“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“Recording a few thoughts,” he replied, as if it was obvious.
Ginny noticed a notepad tucked into his pocket. In the dimly lit hallway, she could see the paper was topped with the Splendido logo.
“Also, writing a letter or two...” Curtis added. He deftly swerved around her and headed toward his bedroom. “Catch you later.”
Ginny’s eyes narrowed as he closed his door. There was no sign of Nico around, so she retreated to her own room. She showered, washed her hair and let it dry loose. It was a relief to shave under her arms, and to wear deodorant, mascara and lipstick again. She placedThe Power of Twoback on her bedside table and thought about Adrian. Was his profile still on the ChainReaxions website?
She checked it out on her phone, hoping that he’d deleted his photos, but he was still there grinning out at her from behind his mirrored sunglasses. She needed to be a member of the site to view his full profile information and additional photos.
Although she knew it would be torturous, Ginny had an insatiable desire to take a look. What was her husband seeking out that she wasn’t currently offering him?
She quickly entered her email address, adding a fake name and location. She became “Jenny” from Leeds rather than Ginny from Greenham. Following Adrian’s lead, she shaved four years off her age.
Her new account allowed her to view several more images of her husband. He wore a wolfish grin in each, mainly posing alongside flashy cars at work.
How well do you know your husband?Miss Peach’s words nagged in her head.
Ginny’s ribcage tightened as she read on.
Adrian, 45. Caring, loving and honest(Ha! Ginny thought). Loves cars and the simple things in life. I’m a down-to-earth family man with a lovely grown-up daughter. I’m at the end of a long-term relationship and feeling bruised, so I’m primarily looking for friendship. If you’re chilled out and like coffee and good conversation, you might be my kindred spirit.
Ginny almost choked. Her husband describing himself ascaring? She hadn’t seen much evidence of that recently. She was the one who cooked their meals, who bought family birthday cards and always cleaned the bathroom. Andkindred spirit? The words made him sound like Heather.
Ginny dissected Adrian’s sentences and supposed no one would ever describe her aschilled out. Her anger slowly subsided, replaced by a gloom that made her bones feel leaden.
Was she looking at therealAdrian on the site, or a persona he’d invented? He wasn’t the only one feeling confused.
At least it sounded like he was looking for a brew and a chat rather than a torrid affair. If he’d been conversing with any women online, Ginny could only hope they’d quizzed him about his situation and given him good counsel.
She had to accept that Adrian no longer felt the same way about her, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about him. Would telling him about her worries have made a difference in their relationship? Had she also been projecting a persona to her husband, and to the world, that wasn’t trulyher?
She felt devastated that Adrian was willing to liaise with strangers online while avoiding any contact she tried to make with him.
Ginny spun her wedding ring around on her finger and couldn’t help questioning if she was still attractive to other men. She was sure admiring glances in the street had died out a decade ago and she’d never thought she’d miss the occasional toot of a car horn. She used to hate it when it happened.
She brushed a hand through her hair and pondered what would happen if she uploaded photos of herself to the site. Would anyone want to send her a wink?
After reading Adrian’s profile again, sheneededto feel desirable again.
Ginny changed into her new zebra-print dress and used a scarf as a headband around her hair. It had already lightened a little in the sun and her sunglasses covered a lot of her face. Instead of smiling, she pouted and took a couple of selfies on her phone, making sure her face was half-hidden in the shadows. She felt ridiculous but her shots looked rather sultry, like she was a different person completely.
She uploaded the images and took a long time to perfect her profile.
Jenny, 45. Friendly and caring. Living in Leeds. I’m a real people person who loves cooking, shopping, reading and helping others. I’m looking for someone I can be myself with. People think I have all the answers when really, I don’t. I’ve been badly hurt recently and am trying to rediscover the real me again.
When Ginny read her words back, she bit her nails, recognizing she’d managed to express her own vulnerability for once. Pretending to be someone else had allowed her to open up. She’d never revealed this side of herself to Adrian or her friends before and it brought a tear to her eye. On ChainReaxions, she and Adrian were two people on display while hiding a different side to their lives, like the Duke and Duchess of Urbino.
She checked her watch and saw that time had flown. It was now past 9:00 a.m. and she’d probably missed breakfast. She hoped the others wouldn’t mind.
Gazing at Adrian’s profile again, her finger hovered above the pink winking-face icon. He was avoiding all her attempts to contact him, so what other option did she have?
Before she could talk herself out of it, Ginny sent a wink to her husband.
14
Chapel
