‘Hmm. You have a point there.’
‘I know that Spencer would have hated the idea that there was a rift, but I just can’t face her at the moment, Gabs. I just can’t.’ She turned and fiddled with the zip at the back of the dress. She wanted it off now. Somehow, it didn’t feel so fairy tale-ish anymore. ‘What did I do? What did I do to make her change like that?’
‘It’s not you, honestly. It’s her…’
‘That’s what Teresa says.’
‘See? We’re all on your side.’
Anna squeezed her friend and then returned to the fitting room. While she was changing, her phone buzzed in her handbag.
‘That man is besotted with you!’ Gabi said, as Anna pulled the curtain back and checked her phone. Gabi must have got a glimpse of the screen before Anna had turned around because she said, ‘Jeremy sent you a picture? Is it…naughty?’
‘No!’ Anna exclaimed, reminding herself of a rather prudish fourteen-year-old. Which, unfortunately, might not be far off base. She still didn’t feel inclined to do anything more than kiss him at the end of their date tonight.
Just to prove to herself that she wasn’t a completely spineless creature,she picked the hanger with the blue dress on and took it to the cash register. Behind her, Gabi let out a little whoop. Anna put her phone down on the counter to get her credit card out of her purse. Gabi tried to snatch it up to get a better look, but Anna was too fast for her.
‘I didn’t know Jeremy had a dog!’ Gabi exclaimed as Anna pressed the button to send her phone to sleep, hiding the picture message before she could read more. ‘Or one that was so… scruffy? Is that a word?’
Anna nodded. ‘It’s a word.’
In fact, it was a very good word for Lewis in that picture. Brody had sent one of his dog in an old-fashioned claw-footed tub. Lewis was covered in bubbles; obviously thenext chapterin the story that had begun with a dip in the bog.
‘It isn’t Jeremy’s dog,’ Anna said, turning away to receive her receipt from the sales assistant.
‘Who does it belong to?’
So much for keeping her friendship with Brody private and intimate. Gabi would want to know everything now.
Anna tucked her phone back into her bag and removed her credit card from the reader. ‘He belongs to a friend of mine – Brody.’
Gabi frowned. ‘Brody? Do I know him?’
Anna shook her head. ‘No.’
‘The text you got in the wedding shop. That was also from Brody?’
‘Yes,’ Anna said as they exited the boutique.
‘I never heard you mention anyone with that name before. Who is he? Why does he send you photographs of his dog?’
‘He’s just… someone I met… We talk. That’s all.’
‘One of Spencer’s friends?’
‘While he wasn’t a friend of Spencer’s, I suppose you could say I met himthroughSpencer.’ She was taking the coward’s way out of this conversation, she knew. She’d tell Gabi soon, but on her own terms, when she was ready for the full interrogation.
They started walking back down the High Street. Anna noticed Gabi wasn’t looking very happy. While one of her best traits was her fierce loyalty, it did sometimes mean she could get a little territorial about her friends.
‘I’m doing what you want me to do,’ Anna said. ‘I’m finding new things in my life – new experiences, new friends. I’m trying to move on. Be happy for me.’
‘I know,’ Gabi said, and her expression lost some of its hardness. ‘I am very proud of you.’
‘Good,’ Anna said, linking her arm in Gabi’s and turning her back in the direction they’d just come from. ‘Because I haven’t maxed out my card completely yet, so we’re going to go and get you that killer yellow dress. Teresa said I could bring a plus one, and we might as well walk in looking spectacular together!’
Chapter Thirty-Five
ANNA STEPPED FROM the passenger seat of the car and stared up at the imposing facade of the Warlingham Court Hotel. She was very glad she hadn’t come alone.
