The Way It Never Was by Lucy Austin Read Free Book Online Page A

particularly cheap looking interview suit and left my best lip-gloss at home.
    Anna takes off her apron and unties her hair, shaking it as though she were in a shampoo ad. ‘Loveless! Now jobless! Sitting in cafes. You need to get your shit together soon my darling. Tick-tock tick-tock.’
    I catch my breath, wanting her rant to be over with. ‘Hey, go easy. It wasn’t easy leaving that job,’ I say.
    Ignoring my protests, Anna looks momentarily thoughtful. ‘You’ve given me an idea though. Not your love life – hopefully we’ll be sorting you out on that front tonight. A job. I have a friend of a friend called Victoria – Victory Flannery Veakins. She’s the person to go to when you are pretty unemployable. I’ll call her.’
    Just as I’m about to say no thanks, the doorbell rings. Going to answer it, she tells me to get the indescribable looking starter out of the oven – a mound of tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. It looks so messy it’s the kind of food best eaten by oneself in the dark.
    Just then my best friend from school – and Anna’s boyfriend of nearly a year – walks in and gives me a kiss on the cheek, looking at me for a second longer than normal as though he knows something is up. It’s been a while since I last saw Stan and I forget how handsome he is. With that short brown hair of his with its double crown, olive skin, chiselled jaw line and green eyes, he makes me catch my breath. It’s just a shame I know him too well.
    ‘You look tired,’ he says, studying my face, which in my experience is always code for saying I look rough. He’s right. I’ve got a spot on my face, massive bags under my eyes and I noticed in the reflection of the tube mirrors that my foundation shade doesn’t match the colour on my neck.
    ‘Hurry up you two, no time for PDA, I need help. God, the things I do for friends!’ she moans, sounding like a billionaire philanthropist having to organise a car boot fair. ‘Kate, for crying out loud use some of my make-up. Never seen you looking so haggard.’ She sounds so exasperated, I’m starting to wonder if I’m supposed to thank her for springing a blind date on me. Will I? Unlikely . I rush into Anna’s bedroom to plaster on whatever make up I can find, just as the doorbell rings. Anna squeals and shouts down the corridor. ‘Remember what I said Kate. Do not under any circumstances be yourself!’
    At this point, I really should be questioning the status quo of my friendship with Anna, but despite my reservations, this feeling of excitement that comes with a potential romance is second to none. You just never know, he might be absolutely amazing and the one to iron out all my regrets and make me move forward. Deciding to let Anna off the hook again as I know she has good intentions, I smother concealer under my eyes so I look ridiculously alert. Having it all in front of you is by far the best bit of being single. I just wish they knew how to bottle this feeling of anticipation for when the going gets tough. Having been standing in the doorway watching me tart myself up, Stan wishes me luck as I walk past him as though I’m about to go for an audition. He then pauses and looks like he’s about to say something else, when in walks a jaw-droppingly handsome man who looks like he could chew me up and have me for breakfast. Oh hello !
    ‘This is Chris,’ introduces Anna proudly. ‘Chris, this is my good friend Kate and my boyfriend Stan.’ We do a polite kiss on both cheeks. Stan says hello, stares at him up and down, before slightly shaking his head and disappearing into the kitchen. I know that he’s thinking the same thing as me as I know him too well. There has to be a catch .
    Over those greasy Tortilla chips covered in rubbery cheese, I discover that there is a catch. And unfortunately, it’s rather a big one. For, while devastatingly handsome, Chris doesn’t half like the sound of his own voice. In fact, as with someone who