The traffic on the M4 was very heavy and slow-going. He could see Olivia’s foot was pressed against the floor on the passenger side as if that would speed their journey up.
‘Olivia,’ he said, rubbing her thigh, his hand entwined with hers. He kept his eyes on the road, intent on the cars ahead. ‘That’s the third heavy sigh in as many seconds. I know you. Spit it out.’
She sighed again and he nudged her thigh again.
‘Sorry.’
‘And stop staying sorry.’
‘So—’ She stopped herself. ‘What are we going to tell her?’
He risked a quick glance at her to see her tugging at her lip with her teeth.
‘It’s simple. The truth.’ It sounded harsh but it was what Emily deserved. ‘I tell her it’s over.’ It galled him that she’d lied to him... and that he’d been taken in by her. ‘The rest of it, well, that’s down to you. You decide what you want me to do. It’s obviously going to be awkward for you if I tell her that I’m finishing with her because... of you. Especially as you work with her as well.’
‘That’s an understatement. She already hates me.’
Olivia then relayed to him what had been going on at work and the vindictive resignation letter. He really had underestimated Emily.
‘Bloody hell. I suppose it’s one less thing for us to worry about.’
‘Mmm,’ said Olivia, and he could tell she was brooding.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘It’s just so ironic. So much for all my principles. After Mike, I vowed I’d never put up with any deceit or lies... but I don’t know if I can do this. If we tell Emily about us...’ she sighed. ‘Life is going to be hell... and you haven’t seen Emily in all her full-bitch glory.’ She squeezed his hand. ‘Do you know what... it would be so much easier in the short term, if we kept it a secret?’ She threw her head back against the headrest. ‘And I can’t believe I’m saying that.’
‘It’s completely up to you. You’re the one that’s got to live with her and work with her.’
‘God, it was bad enough when I told her that I’d got the job on the beauty team... can you imagine what it’s going to be like if I tell her I’ve nicked her boyfriend as well.’
He grinned. ‘You haven’t nicked me. I just changed my mind about her.’
‘It goes against the grain . . .’
He nudged her hard. ‘Your lip’s starting to bleed, stop chewing.’
She wiped a smear of blood from her lip and gazed down at it. ‘Shit. It’s going to be a lot easier if we take it slowly and not dive in and announce to Emily that...’ she faltered.
‘We’re together,’ he said sternly, enjoying the shocked surprise on her face. ‘Besides, I don’t think she’ll be too surprised, actually. I’ve been deliberately cooling off,’ he said, looking over his right shoulder as he pulled out into the fast lane.
‘Cooling off,’ she said indignantly.
‘What? Apart from the premiere, when I saw more of you — a lot more of you — I’ve barely seen her.’
Colour flared in Olivia’s cheeks.
He took his eyes of the road for a second and winked. ‘That striptease was nice, very nice. Are you going to do it again for me?’
‘Daniel, going to seePhantom of the Opera, dinner at Yo Sushi and cocktails at Mint Leaf hardly qualifies as cooling off,’ she challenged.
‘What?’ His hands gripped the steering wheel and he risked a longer look at her. ‘Musicals and sushi? Do me a favour?’
‘Not you? So who has Emily been talking to on the phone? I heard her arranging theatre trips and dinner dates?’
‘Not me.’
‘No cocktails?’
