Page 27 of The Wedding Forecast

‘No, I’ll get nervous and all those nerves are going to come out through my hands.’

I imagine myself standing there, holding a glass of champagne for a toast but then gesturing violently and wildly and spilling it everywhere.

‘Nerves are extra energy, and you need that energy to give a good performance. Not being nervous is actually a bad sign.’

‘Is that true?’

He grins. ‘Actors say bullshit like that all the time. We have no idea what we’re talking about. That goes double for me. But yes, it’s true.’

I laugh.

Later, as we’re eating our mains, Joel turns to me, leaning over Mac a little.

‘How’s the next book coming along?’ He is carefully twirling spaghetti on his fork. He was always an expert at twirling spaghetti on his fork. He is the kind of man who can eat spaghetti bolognese and not get a drop of sauce anywhere. He’s such a careful eater, he doesn’t even need a napkin to pat his mouth at the end. I used to find that appealing.

‘It’s coming along,’ I say carefully.

‘What’s it about?’

‘It’s not in a place where I can answer that question yet,’ I say.

‘But very broadly, what’s it about?’ Joel pushes.

‘I’d rather not say,’ I say.

‘Should I be worried?’ Joel says, smiling at me and then smiling at Mac, so that everyone knows he’s being lighthearted, but I know he’s not. It’s a very loaded question.

‘Maybe,’ I say, because he’s pissing me off now.

‘It can’t be worse than the first one, surely.’

‘Excuse me, worse?’ I put down my knife and fork, and turn to him more fully. Mac leans back a little.

‘I mean, worse for me.’

‘There’s nothing about you in my first book.’

We are still speaking in neutral, pleasant tones, but the energy is souring. Mac turns from one of us to the other, like we’re an entertaining play. I don’t think Bianca is listening, she seems to be concentrating on avoiding looking at any food and sipping on her Coke and alternately closing her eyes or looking at her phone.

‘Come on, Anna.’ Joel gives me a look.

‘Come on, what?’

‘Your book was about two couples on a hike.’

‘So?’

‘So you write a novel about two couples on a hike, after you and I went on a hike with another couple—is that just a coincidence?’

‘You told me it was a great setting when I told you about it.’

‘The idea you originally pitched was a woman getting lost in the wilderness and finding a dead body.’

‘Well, I realised I like dialogue and I needed someone for her to talk to.’

‘And she has a lot of familiar conversations. Is all I’m saying.’

‘You realise how insulting it is, what you’re saying? That I have no imagination, that I’m incapable of creating characters?’