The Unexpected Consequences of Love by Jill Mansell Read Free Book Online

boyfriends?”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œJust interested. Did she tell you I asked her out the other day?”
    Tula shook her head; how like Sophie not to mention it, so as to spare her feelings. “No, she didn’t.”
    â€œShe turned me down.”
    â€œOh dear.”
    â€œI know.” Detecting the note of sarcasm, Josh said wryly, “I just wondered why.”
    â€œIf it helps,” said Tula, “she did tell me she wasn’t interested in you.”
    â€œRight. Well, thanks for that.”
    â€œJust letting you know.” Tula sensed that offering herself up as a willing substitute probably wouldn’t be the best idea. Which was disappointing, but oh well. Taking a glug of wine, she changed the subject. “So, I hear you used to manage Go Destry.”
    â€œThat’s true, I did.”
    â€œMy friend Danny loves them; they’re his all-time favorite band.” Was it an unbelievably dorky thing to do? On impulse, Tula took out her phone and said, “Could I have a photo with you to make him jealous?”
    Josh’s shrug was good-natured. “If you like.”
    She took the photograph quickly, already embarrassed. Enough humiliation; time to play it cool.
    â€œRight, thanks. I’m going back inside now. Bye!”
    If he followed her in, it would be a good sign, wouldn’t it?
    But all he did was smile, stay where he was, and say, “Bye.”
    In her fantasy, this was because he was playing hard to get.

Chapter 7
    â€œFeeling better?” asked Patrick when Tula turned up for work on Sunday evening.
    â€œYes, thanks.” She patted her stomach and looked brave. “Sorry about yesterday. Won’t be having any prawns again for a while.”
    â€œYou’re sure you’re okay?” He peered at her face. “Looking a bit pale.”
    This was because she’d covered up the slight sunburn with a hefty coat of ivory foundation. But it was nice of Patrick to be asking, even if it probably just meant he didn’t want her keeling over in front of the customers. “Really,” Tula reassured him, touched by the unexpected concern. “I’m fine.”
    ***
    By eleven thirty, she was hot and tired and her legs ached. Between Saturday’s dancing and this evening’s relentless work, it had been a strenuous weekend for her feet.
    Once the cleaning up had been done, Patrick beckoned her into the office. Without preamble he announced, “Don’t bother asking for a reference, as a refusal often offends.”
    Tula’s heart began to thud. “Sorry?”
    â€œAnd spare me the wide-eyed orphan look too. It’s game over, okay? You’re out of here.”
    He knew. Shit. How did he know? But even as the question was racing through her brain, Patrick was holding up his phone to show her.
    And there it was, the evidence: the two photos she’d posted on Facebook last night. Like an idiot .
    â€œBit of a giveaway,” said Patrick, clearly relishing every second. “Not very clever of you, was it? Boasting about the great time you were having down in Cornwall .”
    â€œBut…” Tula felt sick. Her privacy settings were friends only. Patrick was about as far removed from a friend as it was physically possible to be. How could he have seen the private photos she’d posted on her private account, purely to show off to Danny the fact that…
    Oh God. Realization flooded through her. What an idiot. The other day at work, Danny’s brother had wanted to see the pictures she’d taken at last weekend’s party, and she’d switched the settings to friends of friends, meaning to change them back again afterward.
    Except she hadn’t, had she? It had slipped her mind. Talk about bad timing. And Patrick, already suspicious, had typed in her name and struck lucky.
    Bastard.
    ***
    On the way home, Tula made the connection. Putting Patrick’s name into the search