Page 104 of The Wedding Forecast

‘Well, she has to. And Google Maps says it’s possible. Just.’

‘I don’t believe it.’

Luke is very particular about logistical details. He put me in touch with a cybersecurity expert from his work who talked me through the ins and outs of bank drops and money mules and helped me figure out exactly how the scam would work.

We go back and forth until Luke says, ‘Let’s just drive it together and time it. Then we’ll know for sure.’

In the car, he turns to me. ‘So, you and Mac are still talking a lot?’

He’s trying to look casual, which immediately gets my antenna up.

‘Here and there. You know that.’

‘He told me you talk every day.’

‘Well. Yes. We do. So I guess more here than there.’

‘That’s good. That’s nice. That you’re such close friends now.’

I can tell this is leading somewhere.

‘It is.’

‘But you’re still just friends?’

‘Yes.’

‘Okay. Just checking.’ He fiddles with the car radio.

‘Hayley asked you to ask me, didn’t she?’

‘It’s come up.’

‘I told her, and now I’m telling you. We’re just friends. There’s nothing going on. I’m not helplessly yearning for him from afar.’

There might be some yearning, but it’s not helpless. It’s very empowering yearning.

Luke changes lanes, then looks back over at me. ‘It’s okay if you are,’ he says.

‘What did Mac say?’

‘The same as you. That you’re just friends.’

This lands in my chest like a thud. I half-hoped Mac would tell Luke he was lovesick, he couldn’t be just friends with me, it was all too much for him.

‘Right. Good. See? Everyone’s on the same page. Friends, and that’s all it can ever really be.’

‘Okay,’ Luke says, in a way I can tell he doesn’t believe me at all. ‘And Joel…How are you feeling about Joel these days?’

‘Fine. I’m feeling fine. We’re friends too.’

‘You are?’ Luke looks at me in surprise.

‘Well, that might be going too far. We’re neutral. We’re comfortably neutral. I’m certainly not yearning for him. I’m not yearning for anyone. Oh, and look, we’re making great time. My book’s plot is saved.’

‘Don’t get too excited, we still have to get across Punt Road,’ Luke says.

Later that night, as I update my website, I decide I need a new author headshot. The current one was taken by Joel, and I hate that his name is sitting there as a photo credit. We might be comfortably neutral but I can’t live with that. This book needs to be free of him in every capacity. I contact an author friend who recently posted a new headshot on her website. It has the vibe of that classic author shot of Joan Didion, minus the cigarette, which is exactly how I want to look, and she DMs me the details of the photographer.