It was three weeks since Alicia had started at The Unbound Soul and she already felt like she belonged there. At first, she had thought she would find it difficult working weekends, instead having time off in the week was an unexpected delight, and she was rapidly getting used to it. She and Callan had coffee together most mornings, and she was spending the majority of nights over at his place. Nell had warned her about the speed with which things were going. There were times when Alicia agreed with her. Mostly she didn’t and still got the same buzz whenever she checked Callan out—when she knew he wasn’t looking, of course.

That particular Friday was busy. Everyone had been working flat out all day with either booked appointments or walk-ins, and the atmosphere was buzzing.

“Gotta be finished on time this evening,” said Aidy. He took the cash from his latest client and consulted the diary. “Need to make sure I’ve got enough time to make myself look hot tonight for the future Mrs Brown.”

“What’s happening tonight?” asked Alicia. She was perched on the edge of the reception podium, legs dangling over the side, heels kicking back against the wood.

“The party. Callan told you about it, right?”

“Told her about what?” Callan materialised at the bottom of the stairs and gave Alicia’s thigh a quick squeeze.

“Seriously, Cal? Alicia doesn’t know she’s invited?”

Alicia shook her head. “What’s the party for?”

Aidy gave a huge sigh which Alicia suspected was directed at Callan. “Me and Wren decided not to have separate stag and hen parties. Our friends are mostly mutual ones, so it made sense to combine it into one. We’ve hired the top floor of the Fork and Dagger for dinner and drinks, then a DJ friend of ours is going to play some tunes until the early hours.”

“And I’m invited?” Alicia raised her eyebrows at Callan, who at least had the decency to look rather sheepish.

“Of course you are! Who else is Callan going to bring to the wedding as his plus one?” Aidy gave her a hug. “That’s if you’re free and don’t have other plans.” He released her and turned to Callan, who he punched on the arm. “Idiot.”

Alicia slid off the podium and punched Callan’s other arm. “Nice of you to mention it.”

“Ouch!” Callan fended off any further blows by ducking out of the way of the two of them. “I totally forgot it was tonight.”

“You’re the best man and you forgot tonight was the stag party?” Alicia rolled her eyes. “Or hen party. Or hag party. Whatever!” She checked the time. “Do I have permission to head off early and make myself look hot, boss?”

“You always look hot to me, babe,” said Callan. He pulled her towards him and smashed his lips to her. “Shall I meet you there?”

“Probably best, we don’t want to be late…” Alicia winked at him.

“Eugh, too much information, guys,” said Aidy. He pretended to stick his fingers down his throat. “Don’t get me wrong, I think you two are great together, but I don’t want to know every detail.”

Alicia laughed and went to get her stuff from upstairs. She was grateful that Nell was at home when she got there. Her fashion stylist elect would be able to help her find a knockout outfit to wear. However, when she found Nell sitting on the sofa, sobbing her heart out, all thoughts of dresses went from her head.

“What’s wrong?” Alicia rushed to sit beside Nell, gathering her up in her arms for a hug. Nell’s shoulders heaved as she tried to catch her breath.

“I’m probably being silly,” she gasped.

“Whatever it is that has made you this upset can’t be silly.”

Nell hiccupped a bit and wiped the sleeve of her sweatshirt across her face. “It’s Rory. He’s working late again, and we were supposed to go out for a nice dinner at Sarastro in North Ridge. I’d been looking forward to it for ages because he promised me he wouldn’t duck out and now he has.” She looked at Alicia, her tear-stained face blotchy and red. “Stupid, isn’t it?”

“Not at all. He’s an idiot.” Alicia fiddled with the strap of her bag. “Did you want me to stay home tonight? We can find all your favourite chick-flick movies that Rory hates and eat ice cream.”

“Don’t you have plans with Callan?”

“I can cancel. I only just found out about them anyway.” Alicia rubbed Nell’s arm, hoping she wouldn’t spot her crossed fingers behind her back.

“Oh. What were you going to do?”

“It’s Aidy and Wren’s joint stag and hen do. I was literally told about half an hour ago. That’s why I’m home early.”

Despite her tears, Nell forced a smile. “No, I can’t make you miss your first proper night out with your new work colleagues. I’ll be fine. I’ll hang out with Ben and Jerry and Tom Hardy…”

Alicia breathed a mental sigh of relief. Despite it being sprung on her last minute, she had been excited by the thought of the dinner. “Will you help me pick a killer outfit first though?”

Nell brightened at the request. “Of course! Now you go get a shower and I’ll find something for Cinderella to wear.”

A niggling sense of guilt still hung over Alicia when she arrived at the Fork and Dagger shortly after eight o’clock. She felt bad for leaving Nell on her own; Rory really had been letting her down lately. Nell had insisted, telling her she shouldn’t miss out on the night. It had been ages since she’d been to the restaurant. The three storey Victorian building was on one corner of Oakridge’s busy shopping centre, the whole of the top floor dedicated to private parties. She made her way upstairs, following the sound of loud chatter as she got closer. There were around thirty people there, the team from the shop: Jason, Miles, Aaron, Marek and Pearl; Wren and other people Alicia recognised from Books ’n’ Beans; plus a lot of other people that she didn’t know at all. She went to the bar and was handed a complimentary glass of Prosecco. Callan was already there, mingling with the crowd, effortlessly moving from group to group, kissing the women on both cheeks and either shaking hands with the men or gathering them in a hug. She watched him, admiring how sexy he looked, his dark hair roughly styled, the stubble darkening his jaw, how his fitted dark grey shirt clung to his muscular chest.

“Alicia, you made it!” Wren embraced her, interrupting her reverie. “I gather Callan forgot to ask you to come tonight.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s not always the best at the detail.”

“Yeah, I gathered. I should have known that based on the mess that was the booking system in the shop.” Alicia hugged Wren back. She was easy to talk to and Alicia appreciated being brought into the clan so quickly. Wren pointed out people in the room, explaining who they were and how they fit in to the group. After a few minutes, Alicia’s head swam from all the information she was being bombarded with.

A soft touch on her hip, followed by lips grazing the side of her neck, made her jump.

“You look amazing.” Callan’s voice whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her.

“Before you two need to get a room, I’m going to find Aidy,” said Wren. She smiled at Alicia. “I’m really glad you could make it, Ali.”

Callan grabbed her hips and turned Alicia to face him. She slid a nail across the exposed skin at the top of his shirt, her fingers itching to undo the buttons. His hand grabbed hers and stopped it.

“There will be plenty of time for that later.” His eyes teased hers. “If you’d like.”

“Oh, I would like very much.”

“Good, because I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve got on under that dress.”

He held her at arm’s length and appraised her outfit. Nell had chosen a black dress that stopped just above Alicia’s knees and was embellished with silver beads. It had a scooped neckline that showed a glimpse of her breasts, and Callan’s eyes lingered there. He pulled her towards him, and she could feel the outline of his cock hardening against her.

As Callan was about to lean forward to kiss her, Aidy tapped a knife against a glass, capturing everyone’s attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is about to be served, if you’d like to take your seats.” He waved to the three round tables that were set up for ten people each. “We’ll move around a bit between courses, so you don’t get bored of sitting with the same person for too long.”

A ripple of laughter swept across the room and there was some general confusion as everyone found their seats. The first two courses passed in a blur as Alicia was introduced to more people. They bombarded her with questions about what she did and how she knew Callan, both of which were easy enough to answer. There were mentions of Xander, and Alicia reached for Callan’s hand under the table, knowing he still found it hard to talk about.

When it came around to time for dessert, the final seat swapping took place. Two men joined their table, announcing themselves as Ned and Andy.

“How are things, Cal?” asked Ned.

“Not bad, mate, not bad,” said Callan.

“I gather things are picking up at the shop again. Saw Isobel the other day, she’s still a wreck.”

Alicia felt Callan stiffen at the mention of the woman’s name. It was the same as the one on the email that had been sent to Jason Mackey. Could they be the same person, and how did Ned know her?

“As she should be.”

Alicia was surprised at the coldness in Callan’s tone. She’d never heard him speak like that before.

“She said you barely spoke to her at the funeral. I thought you would have been more sympathetic towards her, after all, she’d lost someone close to her.”

Callan’s nails dug into Alicia’s palm, and she winced, pulling back a little.

“And I hadn’t? Don’t be a prick, Ned.”

“Must have been a shock though, finding them together like that.”

“She told you?”

“We went out for drinks. She told me pretty much everything.” Ned’s face glowed in triumph. “Seemed you got over her pretty quickly though.” He looked directly at Alicia. “Who’s your new bird going to screw when she’s had enough though?”

Callan jumped up, his chair crashing to the floor. “I thought I told you not to be a prick?”

“Callan, it’s okay. Calm down.” Alicia reached for his arm. He shook her off.

“Don’t tell me to calm down, Alicia. You know nothing about this.” He stalked across the room towards the exit.

Alicia glared at Ned, who just laughed at her. She didn’t know what to make of what he’d said. She knew that someone called Isobel used to work at The Unbound Soul, but she didn’t know what she had to do with Callan. And how did Xander fit in to it all? She pushed her own chair back and went to find him.

He was at the bar on the ground floor, nursing a glass of what looked like a double shot of whisky. An empty glass already sat on the bar beside him.

“Do you want to tell me who Isobel is?”

Callan fixed her with the same expression he had shot in Ned’s direction. “Not really,” he growled.

“She must have been important to you for you to react like that.” Alicia couldn’t help pushing it. She wanted to know what was going on.

He laughed hollowly and beckoned the barman over to get a refill. “Don’t push it, Ali. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Part of her wanted to stay, to find out more about this Isobel who had so clearly gotten under Callan’s skin, whoever she was. The sensible part of her decided it was time to bail.

“I think I’m going to go home and check up on Nell. She was a bit out of sorts when I was home earlier, and I’d like to stay with her tonight. I think that’s best.”

A shadow of disappointment crossed Callan’s handsome features, and Alicia knew she had to be strong enough to walk away. He leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek, but she ducked out of his reach.

“See you later,” she said.