My Single Friend Read Online Free PDF Page B

protest again when I focus on Henry. His hair. His clothes. His glasses. He could be modelling on the front of a 1950s knitting pattern. I wonder how to put this.
    ‘Look, I stand by my view fundamentally, but . . .’ My voice trails off.
    ‘But what?’ he asks.
    ‘You could do with a makeover.’
    ‘Really?’ Henry looks shocked. Which shocks me. Although this is a conversation we’ve never had before, I can’t believe he hasn’t noticed that nobody else dresses like him. ‘There’s no way I’m going on television.’
    ‘No, of course not. You don’t need to. I could give you a makeover.’
    How have I never thought of this before? I smile at my idea, at its brilliant simplicity, then I catch sight of Henry. He doesn’t look convinced.
    ‘Believe me,’ I continue, ‘as someone who has spent most of her adult life studying attractive men in detail, I’d know how to sort you out in the clothes department. And hair and skin – you’d benefit from a bit of microdermabrasion.’
    ‘Isn’t that how they remove corrosion from car panels?’
    ‘Hang on a minute,’ I tell him, ‘let’s do this properly.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    Inspired, I look him in the eyes. ‘This can be a project,’ I declare. ‘ Project Henry !’
    ‘Oh God.’
    ‘I mean it. Dominique could help. What she doesn’t know about flirting isn’t worth knowing.’
    ‘Is that what you call it? I’ve seen Dominique flirting and it’s like a lioness pouncing.’
    ‘It works,’ I argue. ‘ And Erin used to be a personal shopper before she did her current job. She’ll have you looking like Brad Pitt in no time.’
    I stop and take stock. Henry looks terrible.
    ‘Sorry,’ I say, deflating. ‘I didn’t mean to get carried away.’
    There’s silence for a second. ‘You didn’t, Lucy,’ he says to my surprise. ‘And you’re right.’
    ‘Really?’
    ‘Really. I don’t want to spend a lifetime as a loser, as your terminally single friend. I mean, you’re not going to be around for ever.’
    ‘What do you mean?’ I ask.
    ‘Sooner or later, you’ll settle down and have a family with someone. It might even be whatsisname – Jack.’
    I frown.
    ‘The guy you’ve a date with on Friday.’
    ‘Jake,’ I say.
    ‘Whoever. The point is, that at some point in the not too distant future, I’ll be your sad bachelor friend who no longer has anyone to butter bagels for.’
    ‘You’ll always be my best friend, Henry. Always.’
    ‘Well, good. But I’d still like to get laid.’
    I laugh. ‘You say that like you’re a virgin. What about your relationship with Sharon? And what was that girl’s name at uni?’
    ‘Karen Allagreen.’
    ‘That’s her.’
    He looks at me. ‘One fleeting relationship and a single drunken fumble in ten years. Casanova would be crapping himself.’
    ‘Point taken. So is this reinvention a goer?’
    He takes a deep breath. ‘Yes. I suppose it is.’
    ‘Great,’ I say coolly, picking up the trifle bowl and heading for the kitchen.
    When I get there, I have to bite my fist to stop myself squealing with glee. If you’d told me yesterday that Henry would agree to a makeover, I wouldn’t have believed it. This could be the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Scrap that: I’m going to make sure it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him. I’m going to make sure that my single friend isn’t single for very much longer.

Chapter 7
     
    I’m so excited about Project Henry , I was almost tempted to bring proceedings forward and rearrange my date with Jake tonight.
    But Dominique’s out anyway, with a wealthy older man she’s been seeing recently, and Erin and her boyfriend Gary have gone to the cinema. Besides, we couldn’t have done it properly on a Friday night. Instead, we have the whole of tomorrow in which to hit the shops and begin Henry’s reinvention.
    Consequently, I have stuck to Plan A and arrived at the shabby-but-trendy bar where Jake and I arranged to meet.