That isn’t all, though, and a whole new train of thought makes me smile. I’ll be looking forward to spending time with Cass as well, having movie nights and coffee mornings while she hangs out in her unicorn PJs, and maybe, just maybe, who knows?
There might be a tiny little chance that I’ll enjoy spending time with her friend Janie, too.
Cass
Janie’s face is a picture.
“You mean it?! He’s like a vampire without the fangs?”
I laugh. “Yeah, he’s like a vampire without the fangs. He’s hot. Quirky, sure, but hot. A bit stockier than one of the lean, long-limbed vampire types, and it suits him. He suits him.”
“Even in striped and chequered shirts?”
“Yep. Even in striped and chequered shirts, which is good, since I bet he’s always wearing them. He was wearing a chequered shirt and chinos yesterday morning before eight a.m., so he might even sleep in them. Maybe you’ll get to find out.”
She waves a fake fan at her face. “I can dream, right?”
I could’ve taken the whole day off work today since it was already pre-booked, but I couldn’t resist coming in for the afternoon. Ant protested when he left for his flight back to Berlin, telling me I needed a break and to relax, sweetheart, but I didn’t want to. The opportunity to share the news was too exciting to pass up on. I have so much to tell Janie that I don’t know quite where to start, so I start with Gerwyn.
“He’s funny, nice, confident. A great laugh. Posh but, I don’t know… down to earth as well. He loves coffee. Made me one of the best I’ve ever had in my life.”
“Sounds awesome. Tell me more.”
“He’s quite an individual. He’s mega into charity work, and Ant calls him a crusader. Says he drives everyone crazy with his passion for it, but it seems pretty fantastic to me so far. He does a load of presentations and fund-raising stuff for some organisation called G.A.T.A. in London. He raised loads of money last year for them but won’t talk about it because he doesn’t like taking credit for stuff like that.”
I’m surprised by Janie’s response. “Yeah, Global Anti Trafficking. I did a choir charity event a few years ago, and they were who we were raising money for. They are absolutely awesome.”
I could jump up and down on the spot to hear that Janie and Gerwyn have stuff in common. Actual stuff in common.
She scoots around my desk, leaning over me to use my keyboard to type in G.A.T.A.
I haven’t looked up their website yet, so I’m as interested as she is when their logo and mission statement come up onscreen. I don’t get much chance to check it out before Janie clicks on the menu option and selects our team. She only has to scroll down three executive profiles before she pauses, because there he is. Gerwyn Rhodes. Senior ambassador.
“Is this him?” she asks, flitting her eyes from me to his picture.
Gerwyn’s portrait shows off the intensity of his eyes and brows really well. He’s wearing one of his striped shirts and my mind steers back to the tattoo on his wrist. I still remember the solidarity of us showing each other our remnants of relationships gone wrong.
“Yep, that’s him.”
Janie clicks on a link on Gerwyn’s profile, and it opens another tab, directing us to a video presentation. He’s standing at a podium with the G.A.T.A. logo behind him, looking way more intense on there than a picture could ever give justice to. He speaks with such passion that it gives me prickles.
We need to give human ethics and morality the respect they deserve. Join the fight with us.
Janie gives another fake fan to her face, grinning.
“Ok, so... This could be a you and Ant situation,” she giggles. “I’m already falling in love with Gerwyn the crusader. He’s amazing.”
I nudge her arm with a conspiratorial laugh. “Yeah, well, if I wasn’t the one in the me and Ant situation, I think I’d likely fall in love with Gerwyn the crusader myself.”
“The deal is sealed, then.” She grins. “I need to meet the crusader and see if he’s my everlasting love. I’ll walk all the way to Berlin if I have to.”
I’m grinning from ear to ear along with her, squealing inside as I drop the bombshell of all news on her.
“You won’t need to go to Berlin at all, because Gerwyn is coming here. To live here. In Malvern, with me and Ant. Full time.”
She’s visibly shocked, paling before my eyes. “What?”
I nod like crazy. “It’s true! Ant’s taking a relocation back to the UK to be with me, and Gerwyn’s coming with him. Ant said Gerwyn is so excited to be back here that he’s thanked him about seven hundred times already, and I can’t help but think – hope – that’s got a tiny, tiny bit to do with us both telling him how awesome you are. Ant told me that Gerwyn really wants to meet you. He said he’s been going on about it quite a lot, but I shouldn’t say anything to him about it because it will embarrass him. He’s not usually this keen apparently, so our descriptions of you must have made an impression.”