don’t let me keep you.”