Even now, when Ginger had asked why Liza had hurt her so much, Liza couldn’t answer. Either she had no answer or, simply, Ginger was not important enough for her to think one up.
‘Why did you let your mother talk you into making me chief bridesmaid?’ she asked, the journalist in her coming to the fore.
‘She nagged me,’ said Liza absently.
‘You could have said no.’
‘She and Dad were paying for the wedding,’ snapped Liza, as if this explained everything.
‘And you were going to dump me as a friend afterwards?’ The questions that had once haunted her no longer hurt as much as Ginger thought they would.
‘People move on. You’re in your fancy job now, mixing with all the celebs.’ There was no disguising the jealousy in Liza’s voice. ‘Let’s forget and be friends again.’
Ginger shook her head. ‘No, I can’t forget it. I don’t do friendship edits,’ she said. ‘But you and I haven’t been proper friends for a long time. I didn’t realise that, I used to be a bit blinkered. I have friends in my life now that I can rely on. Let’s go our separate ways.’
‘No!’ For the first time, Liza sounded anxious. ‘We’ve known each other since we were four, Ginger, we’ve history together. You can help me go to cool events like the things you go to now. James will see me in the papers and magazines and get jealous.’
Even by Liza’s standards, it was a breathtakingly callous plan.
It deserved Liza being thrown out on the street and screamed at. It deserved well-aimed insults ...
But Will would be there soon. And if Ginger had learned anything in this past year, it was that, sometimes, you had to let things go and take the wiser path.
‘I deserve a friend who really is a friend, Liza,’ she said softly. ‘You’re not. I have good friends now you don’t want to use me. I’m sorry about James.’
She meant it. She hated anybody to suffer, but Liza needed to learn her own truths.
Liza stood up, shaking back her hair defiantly. ‘So you won’t help me?’ she demanded.
Ginger opened the front door.
‘Take care,’ she said. ‘I mean that, Liza. Have a good life. Take care of your friends.’
Liza’s face was screwed up with fury as she tried to think of something to say.
‘Hey Ginger, darling,’ said a voice and Will stood in the doorway.
Automatically, he reached in to grab Ginger and pull her into a hug. He’d changed out of his gym clothes into jeans and a T-shirt and with his hair wet from the shower, he looked like a magazine advert come to life. ‘Who’s this?’ he murmured into Ginger’s ear.
‘Liza. Someone I went to school with.’
Liza was gazing at Will as if he was the answer to all her prayers.
‘Liza?’ he said to Ginger. ‘The bride ...?’
‘Yup.’
Liza was clearly about to launch into full-on flirt mode with Will. Ginger had seen it before. But not this time.
Will reopened the front door. ‘Thanks for calling, but goodbye, Liza.’
Ginger was stunned.
Liza was stunned.
‘I just—’
‘You should go.’ Will smiled a polite, businesslike smile and opened the door wider.
