Page 88 of Love Me Till Wednesday

‘Hi, darling. Everything ok?’

‘Yes, I’m fine. I just wanted to see if you’d checked your bank account recently.’

Surely Jim wasn’t behind the massive influx of cash? His business was doing well, but he said he had plans to expand.He shouldn’t be dishing out money to her. ‘Funnily enough, I have. What about it?’

‘Is your balance looking healthier than it was?’

‘Yes. Where did you get a £1 million from?’

‘£1 million? I thought he was only going stump up the £800k you need for Greg.’

‘Who?’

’Dad, of course.’

‘Nick?’ Why hadn’t he told her? They’d been texting one another at lunchtime, but he hadn’t mentioned it at all.

‘How many other people do you know who’ve got a spare million kicking around in their accounts?’

‘But how did he know how much I needed? I’ve never discussed the details with him.’

‘I told him. I said I thought you were putting a brave face on having to sell the family home. He said he knew you’d always loved our house. He wanted to help.’

This was awkward. ‘It’s generous of him, but I’m not looking for charity.’

‘It’s not charity. You raised me all on your own. He owes you at least that, probably more. Don’t feel guilty about it. Do you know how much he got paid for his last movie?’

‘No. Surely you didn’t ask?’

‘I didn’t have to. It was all over the papers last year.’

Lisa must have missed that. ‘How much?’

‘Twenty million US dollars so he’s not short of money.’

Even so, it felt wrong to accept that much. ‘I’ll have to think about it.’

‘Don’t think too long. I don’t fancy Sunday lunch in that rented place you were looking at.’

‘Getting snobby now?’

‘No. But it’ll be impossible to get a pushchair up and down those steep stairs. And you deserve better.’

Lisa tucked into her dinner while mulling over the pros and cons of accepting Nick’s generous gift. Yes, they were officially back together, but she didn’t want to be in debt to him. That wasn’t a good start to a relationship. Jim had a point about the cost of raising a child, though. If Nick had been around when Jim was younger, he’d have had to contribute whether they were together or not, though it wouldn’t have added up to £1 million.

Stop prevaricating, Lisa. Just talk to him. You know you want to.What time would it be in Los Angeles now? She looked at the bank of clocks on the kitchen wall. Nearly midday. Not an unreasonable time to reach out.

She sent Nick a WhatsApp message.

Can we talk about the money you sent me when you’re free? xx

He FaceTimed her immediately.

‘Hi, darling.’ He seemed to be deliberately looking sideways at the camera, and the background was rushing by.

‘You’re not driving, are you?’

‘No. Brad is. What have you been up to this afternoon?’

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