Page 37 of Suddenly Mine

“Wow,” said Alice. “So you’re dating?”

“That’s just it,” said Merry. “We’re not dating. We’re notanything. We can’t be together.”

“Why?” said Trudy. “He sends you flowers, he makes you blush, he’s the perfect man.”

“But he’s going away,” said Merry. “He’s leaving in a few weeks. He lives in Asia.”

“Oh,” said Alice, with a genuine expression of sympathy. “That sucks.”

Merry shrugged sadly. “It does. I don’t even know how I feel about it.”

“That’s easy,” said Alice. “How did you feel when you saw the flowers?”

“Sick,” said Merry. “Sick, and shaky, and like my head was about to explode, and happy, but sad, and sick. Did I say I felt sick?”

All three girls laughed.

“Whoa, boy,” said Jasmin.

“Hey, ladies!”

Everybody turned to see Diane walking across the room, peeling out of her damp coat.

“You would not believe the day I had yesterday,” Diane said, and Merry was infinitely grateful to the woman for taking the attention away from her. “Walker surprised me — he drove me up to Bear Mountain in his Porsche. He brought this picnic with him, and we had it by the river. It was so romantic, and he gave me this.”

She flashed the necklace she was wearing and the three women opposite Merry squealed again. It was a beautiful piece of jewellery — woven strands of gold and silver with a teardrop-shaped pendant. The diamond in the middle of it looked the size of Merry’s pinky nail.

“Oh, wow,” said Jasmin. “That must have cost thousands.”

Diane held up both hands, all her slender fingers extended. “Ten. He told me. That’s the advantage of having a boyfriend who works on Wall Street.” Diane turned to Merry, and the smileon her face was strangely cold. “Speaking of which,” she said. “Who do those flowers belong to and where are they from?”

“Merry, and she won’t tell,” said Alice, pouting. “The spoilsport.”

“Oh, won’t she?” Diane’s eyes glinted like sharpened steel. “Well, I know who it is.”

“What?” said Merry. “How?”

“Because my cousin works in a café off Fifth Avenue,” Diane said. “And she saw you there two nights ago. She wouldn’t have said anything, except she said you were with the most gorgeous man she had ever set eyes on.”

Merry’s cheeks were practically on fire.

“She said that nobody could take their eyes off him all night. She even took a photo, because she didn’t think I’d believe her.”

“Show us!” said Jasmin.

“I don’t need to,” said Diane. “Because he works here.”

“I knew it!” said Trudy. “It’s Lewis Carroll!”

“Ew,” said Diane. “No, not him. It’s—”

“Please,” said Merry. “I don’t want it to—”

“It’s one of the janitors,” said Diane, with a little laugh that made Merry’s blood run cold.

“Ajanitor?” said Alice, frowning. “What?”

“Surely not,” said Jasmin, her face wrinkling. “That’s just weird.”