This Book Made Me Think of You(17)
“Oh,” she says, and Alfie can’t help but look up. She turns the book over in her hand, the cover bright and colorful.
“Beach Read by Emily Henry,” she reads out loud. “I’ve heard of Emily Henry but never read any of her books. It’s a romance…It looks…interesting.”
He can hear the hesitation in her voice, and he can’t help himself from blurting, “It’s more than interesting. It’s the perfect romantic comedy. Fantastic characters, spot-on dialogue, the way she understands and subverts romance tropes…”
He is aware of her staring at him, and for the second time that morning, he wishes for a very small and isolated natural disaster. Just bury him in books.
“I’m not sure how I feel about reading a romance, to be honest,” she says. “I don’t exactly believe in happily ever afters anymore.”
Alfie knows the feeling.
“But isn’t that one of the great things about fiction?” he says. “It’s an escape. Somewhere to go when you don’t want to be where you are.”
She is still looking at him strangely, and he coughs, brushing his hair back from his face. “Just give it a try. It might change your mind. Um, is there a letter too?”
She opens the book, and out falls an envelope, which she slices open with her left hand. Her eyes dart across the page, her eyebrows rising and her eyes sparkling.
“Oh my god.” She lifts a hand to her mouth. “I can’t believe it.”
Ten
Dear Tilly,
The book choice this month is a little different, and it comes with a confession.
Do you remember the honeymoon we had planned before I got sick? And how I canceled it when we both realized that I wouldn’t be well enough to travel?
Well, I didn’t cancel it. I moved it. I figured that you could do with a holiday now more than ever.
It’s all organized. All you have to do is show up at Heathrow Airport on the 12th of March at 2pm.
I wish I could be going with you. But it makes me very happy to picture you on a sunny beach holding a cocktail and reading your book. I’m thinking about it this very second, in fact, and I’m smiling as I write this. Please bring that enormous floppy hat with the bow—you always looked adorable in that.
I might not be able to be there, but I thought about who the next best person would be to go in my place, the person who would help to make sure you have a good time.
Give your sister a ring. And have a brilliant holiday. You deserve it.
I love you.
Joe x
But obviously Tilly can’t go to Bali with less than two weeks’ notice. It was a kind thought of Joe’s, and the idea of lying on a beach does sound appealing, but she can’t, not with the Esmerelda Love project kicking off and—“You must go, Tilly,” says Sade from behind her desk, taking off her glasses and wiping them before replacing them on her nose.
“But what about all my meetings and projects…”
“It’s all organized,” Sade replies firmly. “Joe told us about this trip last year. We’ve blocked out your diary, and the other editors will be picking up your projects while you’re away. You never take your full holiday allowance, Tilly, and you’re always the last in the office, especially recently. While I admire your dedication, you deserve a break. Just get your meeting today with Rachel Harding and Esmerelda Love out of the way, and then you’re all set to unwind and work on your handover notes for your time away. Enjoy your trip.”
Tilly steps out of the office in a daze. She thinks of Joe organizing this holiday in secret, even getting in touch with Sade to make sure it would be OK, and her heart gives a little tug. Oh, Joe.
Back at her desk she allows herself to pull up a tab on her laptop and search for images of Bali, scrolling through photo after photo of white sand beaches and tropical sunsets. The images couldn’t feel further removed from the artificially lit office and the view out over the London skyline, spread out in tones of gray and silver. For a moment she allows herself to imagine the feeling of sunshine on her bare shoulders and the sound of the sea in her ears.
She’s pulled back to earth by a new email notification from Esmerelda.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: IMPORTANT: low blood sugar!!
Can you please bring a bag of organic California almonds to our meeting later? MUST BE organic California ones, thanks so much babe. xx
Tilly lets out a groan. Maybe a holiday is actually a brilliant idea. She silently thanks Joe for somehow knowing exactly what she needs, even when she doesn’t always get it right herself.
* * *
—
After a trip to Whole Foods and an hour on the tube, Tilly arrives outside the Nail Atelier on a smart street in Richmond.
Rachel is already there, waiting outside and scrolling on her phone. Tilly hesitates a moment to take in Rachel’s new bangs and the way she frowns down at her phone with her concentration face. Rachel is a few years older than Tilly, petite and wiry from CrossFit, with thick dark hair and a dress sense that strikes a balance between car mechanic and off-duty model. Today she is in a khaki boilersuit, heeled boots, and a utilitarian cross-body bag that looks like it could contain both a wrench and a Chanel lipstick.