He hadn’t even double-checked the time or location with her. She assumed he’d forgotten. But he just strolled in, right on time, relaxed, confidently scoping the room. It was awful, truly awful, that even though her official response was horrified, her heart betrayed her with a distinct skippety-thud when he arrived. She made eye contact with Jess and nodded in his direction. Jess took one look at him and mouthed ‘wow’, eyebrows up. He was a show-stopper in the looks department, no doubt about it. He saw Vân Ước and sauntered over, deftly weaving his way around the tables, chairs and wandering kids. Jess had been making a beeline for Vân Ước as soon as she realised that Billy was Billy. They arrived at the same time. ‘Billy, Jess; Jess, Billy,’ Vân Ước said. ‘Hi,’ said Jess. ‘Hi,’ he replied, not really looking at Jess.
