Chapter Thirty-Two #2
Tess also managed not to say ‘I don’t need an introduction, I already know everything about “Will”, including her ten-product skincare regime, her daily workout routine and the high-street hero pieces that she can’t live without.’
‘Hi,’ was what she did say with a tight smile, leaning in for something that wasn’t a hug or a kiss, but an awkward, no-contact combination of the two. ‘Nice to meet you.’
‘I’m not his girlfriend,’ Will said, although of course Tess knew her as Wilde, which was now officially confirmed as not her real name.
She held up one beautifully manicured hand, her nails the perfect almond shape, perfect length and perfect shade of pinky beige.
The huge rock on her left hand was pretty perfect too. ‘Fiancée, as of three weeks ago.’
Sean smiled bashfully. It didn’t suit him. ‘Can’t believe that I forgot that the love of my life agreed to make an honest man of me.’
‘Well, congratulations.’ Tess wasn’t sure that any of her new philosopher pals had advice for the particularly hideous situation that she now found herself in. If anyone would know, it would be Gabe.
Gabe! She hadn’t thought about him for at least ten minutes.
‘You’re looking well, Tess,’ Sean said, holding out the chair next to him so Will/Wilde/whatever her name really was could sit down.
Tess could pull out her own chair, which she did, and sat down on it so she was closer to the ground.
Closer to collapsing on it in a heap. ‘I love your dress. You look so pretty,’ Will said, casting an eye over the strappy black-and-white polka dot frock that Tess was wearing.
It had a fitted bodice and a tiered skirt and she’d felt good in it.
Really good, but compared to Will’s body-con nude dress, it didn’t even …
‘I wish I could wear black, but it makes me look sallow and if I wear anything that isn’t super-fitted, I look like a kid playing dress-up. ’
‘But you look gorgeous,’ Tess said rather than insisting that her own oversized dress hid a multitude of sins then proceeding to list every single one of them.
It was true though. Even without filters, Will looked good, in an airbrushed kind of way.
Like she’d found a way to Facetune her face without actually Facetuning her face.
Her caramel skin was flawless, her jawline snatched, her eyelashes sooty and her eyebrows full but shaped.
Meanwhile, Tess felt as if her make-up was melting off her not-so-flawless face.
She was a hideous heffalump, because sitting next to Will, her sworn enemy, although Will didn’t seem to realise that, was undoing all the work she’d done on herself in the last few weeks.
In desperation, she turned to Sean. ‘So, how are you? How’s work? Going well?’
He pulled a face. ‘It’s all right.’
‘Still working with all those fitness influencers?’
He pulled another face. His very groomed eyebrows were almost identical to Will’s.
‘Yeah, for my sins.’ He reached past Tess to grab the bottle of sparkling water which was on the table.
The cedary, peppery scent of his aftershave, Burberry Hero, was painfully familiar; it had never used to tickle Tess’s nose, but now she had to muffle a sneeze.
‘Spend all my time devising workouts and meal plans, only for other people to take the credit for them.’
‘I guess that must be hard,’ Tess said, trying to look sympathetic.
‘One of them, no names, online he’s all about eating raw and counting macros. Offline, he lives on UPFs,’ Sean confessed glumly.
‘Ultra processed foods,’ Will added, cupping Sean’s knee. ‘I said that he should strike out as a content creator in his own right.’
‘Yeah, but honey, I know my strengths and being in front of the camera isn’t one of them,’ Sean said, which was ironic.
Because when he and Tess had been together, he wouldn’t admit to any faults.
Probably because he was so busy cataloguing hers, from her inability to put dirty plates in the dishwasher the split second that she’d finished eating to earning much less than he did and not being able to contribute equally to their monthly outgoings.
‘You’re a natural. The camera loves you. ’
‘It does,’ Tess said, because she didn’t want to be that woman. ‘I follow you on IG. Half of my skincare products are things you recommended.’
‘Not Chiara?’ Will asked. Even her pout was perfect. ‘I know you work at The Sunday Sentinel so you must know her and her mate, Zara. I interned there and there were so mean to me. I used to cry in the loos every day. I really wanted to be a beauty journalist, but they crushed my dreams.’
Not Chiara’s version of events. The truth was probably somewhere in the middle. ‘I bet you make much more money than they do,’ Tess offered. ‘And you don’t have to road test moisturisers for post-menopausal skin.’
‘Well, there is that,’ Will conceded. ‘I’m so jel that you work at The Sunday Sentinel. Online is one thing, but legacy media is … I mean, it’s like proper, isn’t it?’
Tess could feel herself straightening; her shoulders back, her head a little higher. ‘I moved to The Sunday Courier a few weeks ago. I’m senior writer on their Lifestyle team.’
She didn’t even add the disclaimer that she was only doing maternity cover.
‘Mate, that’s amazing,’ Sean said warmly, clapping Tess on the back again. ‘No more advertorials?’
‘No more advertorials,’ Tess confirmed with a genuine smile. She still couldn’t quite believe it.
‘You deserve it,’ he continued. ‘You were so unhappy working in Creative Solutions for Claire the Officious. The amount of times you came home from work in bits.’
‘Oh, that sucks,’ Will exclaimed.
‘I wasn’t allowed to talk to her for a good hour,’ Sean continued. ‘Tess’d lie on the bed with a towel over her face. I also wasn’t allowed to tell her that she really needed to find another job.’
‘But that’s because I genuinely believed that Creative Solutions was my stepping stone to the features desk,’ Tess said.
‘It was obvious after the first couple of years that it wasn’t going to pan out like that.’ Sean shook his head. ‘Anyway, it’s water under the bridge. I’m really pleased that you’re out of there now.’
‘Me too.’ Tess frowned. Not just because Sean had clapped her on the back again but because she’d been so sure that he had broken up with her out of the blue. Completely blindsided her. That they’d been so happy.
The scent of Burberry Hero wasn’t the only familiar thing about him. So too was the reminder of the arguments and grievances that had been a daily occurrence. How had she forgotten about them?
Sean wasn’t evil, he really wasn’t. But he was thoughtless, and she thought far too much and now that she was actually sitting next to him, she wasn’t feeling any regrets over what might have been.
If anything, Tess suspected that she’d feel more regret if she and Sean were now married. Maybe even babied up.
If that had happened, then Tess knew that it wouldn’t have been a happy ever after. She’d have felt unhappy, unfulfilled and unable to explain why.
‘Is that Ant?’ Sean waved at someone on the other side of the marquee. ‘I should go and say hello.’ He stood up, then put a hand on Tess’s shoulder. ‘Could you look after Will? She doesn’t really know anyone.’