‘Hayley set up a WhatsApp, so we’ve been messaging. He’s in Istanbul right now, which sounds seriously cool. He said you and David are talking about meeting up somewhere with him and Serena – so any thoughts on where yet?’
Losing her appetite, Cristy put her fork down as she said, ‘We can’t go anywhere until this series is over.’
Aiden shrugged. ‘I’d choose Prague, if it were up to me. Or maybe Budapest. Dad, didn’t you meet the King of Budapest once?’
‘I think you mean Hungary,’ Matthew said, his eyes fixed on Cristy, ‘and I wasn’t around at the beginning of the last century. You’re probably referring to Alexander Karadordevic, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia.’
‘That’s the guy. I knew it was someone royal from over that way.’
‘All the money we’ve spent on your education,’ Cristy sighed, wishing Matthew would stop looking at her like that, as if sensing something was wrong when she hadn’t said anything was.
‘It’ll be worth it in the end,’ Aiden assured her. ‘Hey, just spotted my mate Jed over there. I’ll be right back.’
As he left the table, Cristy deliberately avoided Matthew’seyes as she attempted to eat again. ‘Jodi’s weekly spot on the news seems to be working out well,’ she commented chattily.
‘It is,’ he confirmed. ‘So, what’s going on with you? I can tell something is—’
‘You don’t know anything,’ she cut in snappishly. God, he was annoying! ‘You just make stuff up to try and undermine me and create problems where none exist, so give it a break, will you? I’ve had a long day, I’m not sure how to take the series forward from here, and having you on my case over nothing at all is not what I need.’
His hands went up in surrender. ‘No need to bite my head off,’ he responded. ‘I was just trying to be friendly—’
‘No, you were trying to make mischief, because you always do, and I’ve had enough of it. If we’re going to carry on seeing one another for the children’s sake, then you need to back the hell out of my personal life where it doesn’t concern you. OK?OK?’ She could almost feel her eyes flashing.
There was a moment before he said, quietly, ‘If that’s what you want—’
‘It is. It’s exactly what I want. I don’t need you or anyone else interfering in my life.’ She’d already gone too far, and she knew it, but she couldn’t seem to make herself stop. ‘Making assumptions about me, telling me what to do, how to live my life …’ She was trying not to shout and wasn’t even sure what her point was any more. ‘I don’t need your input, thank you very much,’ she muttered. ‘In fact, I’m doing much better without it, so please keep your concern or advice, or whatever the fuck it is, to yourself, and leave me alone.’
When she finally fell silent, Matthew sat staring at her, clearly mystified and shocked by how, in a matter of moments, she’d managed to morph into a shrewish, deranged stranger who’d apparently gone off the edge. It was how she felt – alien to herself, as if she’d lost control of her wits, but the rage was there now, and it still felt all-consuming.
‘Well, I guess I should get the bill,’ he said in the end, and signalled to a waiter. ‘Did you bring your car?’
‘I can get an Uber,’ she snapped without meaning to.
‘Aiden’s things are in my boot,’ he explained, ‘and as he’s staying with you for the next few days, maybe I should drive you home. Don’t worry, I’ll leave as soon as I’ve helped him in, and I promise not to ask you anything personal – ever again.’
By the time Cristy got into bed an hour later, she’d managed to calm down and was now feeling wretched and guilty and actually quite lost. In spite of knowing, in her rational mind, that the damnable changes in her middle-aged psyche were most likely to blame for the unforgiveable outburst, she couldn’t help wondering if she was just using it to justify how badly she was handling the fear of losing David. It had been five days now and they never normally went this long without speaking, so was this his way of trying to let her down gently? Of course, she could call him, but it didn’t feel like the right thing to do when he’d said he would call her.
And just to add to her stress levels here she was still trying to make a decision about Kinsley’s offer (although that felt more of an impossibility than a bright star on the horizon right now). It was as though everything – mind, body, hormones, the bloody world at large – was conspiring against her, turning her into a monster, robbing her of reason and sleep and blowing her perspective on even the simplest things right out of the water.
She couldn’t go on like this or she was going to end up alienating everyone by doing or saying something she didn’t mean and would instantly deeply regret – as if she wasn’t already there. She needed to see a doctor. Obviously they wouldn’t be able to do anything about the heartache orthe torturous indecision, but a course of HRT might help alleviate at least some of the strain by taking the heat out of her erratic temper. It wouldn’t undo any offence she’d already caused, unfortunately, but it might at least prevent her from making things worse.
If therewasanything worse than losing David. Right now, she couldn’t think of a single thing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
‘Am I speaking to Cristy Ward?’
Cristy’s heart skipped a beat. The accent alone – quite different to the hoax caller of a week or so ago – told her who this was, and for a stunned moment, she couldn’t think what to say.
Quickly signalling for everyone to pay attention, she switched the call to speaker and said, ‘Yes, it’s Cristy. Who is this please?’
Sounding faintly amused, he said, ‘I think you already know that, but I’m happy to confirm it’s Claude Meier.’
Looking across to Connor whose eyes had widened she said, ‘It’s good to hear from you, Mr Meier. I must admit, this is a surprise.’
With a low laugh, Meier said, ‘I know you were here yesterday. We were quite entertained by your visit, but really, all you needed to do was call and we’d have been delighted to welcome you.’
Cristy immediately felt as ridiculous as he no doubt intended, mostly for not having realized sooner that the place was probably rigged with cameras. She said, ‘That’s very kind of you. We’d love to take you up on the offer, if it remains open.’
