Me-Before-You-by-Jojo-Moyes

‘Looks … pretty smart. Very … high tech.’
I didn’t know what to do. I stood there for a moment, shifting from one foot to
another, until Will’s voice broke into the silence.
‘Louisa, would you mind putting some more logs on the fire? I think it needs
building up a bit.’
It was the first time he had used my Christian name.
‘Sure,’ I said.
I busied myself by the log burner, stoking the fire and sorting through the
basket for logs of the right size.
‘Gosh, it’s cold outside,’ the woman said. ‘Nice to have a proper fire.’
I opened the door of the wood burner, prodding at the glowing logs with the
poker.
‘It’s a good few degrees colder here than London.’
‘Yes, definitely,’ the man agreed.
‘I was thinking of getting a wood burner at home. Apparently they’re much
more efficient than an open fire.’ Alicia stooped a little to inspect this one, as if
she’d never actually seen one before.
‘Yes, I’ve heard that,’ said the man.
‘I must look into it. One of those things you mean to do and then … ’ she
tailed off. ‘Lovely coffee,’ she added, after a pause.
‘So – what have you been up to, Will?’ The man’s voice held a kind of forced
joviality to it.
‘Not very much, funnily enough.’
‘But the physio and stuff. Is it all coming on? Any … improvement?’
‘I don’t think I’ll be skiing any time soon, Rupert,’ Will said, his voice
dripping with sarcasm.
I almost smiled to myself. This was the Will I knew. I began brushing ash
from the hearth. I had the feeling that they were all watching me. The silence felt
loaded. I wondered briefly whether the label was sticking out of my jumper and
fought the urge to check.
‘So … ’ Will said finally. ‘To what do I owe this pleasure? It’s been … eight
months?’
‘Oh, I know. I’m sorry. It’s been … I’ve been awfully busy. I have a new job
over in Chelsea. Managing Sasha Goldstein’s boutique. Do you remember