‘Do you think there’s any hope?’
He sighs heavily. He doesn’t want to say ‘no’, but he can’t see a way forward the way things stand. ‘I don’t know. Maybe.’
She puts her glass down and turns to face him. ‘Luke, I don’t mean to be nosy … or whatever you call it … but can I ask you something?’
He takes another mouthful of whisky, savouring the smoky, heathery notes, then rests his glass in his hands on his lap. ‘Fire away.’
‘I get that it’s been a bad night for you – and for Jess – but what I don’t understand is … ’ She leans in a little, her eyes large. He gets a sudden whiff of her perfume and nods softly, letting her know it’s okay to carry on. ‘Why are you here … with me … instead of talking to her?’
That’s a very good question. He’s not even one hundred percent sure himself. He puts his glass on the bench, stands up and walks over to one of the pillars at the front of the folly. ‘I needed a friend,’ he offers. ‘And you’ve always been a good friend – to both of us.’
And it’s true. All the long conversations with Elena recently have helped focus his thoughts. He’s got used to processing how he’s feeling through conversation, and if there’s any night he needed to do that it, it’s this one. And she is the perfect person to give a perspective on his relationship with Jess.
Her lips curve slightly. She’s pleased with his answer. She also stands, then walks toward him. ‘It says something, then, that you chose to find me when you realized things had fallen completely apart with Jess.’
He frowns. ‘I’m not—’
She rolls her eyes slightly. ‘Come on, Luke. At some point you have to admit what this is. You can’t protect your conscience with that lovely soft, padded wall of denial forever.’
Denial? He doesn’t think he’s in denial. Is she right? He’s not sure. There’s a flaw in her logic – she texted him, not the other way around. Would hers have been the first number he’d have pulled up if he’d been the one to reach out? He’s not sure.
Or is he just kidding himself?
Has he been kidding himself about a lot of things? Until tonight, he wouldn’t have said that his marriage had irreparable cracks. Sometimes, it takes a lightning bolt to receive clarity rather than a slow and steady awakening.
She’s standing close, looking up at him with her big eyes, and as the silence lengthens, she places a hand softly on his bicep. It’s a question. One he is scared to answer.
‘I know we’ve always been good friends,’ she says huskily,‘but there’s a subtle hum beneath the surface, isn’t there? The something “extra” we’ve never been brave enough to act upon.’
He opens his mouth to speak. This wasn’t what he was expecting when he sent her the message telling her where he was. But she presses her index finger to his lips, almost seeming to enjoy his confusion. Looking at him from under her lashes, she closes the distance between them until their bodies are touching.
There are so many thoughts racing around his head – the party this evening, the way Jess seemed so different earlier on, as if she was a version of his wife that he didn’t recognize – and it slows his reaction time.
While he’s hesitating, she slides her arms around his neck, pulls him down until her lips are almost touching his. Her eyelids slide closed. ‘You know it’s me you want,’ she whispers. ‘Not her.’
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
JESS
It’s hard going across the grass in my long dress. Halfway to the lake, I pause to catch my breath, but only for as long as I need to before I start jogging again. I can’t waste a second. Thankfully, the clouds have cleared and the moon’s light is helping me navigate my way to where the dot on my phone shows Luke’s location to be. Eventually, I reach a path running around the side of a lake – well, large pond, really – fringed with weeping willows and bullrushes. Once on the path, which is thankfully not too rough on my bare feet, I slow to walking pace, my hand pressed against my breastbone, heaving a few much-needed breaths.
I check my phone again. He’s just round the bend in the path now. It’s not showing on the map, but I can see a small, round stone building facing the lake, where Ithinkhis dot is hovering. Thank goodness. We could do with some privacy for what comes next.
I pass a small sign that says ‘The Folly’ and search for a door or something in the smooth sandstone bricks, but as I get close enough to realize the structure is open to the air on one side, I hear voices – one male, one female.
‘I know we’ve always been good friends,’ the female voice says. I miss the rest as I stumble over a small shrub I hadn’t noticed, and right myself again. As I round the edge of the folly, I catch a glimpse of two figures silhouetted in the moonlight by one of the pillars. They’re standing very close. And then, to my horror, I see her loop her arms around Luke’s neck and look up at him with unmistakable intent.
Her voice carries clearly on the night air. ‘You know it’s me you want … not her.’
No!I scream inside my head, but it’s as if someone has pressed a pause button and I’m unable to move, even my mouth. I watch in horror as she lifts herself onto her toes and leans closer towards him. But then someone else says what I want to say.
‘No.’
It’s not a shout, but the declaration is firm, determined. Luke places his hands on her shoulders and gently but surely creates distance between them, then steps away entirely.
That’s all I need. The pause button is released. I stride forward. ‘Hannah?’I yell as I barge my way into the folly. ‘Get your fucking hands off my husband!’
CHAPTER SIXTY
