‘I bet there is,’ Tracy insisted. She took another gulp of Prosecco, as if she needed extra fortification for what she had to say. ‘Look, Margs, you are an amazing person. You’re a diamond in a world of cubic zirconia. You’re the bee’s knees. You’re the captain’s table . . .’
‘Are you about to break into a chorus of “You’re the Top”?’
Tracy glared at her diamond of a friend. ‘I am not. I’m just trying to say that though I don’t think anyone’s life should be defined by the getting and keeping of a man, there is someone out there who is worthy of you.’
Margot leaned forward to rub her forehead against the top of Blossom’s silky head. ‘I wish he’d hurry up and get here.’
‘This is absolutely going to be your year too,’ Tracy promised. ‘I can feel it.’
‘Well, it could well be the year that I get my eggs frozen. That way I have a solid backup plan,’ Margot mused, but Tracy shook her head.
‘Those eggs are going to stay unfrozen because you’re going to find the man of your dreams on a muddy dog walk. Your eyes will meet over a stinky poo-bag bin . . .’
‘Just like in a Georgette Heyer novel . . .’
‘I know, right? Or if that fails, there’s bound to be at least one good ’un on the old dating apps,’ Tracy suggested brightly. Margot didn’t have the heart to tell her that good ’uns didn’t send unsolicited dick pics. Anyway, Blossom took up all of her time and when she wasn’t with Blossom, she was thinking about Will and how he bloody well better be taking good care of her. Maybe she needed to reprioritise her life choices.
‘I barely grieved for what I had with George because I knew that I needed to get back out there as soon as possible. But maybe I have let things slide since I got Blossom. She’s made me so happy and fulfilled that I haven’t been as diligent with my dating as I used to be. It’s time to get myself out there again,’ Margot said, with absolutely zero enthusiasm for the Sisyphean task that was finding a vague approximation of The One. It just felt a lot like zero returns for maximum effort. ‘I think I need to mix it up. Maybe I’ll change my profile picture to one with me and Blossom.’
‘Brilliant idea,’ Tracy said, upending the Prosecco bottle to show that it was empty. Not one single trickle remained. ‘If they don’t like dogs, why would you want to date them? Although you do know a man who likes dogs. And he likes Blossom best of all out of the dogs.’
‘Will is out of bounds. He’s Blossom’s co-pawrent,’ Margot said. She didn’t know how they’d got on to the topic of Will, who definitely wasn’t in the running as a candidate for life partner. He’d be horrified at the thought.
Margot had simply meant that a picture of her and Blossom together would send out the message that there was no way that Margot could be too much. Not if her dog was her number one priority in life. Any man hoping to date her would have to work extra hard to take the second largest part of her heart. ‘I am happy for you, Tracy. I really am.’
‘I know you are,’ Tracy said, getting to her feet and brushing small twigs and stones off her arse. ‘You coming inside? Now that I’m no longer drinking, it’s actually quite cold.’
‘I’ll be in in a minute,’ Margot promised and she waited until Tracy had hurried across the Square, then she raised her hand in greeting at Will, who was standing on the other side of the road, outside the Italian restaurant, which was still doing a roaring trade.
24
Will
Will hadn’t wanted to disturb Margot while she was so deep in conversation with her friend, so he’d stayed where he was and hoped he didn’t look like a creepy stalker.
Though, really, was there any other kind of stalker?
Eventually, Margot’s friend stumbled away, high heels skittering on the paving stones, and Margot waved as if she’d known that Will was there all along.
They both waited until the friend disappeared from view, then Margot stood up and tried to point Blossom in Will’s direction. But Blossom was not for turning.
‘Blossom!’ he called out, crouching down and holding his arms wide. ‘Blossom!’
For a dog who could hear Will silently munching on cheese two rooms away in the middle of a thunderstorm, Blossom was looking everywhere but at Will.
‘It’s just as well you’re pretty, ’cause you’re a bit stupid, Bloss,’ Margot said.
Will tried again. ‘Bloody hell, Blossom! Over here!’
Her ears finally pricked up, her nose twitched and her tail started rotating like a helicopter blade, then Blossom charged at him with such speed and velocity that when she reached her target, Will toppled to one side with an overjoyed Blossom on top of him, licking his hands, face, up his left nostril – any part of him that she could reach.
Will looked up to see Margot standing over him. From a distance and from the slump of her shoulders, she’d looked sad, but now that she was close enough to offer a hand to help him up, she looked almost as pleased to see Will as Blossom had. Her smile, her eyes, her skin sparkled in the fairy-lit night.
‘Nobody could ever accuse Blossom of playing hard to get,’ Will said as he took Margot’s hand, and she pulled him up with a strength that could only come from owning a Staffy who pulled on the lead.
‘I’m glad you came.’ Margot sounded like she genuinely meant it. ‘Let’s get back to the party so I can introduce you to everyone.’
They were words that struck terror in Will’s heart. Margot’s little flat was so full of people that it was straining at the seams and he was going to be introduced to all of them, then left by Margot to make awkward small talk. Spending the evening in his flat on his own was suddenly looking like a much more attractive option.
‘I got in some of that fancy non-alcohol stuff that you can mix with tonics – I have several pregnant guests, several pre-pregnant guests and a couple of people that are in recovery,’ Margot told him, as they squeezed through the throng taking up both sides of the tiny hall. ‘Sorry, was that tactless?’
‘Not at all.’ Will had to raise his voice to be heard over the roar of conversation. ‘I’m not in recovery.’ Not from alcohol abuse, anyway. ‘I’m just . . . Never touched a drop of the stuff or wanted to.’
They’d reached the kitchen, where the party had spilled out into the little patio garden. Margot opened the fridge to retrieve a bottle. ‘Well, then I envy you never knowing what a hangover feels like. Though I suppose having to suffer through other people’s hangovers might actually be worse.’
Wasn’t that the truth, Will thought, as Margot gently moved a young woman wearing fairy wings to one side, so she could open a tiny dishwasher, which let out a cloud of steam into the already unbearably hot room. Then, with all the flair of a magician’s assistant pulling a rabbit from a hat, she retrieved a clean glass.
‘One glass, one bottle of non-alcoholic spirits and the mixers are chilling in ice in the bathtub.’
Will expected Margot to leave him to get on with things. She was the hostess of a very crowded party after all, but when Margot said that she was going to introduce him to everyone, she’d meant it. Fortunately, she had a way with an introduction that meant that Will and the person in front of him weren’t left thinking desperately of something to say.