Chapter 12
Eliza blinked herself awake to find Luke gone, leaving only a scrap of paper on his pillow. ‘I’ve got to go away for a few days. Have a great week.’
Nothing but two cold sentences.
His insistence on coming back to her cottage last night suddenly made sense. He’d been planning his escape all along! After last night, her body still humming from his touch, she’d expected more than this clinical goodbye. At the very least, a sweet, whispered explanation before he slipped away.
She crumpled the note, tossing it toward the bin.
So much for perfect Luke. Then the thought of the puppies at his place suddenly struck her, especially the little runt with the white-tipped ears who’d climbed into her lap and fallen asleep.
Who was feeding them? It better not be Bella.
She didn’t want her hanging out with her puppy.
That tiny ball of fur. That’s it, she decided, she’d take her when she was weaned, finances be damned.
‘Rebound,’ she whispered, testing the name.
It was perfect for her. Her mother would have a fit – ‘A puppy? Now? With no proper job?’ – but Eliza didn’t care.
She needed something that loved her unconditionally, that wouldn’t just leave notes and disappear.
Something that would listen to her ramble about men who seemed too good to be true and then proved it.
Climbing out of bed, she decided it might be time to go away for a night or two, too.
She didn’t want Luke to think she was sitting there pining for him.
She wasn’t. She had her own life to live.
So, she sent a quick message to Nancy: ‘Inbound for a night out. Get your dancing shoes on. Will be there at four p.m. Gather the troops.’
Nancy responded within minutes. ‘On it. Will get Lisa and Alice to join, too. And I’ll make sure the husband is around for Freya. PARDDEEE!’
Eliza smiled, there was never a moment when Nancy wasn’t there for her. Nancy never even asked why, she just made herself available. She didn’t know whether Eliza was happy or sad, or why she might be coming to London, she just delivered.
Hours later she was outside Nancy’s house, banging vigorously on her bright red door.
It stood out a mile on her very middle-class street in Wandsworth, where all the other ‘ladies’ had chosen muted pastel colours for their doors.
But Nancy didn’t care – she was always going to tread her own path.
This had been the house that Nancy and Pete had bought when they got engaged.
It was so full of memories, of fun times, of dinner parties Eliza had been at with Henry by her side.
Her most recent visit had been when she had spent the week nursing her heartbreak and shattered ego with Nancy and wine.
She had hoped they would do life side by side, go through the whole journey of children and marriages together, but the older she got, the more she realised that life was full of surprises.
It was impossible to predict what tomorrow would hold.
Nancy opened the door, Freya in her arms, looking frazzled but excited, and as pretty as ever.
‘Liza! God, I’ve missed you; it’s been days! Come in, come in!’
Eliza gave her a quick hug and then said, ‘Right, hand my godchild over to me.’ Freya reached out her arms and snuggled into Eliza’s neck, giving her an enormous snotty two-year-old cuddle.
Eliza felt her hormones start to fizzle.
Oh God, she thought, will a puppy suffice? My ovaries definitely want a baby!
‘So, what brings you to town? Don’t tell me you’ve ditched tractor hunk and moved on to someone new?’ asked Nancy, as she reached for the boiling kettle. ‘And yes, we are having a cup of tea and a slice of your favourite carrot cake before we hit the booze! I need to line my stomach!’
Eliza placed Freya back down on the floor with a kiss and leant against the kitchen island.
‘Shit no, I can’t give up Luke. I’m nowhere near ready to give up those multiple orgasms . . .’
‘I’m so proud of you! Look at you having unemotional sex. Come on, I want all the details,’ she shrieked, as she popped Freya in front of the television to keep her entertained.
‘You know all about . . .’
Nancy held up a hand. ‘Your out of character Jane moment swinging into a cold river in your orange-barely-there swimming costume. Yup, hard to forget that one.’
‘I know! I still can’t believe I was actually suspended on the rope over the river.’
‘I would have paid to see that,’ laughed Nancy. ‘Okay, so what happened on date number two?’ She scooted forward expectantly on her stool.
So, Eliza began to regale Nancy with the tales of everything that had happened last night.
‘So, you had sex with him after another swim? Who even are you?’
Eliza merely grinned as she took a refined sip of her Earl Grey. ‘I have no idea. It’s like I’ve been possessed.’
And they both collapsed into hysterics.
Recovering, Eliza reached out for Nancy’s hands. ‘You wouldn’t be able to resist him either, Nance. I mean honestly, I keep asking myself if he’s even real! The abs, the looks, the perfect macho life – and he is so sweet and considerate.’
‘Jackpot! The perfect rebound to cleanse your palate after Henry. And when his fatal flaw emerges, boom, you’re free.’
Wanting to laugh, but feeling a little like it might turn into sobs, Eliza swallowed. ‘Nancy, what if he’s not just the rebound man? What if he’s more than that, and then there’s something more sinister I don’t know about?’
‘Sinister? Eliza, just because Henry was a total shit, it doesn’t mean Luke is. Maybe, just maybe, you’ve found someone genuinely decent. Gorgeous, charming, emotionally available, the unicorn.’
‘Maybe,’ mused Eliza. ‘The only problem then is I’d have to commit to a country life forever, and I don’t want to end up bitter and resentful like Bella.
It looks like she thought she was marrying Rupert Campbell-Black and ended up running cake sales and doing the church flowers!
Can I live without London? I mean, it’s only been a month and a bit and I’m already forgetting what Selfridges looks like.
And I’m not sure Luke has ever even set foot in the city. He is a proper farmer boy.’
Nancy shook out her hair and downed the last of her tea.
‘Well then, it’s up to you to create the life you want, Eliza.
But you know what, at the moment, it’s fun.
You’re only committed to Farmington until June, so see it as an adventure.
A break from reality and a time to heal from Henry, to get laid by a virtual god, and think about the future. ’
As in her ￡20,000 credit card debt and lack of any viable, paying job. Though she had agreed with the Stanleys that she’d be paid for all her work after the wedding, so that was something – even if it would only cover the interest on her ever-increasing debt.
‘Yes, you’re right,’ said Eliza, burying the mounting panic where it belonged. ‘As ever I’m overthinking it all! Maybe a glass of champagne would help clear my head.’
‘Of course it would! What a great idea. The husband is home in about thirty minutes, which means I can start drinking, and we can start getting ready to go out. I happen to have one last bottle of that delicious champagne The Arsehole always used to bring over for us, and I’ve booked a table at our favourite Greek place for some plate smashing!
Lisa and Alice are meeting us there at seven-thirty. ’
Now this was more like it! ‘The one that just happens to be really near your favourite karaoke bar . . .’
‘Maybe,’ giggled Nancy. ‘Oh, come on! We’ve had some of our best nights ever there, and the other night in The Bush reminded me quite how much I love a singalong!’
‘How much you love a singalong, yes.’
As they went upstairs to get ready with Freya tagging along to give them fashion advice, Nancy said, ‘So tell me, what inspired this little city break? Where is the sexy farmer tonight? I assume he must be busy as you wouldn’t turn down sex on tap just to come and see me.’
‘Love your new stair runner by the way, Nancy, very “mum chic”,’ Eliza said, not quite ready to answer the question.
‘What the fuck is “mum chic”?’
‘I don’t know, but it sounds good – you know, the kind of thing a cool mum would put on their stairs!’
‘Oh, shut up, Eliza. Back to Luke, where is he?’
As she sat on the end of Nancy’s bed to start undressing, she admitted the truth. ‘I’m actually not sure. He left a note on my pillow this morning that just said he was going away for a few days.’ Eliza shot Nancy a questioning look, wondering if she also thought it was weird or suspicious.
‘He hadn’t mentioned it before, no indication of where he was going, just that he would be away. It’s weird, we had the most romantic, sexy time last night – it was like something out of a Hollywood movie, unmatchable in my romantic history, and then suddenly, boom, he’s gone.’
Head deep in her cupboards, Nancy pulled out a black mini for Eliza’s approval. ‘Maybe he’s a spy. Had you thought about that?’
Eliza giggled. ‘Can you imagine? My own 007! No, he’s not a spy. Well, I don’t know, maybe he is. He certainly behaves like one . . .’
‘Oh well, sod him – tonight, Eliza, you’re all mine! He might have gone away, but we’re out to have fun!’