The Broken Hearts Book Club. Lynsey James

his ‘let’s find an obscure song’ face on and I made a mental note to choose something super-girly to sing later.

      ‘I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist a karaoke night.’ I almost jumped out of my skin to find Jake leaning on the bar next to me.

      ‘You know me,’ I said with a guarded smile, ‘I’m always making bad decisions. Like offering you advice earlier.’

      His eyes fell to the sticky mahogany beneath him. ‘I’m sorry about going off on one at you. I was a dick and I shouldn’t have been. You were only trying to help. It’s appreciated, believe me. Another round?’

      He started pulling George’s pint when I nodded and suddenly, an idea popped into my head.

      ‘Listen, I don’t know whether you’d be up for this but there’s a book club that meets every Wednesday called the Broken Hearts Book Club. It’s for people who are going through a hard time; they read books and talk about how they’re coping. Maybe you should come to a meeting? Could help you find a solution for this place.’

      ‘That’s a really kind thought Lucy, but a book club isn’t really my sort of thing and I can’t just leave this place unattended to swan off to a book club meeting.’

      I smiled and nodded, but for some reason I couldn’t let it go, ‘You could bring them to you then, rent them the back room every second Wednesday or something? Then you could still be a part of it, just at every other meeting.’

      He pushed himself off the bar with his fantastically muscly arms and folded them across his chest. ‘The renting thing isn’t a bad idea, but I wouldn’t have the time to join the group.’ Placing the three glasses in front of me he smiled guardedly, ‘Here you go. That’ll be eight-fifty.’

      My heart sank; I felt disappointed that the club wouldn’t be gaining a new member. Especially one who needed help as much as he did. As I handed over the money I couldn’t help feeling that there was a reason he was resisting my attempts to help him.

      ‘I just thought you might like the support, that’s all.’

      Like the utter legend she was, Elle returned just in time to help me with the drinks and I walked away from Jake, throwing him a glance over my shoulder.

      As it happened, George didn’t choose an obscure song to sing. He chose the karaoke classic Mr Brightside by The Killers and the three of us belted it out for all we were worth. While I was up there on the makeshift stage, it didn’t matter who was glad to see me back or not. As I danced around the little stage with Elle and George, it was all about having fun and making an absolute fool of myself. I was able to let go and not worry about the secrets lurking in the background, or the voices in the back of my mind whispering that I didn’t deserve to be happy. For four glorious minutes, I was Lucy Harper, normal girl and terrible singer.

      Elle and George shared a drunken kiss outside my parents’ cottage while I looked out over the water. The same burning question churned in my mind: should I stay or should I go?

      My heart whispered at me to stay and although every instinct I had fought against it, I knew the whisper would soon become a shout I couldn’t ignore.

      The only question was whether I was brave enough to listen.