Elle held the phone up again, feeling self-conscious.
‘I can’t do this – it feels so unnatural.’
‘I’ll go in there and top up the wine while you snap to your heart’s content,’ encouraged Pippa, picking up their empty glasses and disappearing into the kitchen, closing the door behind her.
Five minutes later, after the initial awkwardness had passed, Elle was getting into the swing of things and beginning to enjoy herself.
‘Can I come back in yet?’ Pippa shouted from the other side of the door.
‘Of course!’ Elle replied.
‘Let’s have a look at what’ve you got.’
Elle looked over Pippa’s shoulder as she flicked through the photos.
‘What about that one?’
‘No, I look like a rabbit caught in the headlights.’
‘Maybe,’ she said, biting her lip. ‘This is the one!’
Elle tilted her head to take a proper look. ‘Yes, it’s not too bad.’
‘Not too bad? It’s perfect. Let’s do this, this and this. Now what do you think?’
Elle stared at the photo in disbelief. In the blink of an eye, Pippa had made her look fresh and fashionable.
‘Where’s that wrinkle gone from the bridge of my nose?’
‘We don’t need that – I’ve airbrushed it out,’ Pippa replied like it was the most natural thing in the world. ‘That is what you would look like with a little bit of Botox.’
‘I am not having Botox.’
‘Ah, why not?’ Pippa pointed to her own forehead. ‘Everyone does it.’
‘I’m really glad I’m not everyone.’
‘This is the one. Now upload it and let’s get the show on the road.’
Still unsure, Elle hedged. ‘I don’t think I need to do this. I did manage to get a kiss by being just me, you know, and these photos don’t really look like me. Just remind me why we’re doing this again.’
‘To attract male attention.’
‘But it’s the wrong attention if they think this is a true representation of me. I’m just being honest. As much as I’ve had a little fun today, I think the best thing is to be true to who I really am. I can’t pretend to be something that I’m not. Please don’t be disappointed in me.’
‘I get it. You know exactly who you are and you’re comfortable in your own skin. I wish I had self-esteem like you.’
This was the ideal time to share with Pippa that she had no clue who she was and had struggled with her self-esteem for the whole of her life until she became part of Irene’s family. But she didn’t. They’d had a lovely couple of hours and as much as Elle had protested, she’d actually quite enjoyed dressing up and spending time with Pippa. What she didn’t want to happen was for the mood to be brought down. With a glass of wine in one hand, Elle picked up her phone and sank into the settee.
‘Please tell me you aren’t checking those emails again?’ Pippa was sitting next to her. ‘It’s been every two minutes recently. You’re becoming obsessed.’
Once again this would be the ideal time to share with Pippa the reason why her heart began to pound every time her phone pinged with a new mail to her inbox, but again, right now there wasn’t anything to tell – and she didn’t want to get a few glasses of wine inside her, become all maudlin and spend the evening talking about her childhood.
‘And there it is again…’ Pippa rolled her eyes as Elle’s phoned beeped again.
‘That’s not an email, that’s an Instagram notification.’ Elle opened the app. ‘There’s a private message.’
‘Who’s it from?’ Pippa asked, leaning in towards Elle’s phone.
