Chapter 28 - "I fell for him far too quickly."

I stood in front of the mirror, examining every inch of my body. My black skinny jeans were tight and hugged me nicely, topped off by some wedges to smarten up the outfit for the bar. In order to have a contrast with the tight jeans, I was wearing a floaty, strappy cami top.

The evening filled me with mixed feelings. I was looking forward to meeting Louisa properly, hoping it would eliminate any remaining insecurities. That didn't stop me from wanting to look my best though. Wanting to look worthy of being Nathan's girlfriend.

For all the butterflies in my stomach, I might as well have been going on a date. Why was I nervous? Louisa seemed keen to make things right between us, and so that should be a good thing. I was so mistrusting of people, though, that I couldn't help but worry she had an ulterior motive.

The bar was conveniently located on my usual route to Nathan's flat, which meant I wouldn't be going out of my way when it came to heading over to his place afterwards.

Would she be here? I hated waiting around by myself, and I was still a few minutes early. As I pushed open the doors, I noticed her straight away. She was hard to miss, radiating beauty that was capturing the attention of several onlookers, both male and female. Like me, her hair was straight but voluminous, a shade of light blonde that would make non-naturals envious.

She was tapping away at her phone as I approached, but she must have sensed me since she looked up as I got nearer and shot me a friendly smile, getting to her feet.

"Hi!" She beamed at me, putting her phone down on the table and leaning to give me a half-hug. "How are you?"

"I'm fine thanks. I hope you haven't been waiting long."

"Not at all. I was just replying to some final emails while I was waiting. You look great!"

"Thanks." Relief washed through me, whether she was just being polite or not. "So do you."

And she did. More casual than her work attire, yet still stylish, Louisa was wearing a crop top with some high-waisted dark jeans. I'd never be able to pull it off, but she looked gorgeous.

"So what would you like to drink?" she asked. "Do you fancy sharing a bottle?"

"Sure," I replied. I'd not really done something like this before, so I let her take the lead. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing.

"Cool. I'm a fan of red, personally, but white goes down easier without food, and I don't think Nathan would appreciate it if I sent you off to his place drunk..."

I laughed. "White's fine."

"Great." She flashed me another grin, and we headed over to the bar to order.

When it came to paying, though, Louisa grabbed my arm as I went to reach into my bag.

"This is on me," she said. "Put your purse away."

I frowned. "Are you sure? I don't mind splitting—"

"No, don't be daft. It's my idea and my treat. And besides, I probably owe you."

I didn't have chance to ask her what she meant by that, as the bartender passed Louisa the bottle, sat neatly in the jug of ice, along with two large glasses.

"Enjoy," he said. "Let me know if there's anything else I can help with."

Back at the table, Louisa unscrewed the bottle and began to pour the wine into my glass.

"Say when," she instructed.

"When," I said, once the glass was just over half full.

She tipped the same amount into her own glass and then raised it in toast. "To clearing up misunderstandings."

I gently knocked my own glass against hers. We both took a sip before Louisa opened her mouth to talk again, her vampire-red nails gently caressing the stem of the wine glass as she did so.

"I just want to begin by apologizing," she said. "Nathan's probably already told you this, but I genuinely had no idea that you weren't aware of our...history."

I nodded and stared into the depths of my own glass before looking up to meet her eyes. She was staring at me intensely, concern marring her brow.

"Yeah," I replied. "I think he was trying to protect me. But I understand that it offended you."

"Well, it did," she admitted. "Not only does it make it seem like he's ashamed of me, but it automatically makes it seem like he's hiding something. And he's got nothing to hide. Nothing has happened between Nathan and me in years. Him moving to Italy was the best thing for both of us. We were in a dark place and the separation brought us both out of that."

I nodded again. "I get that."

"And so, that's what I need to apologize for. I made a super inappropriate comment that afternoon, because I didn't realize you weren't aware. As far as I was concerned, you knew all about Nathan and me and you were accepting of it. I felt so awful afterwards and that's partly why I wanted us to meet up."

I battled between opening up and being honest with Louisa, or keeping my cards close to my chest. She seemed lovely enough, but could I actually trust her?

"I know that Nathan has a past," I said. "And I know he's been with a lot of girls. But since I didn't actually know him at that point, I've learnt to accept it. His past has obviously shaped the person he is now, and that's the person I fell in love with."

Louisa smiled, and it was a smile of fondness. "That's a very admirable way of looking at it. I can tell how much Nathan adores you and I'm so happy that he's managed to find someone who's made him a better person. It's what he always wanted."

I took another sip of wine as I digested her words. "What he always wanted?"

"Yeah. He often said he wished he was a better person, but that he didn't see the point. He got caught up in this lifestyle—we both did—and it's not something you just dip your toe into. It consumes you."

"So how did you get out of it?"

"I changed schools," she replied. "I needed a fresh start, like Nathan, and so I went to a school in a different town. It was an hour commute each way after the walk to the train station, and then the half an hour train journey, and then the walk to the school. But it disciplined me. I had to get up an hour earlier and I got home an hour later than normal. It took dedication. And I think that's why I excel at this job, because I'm used to the commitment and dedication required."

"I suppose Nathan got it easy then by simply moving abroad," I joked.

She smiled. "Well, he turned out alright, didn't he?"

"He did," I agreed.

We topped up our glasses and then moved onto a different topic of conversation. Louisa took a great interest in my university course but surprisingly seemed more curious about the education side of it than the social life side.

"I wish I could have gone to university." She huffed out a wistful sigh. "But by the time I'd got my act together, it was too late."

"Things worked out well for you, though. Nathan's told me you're great at your job."

Her lips closed around the rim of her glass as she sipped. "I assume Nathan told you why he hired me?"

"Yeah, a mutual interest."

She nodded. "So I'm hoping that despite the lack of a degree, I'm still going to do alright for myself."

"I'm sure you will."

She offered me a small smile of gratitude. "Hopefully. There aren't exactly hundreds of jobs going at the moment. It's really tough out there. That's why I'm so grateful to Nathan; not only is he providing me with an income, but I could potentially get a good reference out of it too."

"I'm sure he'll provide you with a wonderful reference."

"You're a very lucky girl," she told me. "Obviously I know how much he's changed, and I can see what a great guy he is now. But even when he wasn't so great, I could see that deep down, he had a softer side. And I'm so happy you've been the person who's managed to bring that side out in him."

I forced a smile but didn't raise my eyes from my glass. Just what was it about me that had made him fall in love? I was nothing special, especially compared to Louisa. She was vibrant, and confident, and beautiful.

"What's wrong?" she asked, tilting her head to try to catch my eye. "Don't you believe me? If I could prove to you that nothing has happened between Nathan and me since I started working for him then I really would—"

"It's not that," I interrupted her. "I believe nothing's happened. And I believe that Nathan loves me. It just feels too good to be true sometimes."

"Don't you think Nathan thinks the same about you?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He's had a messy past and yet somehow he's managed to pull a wonderful, understanding girl. That doesn't happen to many people. Most decent girls would run a mile from a guy like that."

"Well, I didn't have chance to run a mile," I said quietly. "I fell for him far too quickly."

She smiled at that, as if I'd proved her point. "Exactly."

As we carried on chatting, I lost track of time. We'd easily polished off the whole bottle of wine and had made our way onto a second. A fuzzy happiness enveloped me. With every sip, the room became more and more blurred. But I was past the point of caring.

This was such a good idea. She was great. So funny. And so kind. But brutally straight-talking too. Maybe we'd actually be friends. No, she was Nathan's friend. He found her first.

The rest of the evening passed in a haze. Louisa accompanied me to Nathan's flat; apparently she didn't trust me to navigate the London Underground by myself. I only vaguely remembered getting back, and I certainly didn't remember getting into bed.

Waking up was a feeling I wouldn't forget, though. My whole body ached, and my head was thumping. It wasn't just the kind of headache you'd get from a hangover, too; this was different. When I touched my forehead, pain shot through my skull.

"Morning, Sunshine," I heard Nathan whisper from beside me. "How are you feeling?"

"I hurt," I whispered back, my voice hoarse. "Everywhere..."

"Not surprising," he said. "You got back here, absolutely wasted, and then proceeded to try to get yourself a glass of water. You were so drunk that you dropped the glass, and then you tried to bend down and pick up the smashed pieces, which resulted in you cutting various parts of your body on the broken shards."

"Why is my head sore?"

"Ah, that's because when you stood back up, you banged your head on the cupboard door that you'd left open."

"Was I really that drunk?"

"I'd say so. Louisa was quite drunk too, although I imagine she has a higher alcohol-tolerance level than you."

"Did she go back home?"

"No. I made her stay the night here. She left about half an hour ago."

"Oh."

"Can I get you anything? Water? Something to eat?"

"Water would be nice..."

As Nathan went to fetch me some water, I tried to sit upright in the bed. My body really was aching—how could a few shards of glass cause this much pain?

"Thanks," I murmured to Nathan as he handed over the glass. "I can't remember the last time my body ached like this." I paused, a certain memory coming to the forefront of my mind. "Actually, I can..."

Nathan gave me a small smirk, knowing exactly what I was referring to. "Unfortunately, I don't think you're up to recreating that."

"Unfortunately not," I agreed.

He chuckled and slid into bed beside me. "Let's have a duvet day. We can cuddle under the covers and watch some of those trashy films that you love so much. And then, if you can remember anything, you can tell me all about your night."

A duvet day sounded perfect.

"Sounds good." I drowned the last dregs of water and then shuffled closer to Nathan, dipping my head under his arm so we could cuddle.

Being so close to him always calmed me down and eased my worries; and after meeting Louisa properly last night, I couldn't help but think things were only going to get better.

--

Thank you for reading :)xx