Page 84 of Love Me Till Wednesday

‘Probably best that you’re not there. I don’t want you to see me at my worst.’

‘You’ll let me know how you get on, won’t you?’

‘Yeah, but let’s not talk about her now. I can think of much better ways to spend our time,’ Lisa whispered, slowly tracing her finger down his bare chest and onto his stomach.

The bedroom door swung open before she got any lower. Sophie stood silhouetted in the doorway. ‘Grandpa! Are you having a sleepover too?’

40

Lisa went back to work on Tuesday. Normally, she hated her first day back after a week off, but today, she was grateful for the distraction of starting a new project. It was taking her mind off her confrontation with Mel later. She had a few online meetings, but no one said anything about her return to the public eye, which suited Lisa just fine.

Now it was gone seven o’clock, and Lisa was pacing the kitchen, waiting for Mel to arrive. The house was incredibly quiet. Elise was out with a friend, and Pete was still at Andy’s.

Mel was late, which wasn’t unusual, but Lisa could have done with her being on time this evening. She just wanted to get this over and done with.

She checked her phone in case Mel had texted with an ETA. There was no update from her but there was a new notification on WhatsApp from Nick. How had she missed that?

Landed in LA. Good luck with Mel. Last night was amazing. Love you so much xxx

She smiled to herself and sent him a few heart emojis. While she was pondering what else to say, the doorbell rang. Lisa took a deep breath and headed into the hall.

‘Hola amiga! I’ve got you a little gift from Malaga,’ Mel said as she marched into the hall, clutching a bottle of Rioja. ’Oh, you’re not ready.’

‘I’m not in the mood for running this evening. It’s been a stressful few days.’

‘Running’s good for relieving stress. Almost as good as sex.’

Oh God. Mel was probably planning to go into great detail about some romantic conquest in Spain. Was she really behaving as if everything was fine?

‘If you say so,’ Lisa said.

‘You sound like you need cheering up. You can tell me all about it over a glass of vino.’ Mel started walking towards the kitchen.

Lisa barred her way. ‘No. Let’s sit in the living room.’

Mel looked surprised. ‘We never sit in the living room.’

‘We are tonight.’

Mel looked uncomfortable but did as she was told. By the time she’d put her wine bottle on the side table and settled down on the sofa, she’d regained her composure. ‘I’d forgotten how lovely it is in here. We should have done this more often. It’s a pity you’re moving.’

Lisa didn’t respond. She calmly sat in the armchair opposite. ‘Tell me about the night Nick visited our flat while I was at my parents’.’

Mel laughed. ‘He was always round at ours. I can’t possibly remember what happened on a specific night that long ago.’

‘He remembers.’

‘Oh, he does, does he? I’m guessing from your attitude that it’s something negative. But then he always hated me. Heresented any time you and I spent together. He wanted you all to himself.’

An interesting opening gambit. Was Mel projecting her own feelings about Nick onto him? ‘He said you’d told him I was with someone else. That he should pack up the things he’d left at ours and go because I wasn’t coming back.’

Mel huffed. ‘That’s a convenient lie, isn’t it?’

‘Why would he lie?’

‘Isn’t it obvious?’

‘Not to me. Explain.’

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