Page 83 of In the Frame

Noah considers me. “Back to London, or are you staying in Glynde for more than a couple of days?”

“I also don’t know. I’m in Glynde for now. I gave up my London room. To be honest, I don’t even know if I want to make art anymore.” I stare into my pint, my fingers curled around the glass.

“Fuck. This doesn’t sound like you, Matty. Are you alright?”

I shrug. “Yes. No. I don’t know.” My eyes flood for a moment. A very inopportune time to feel emotional when I’ve barely touched my lager to use the beer as an excuse. Not that I really need to hide my feelings from Noah. I’m a mess, let’s be honest.

“What’s happening with Florian? You looked really happy at the wedding.” Paul and Caden’s wedding feels like a million years ago. Like all of that happened to another Matty. “He was here yesterday, you know,” Noah tells me over his beer.

I frown. “What do you mean Florian was here?”

“It was weird. At the Rose. With another man and the current owner. They were touring through. They were all deep in conversation, so I didn’t get a chance to talk to him. It was mostly Lenny talking, anyway. They were listening. I guess about the Rose being up for sale.”

My heart leaps out of my chest. Another man? Like Billy? Fuck me. Good thing I left London. My mind races in circles. How could he not have told me he was back with Billy? Then again, how could he? He knows I’m jealous. But maybe Billy was just biding his time to make his moves on Florian. And why do I even care? Fuck, this is a disaster. I make myself listen. Lenny’s alright, at least. He’s the owner of the Rose. My frown deepens. “Florian found me in Glynde yesterday. I blocked him. He didn’t tell me he was in Brighton before coming to visit.”

“Wait. You blocked him? What’s going on, Matty?” He takes off his sunglasses to peer at me with even more concern than before, which is far more concern than I ever want someone to look at me with. At best, trace amounts. He’s got the whole furrowed-brow thing going on like he’s attended Florian’s masterclass. “What’s he done?”

“Florian’s buying the Rose, Noah. That’s why he was there. And turning it into flats. Which is why I ended things and blocked him. It wasn’t real anyway.” I do my best to sound nonchalant, but Noah’s not buying it. In fact, he’s staring at me as if I’ve gone mad. Fair. I probably have. A Florian-induced madness.

When he picks his jaw up off the pavement, Noah clears his throat. “So… that escalated quickly.”

“I’ll say.”

“I mean, I suspected that’s why he was there with Lenny,” Noah says, frowning deeply. “Can’t say I like the purchasing part. Okay. Let’s back this whole thing up a minute. I’m still back at the wedding with you looking happy.”

“It’s an act, remember?”

Noah gives me a wry look. “Yeah, I get that part. But you did look happy. That part I remember from the wedding wasn’t fake.”

“Yeah, well. Florian told me he was going ahead with the sale, even knowing how I felt about it. Which is why our fake arrangement has ended.”

“But you said he came to see you yesterday?” Noah prompts. “Explain that.”

“I… can’t.” I clear my throat. I can still feel Florian’s hot kisses if I let myself think about yesterday. The way he looked at me in the studio. “He said he missed me.”

“Well, that’s something. You’re very missable, Matty.”

That makes me laugh, at least. “You’re biased because you’re my friend.”

“And your ex, don’t forget,” he says cheerfully. “Even if it was brief. I still count.”

“Of course you count,” I assure Noah, a hint of a smile playing on my lips. God knows where that came from. Just as quickly, it disappears, and the increasingly familiar weariness settles over me.

“Okay. Give me a minute to let all this…” He waves a hand in a circular motion. “Sink in.”

“Mm.” I take the opportunity to drink my lager.

“How about I go order our meals? Burgers and chips okay?” Noah says, waving off my protest. He gives me an irreverent grin. “You’ve been sacked, after all.”

“I’m getting the next round. And I’m not as broke as I was in London. And yes, a burger sounds great.”

“Excellent. Deal.”

When he returns, he looks seriously at me. “Matty, I think you’re depressed. A lot of this doesn’t sound like you.”

I blink at him. “But you heard me⁠—”

“Yeah, about getting sacked and hiding your feelings like you don’t have them behind something fake when it clearly isn’t, and then feeling hurt when he goes to buy the Rose⁠—”