Page 75 of Wild About You

‘Sorry. Nothing,’ I said, then looked down to see an unknown number ringing my mobile. I answered. ‘Hello?’

‘Anna? It’s Roshni.’

I almost swore again. ‘Hi there. How are you?’

‘Fine thanks. What do you think about Cosmos?’

‘Cosmos?’

‘The flowers? My gardener is recommending them for our garden in London. Hundreds of them. In a shade called,’ she paused, ‘cupcake? Which doesn’t sound very me.’

‘They’re beautiful flowers. Very elegant…’ I was struggling. ‘Romantic…’

‘Excellent, I’ll go with them then. On another note, why are you letting Jamie marry that gold-digger?’

With a single involuntary movement, I swiped my empty coffee mug onto its side and it rolled off the desk. Fi hurried to pick it up whilst Tobias took out one of his ear buds and frowned at me.

‘Bear with me, I should take this outside,’ I said, mouthing ‘sorry’ at Fi and clumsily crashing out of the office onto the front drive.

‘I’m here.’ I took a breath of fresh air.

‘Great. And I’m waiting for your answer.’ I heard a faint tapping and imagined her in her glass office in a City skyscraper, tapping a pen on the table.

‘It’s nothing to do with me.’

‘Au contraire. He was wild about you, Anna.Iswild about you.’

I put my hand to my chest.

‘Then, just as things look as though they’re starting to fall into place, you slam the brakes on and he rebounds into the arms of his ex. And, let me tell you, George and I were very glad that she was his ex and we were hoping she stayed that way. But apparently you thought differently.’

I cleared my throat. ‘Yes, I pointed him in her direction. But all that happened was he discovered she was right for him.’

‘Come on, Anna. It’s clear she just wants the house and the title. In fact, it’s worse. Hermotherwants her to have the house and the title. Ambition by proxy.’ I heard the tap-tap-tap of her pen on the desk. ‘The most tragic kind.’

I had no answer for that. Other than I hoped it wasn’t true. The way Lucinda had looked at Jamie – that was real, wasn’t it?

‘The way she looks at him—’

‘The way she looks at him is the way a dog looks at a bone. She wants it, she’ll consume it, then she’ll be off having affairs and doing God knows what. Do I really have to tell you this? Have you heard her mention anything abouthim? About who he is? Does she know what his favourite colour is? His favourite food?’

‘Yellow, and arancini balls with extra spicy sauce,’ I blurted out.

I heard Roshni sigh. ‘Great, soyouknow. But does she?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Ask her. Ask her anything about him.’

I was silent.

‘Look, Anna, it’s okay if you don’t want to be with him.’

‘It wasn’t that.’

The faint tapping stopped.

‘I did want him – to be with him.’

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