Page 57 of Shout Out To My Ex

Was Leo there? Did he see this?

Her reply comes quickly:

No. My source says she’s never like this in front of the designer or the photographer.

‘So, Leo probably doesn’t know, then – what she’s like.’

‘I hope not,’ Cassie replies. ‘Why would he want to marry her if she’s like that?’ She points at my phone.

‘Hmm. Well, you know him better than I do.’

‘Not really. That was years ago and, yes, heseemslike the same Leo but you never know. Elle said he was a right tosser when she met up with him in London.’

‘That’s right. But I still think we can use this to our advantage.’

I type another message to Marie:

Good news. Thank you so much!

The wordsMarie is typingappear, then:

She is horrible AND a fraud. You are welcome.

At that, Cassie and I laugh out loud like (dare I say it?) bitchy schoolgirls.

Elle

Good god, how long can it take to buy a coffee and a Coke? Cassie and Poppy have been gone anage.

Meanwhile, Leo and I have exhausted all the small talk ever talked in the history of humanity. We’ve covered the weather (in Paris, London,andNew York), how exhausted we are (very), what Brandy is up to (sightseeing in Paris for a few days before heading back to Texas), and even the number of times we’ve been on the Eurostar (first time for him, fourth for me).

We’ll have to move on to talking aboutactualsmall things if they don’t return soon and I know very little about amoebas, cornichons, or babies.

I suddenly remember that I never got the chance to ask after his mum.

‘I was sorry to hear about your mum being unwell,’ I say. ‘Is she going to be okay?’

‘Yeah, thanks for asking. Just bad flu. The doctor advised her not to fly.’

‘Oh, that’s good. Sorry, it’s not good that she has the flu, but at least it’s not more serious.’

‘Yeah, for sure.’

Uncomfortable silence descends.Whereis my sister?

‘So…’ he says, fidgeting with his ticket – aprintedticket, as if e-tickets aren’t a thing. He starts tearing it into strips and rolling each of those into tight coils. Some things never change.

As Cassie and Poppy arestillnowhere to be seen, it’s time to put my big girl pants on.

‘So, can I address the elephant in the room – or rather, the train carriage?’

I don’t know what made me say that, because the real elephant is that two people who used to have sex (pretty much) daily – one of whom is engaged to a supermodel – are now trapped on a train together for the next two hours.

What I am about to raise – what I’mpreparedto raise – is that my sister would like us to collaborate on a collection and why that’s a terrible idea and never going to happen. I spent most of the morning mentally shoring up the list of reasons I gave Cassie last night. It may be short, but it’s compelling – compelling enough that the next time Cassie brings up the matter, I won’t be backing down.

‘Uh, yeah. Go for it,’ Leo says, his eyes curious.

‘This collaboration between our?—’

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