Free The Pollyanna Plan by Talli Roland Page B

God, if I’d known going out with you could be that much fun, I would have instituted this Pollyanna thing sooner!’
    ‘Morning, ladies.’ Chaz sauntered out of Alice’s room, and Emma’s eyes widened. She glanced over at Alice, who was wearing a smug expression. ‘So, are you going to see my mate Will again?’ Chaz asked, leaning on the counter and crunching his way through a rasher of bacon.
    ‘He’s coming over this afternoon to help me finish painting,’ Emma responded, her cheeks colouring.
    Chaz chortled. ‘Finish painting? That’s a new one! Guess Will hasn’t lost his touch with the ladies.’
    ‘No, it really is just painting,’ Emma protested, knowing how feeble she sounded against the knowing expressions of Chaz and Alice. ‘You and Will have been friends for a while?’
    Chaz nodded, slinging an arm around Alice’s waist. ‘Yes. Ever since university, actually. Our whole group did business management up in Durham.’
    ‘Business management?’ Emma asked in surprise. How had Will gone from majoring in business management at university to working in the paint department of a DIY centre? ‘What did Will do after graduating?’
    ‘Got a job with his father, and that was the last I heard.’ Chaz shrugged. ‘We lost touch for a bit after university. We’ve only reconnected recently on Facebook, and I thought it’d be a blast to meet up again for Ryan’s stag do.’
    Will’s dad worked at Home & Hearth, too? Emma nodded, disappointed Chaz didn’t seem to know much more about Will than she did. ‘Right, I’d better get going.’ She couldn’t wait to head home, take three ibuprofen, and stretch out on the bed for a quick nap before Will arrived.
    ‘You’re not staying for breakfast?’ Alice’s face fell.
    ‘No, I’ll leave you both to enjoy that.’ Emma tried not to gag as she looked at the array of fried food swimming in oil.
    ‘Let me know how it goes with Will!’ Alice raised her eyebrows suggestively, and Emma’s face flushed for the umpteenth time since last night. What was it about that man that made her continually go crimson? She couldn’t remember ever blushing with George. In a strange kind of way, she was proud of herself for taking the next step to see Will again, even if it was making her super nervous. After last night’s antics, she was looking forward to learning more about him.
    Throwing on her coat, Emma left the stuffy flat and pushed into the bright London morning. Despite the headache from h ell, she couldn’t stop a smile from spreading on her face. Last night, she’d gone against every instinct she’d honed for the past few years. S he’d go t up on stage and sang, drank whisky and smoked a cigarillo, stayed up all night and asked a man out. Those might not count as big strides forward for most people, but for her they were huge. And oddly enough, she felt more alive than she had since … well, she couldn’t even remember.
    As much as Emma hated to think it, there might be some merit to the Pollyanna Plan, after all.

    The gentle swaying of the boat made the contents of Will’s stomach rise, and he lurched to the toilet. As sweat beaded on his brow and his muscles trembled, he heaved until every last bit descended.
    He stayed hunched over the toilet until he was certain the bout of nausea had passed, then crawled the short distance to his bed. He should have known better than to drink all that. He’d been trying to run, to escape from his life. The oblivion of alcohol had worked, briefly. Will groaned as images of the night flashed through his head—most of them featuring the dark hair and gorgeous long-lashed eyes of Emma. When he’d kissed her cheek, he’d definitely wanted more. What had he been thinking? He hadn’t, that was for sure.
    He groaned again as he remembered agreeing to help Emma paint. Christ. Next time he decided on a night of oblivion, he’d make sure no women were involved. Stretching out an arm to grasp the mobile, Will