Page 20 of A Secret Escape

“I’m okay with it, honestly. You deserve to be happy. Can I meet him?” She broke off, uncertain. “If you don’t want to talk about it, I get it.”

How had she ever got herself in this tangled mess? She tried never to tell lies, and she hadn’t lied. She just hadn’t told them what she was doing, and when they’d made assumptions she hadn’t corrected them because she knew that if she’d corrected them, then they would have wanted to know the truth, and that would have meant violating her promise to Nicole.

Also she didn’t want to talk about Nicole. She’d told no one that her friend had ghosted her. It had been too painful, so she’d kept that to herself. It felt like another failure on her part. She imagined people looking at her and thinkingFirst her husband, and then her best friend.

It was at times like this she wished she wasn’t so close to her family. Normally she was grateful for it, but it made things complicated when you had something to hide.

“Zoe, there’s something I need to tell you, and I need to tell you before you get home tonight.”

“What? Is he at the boathouse? Are you about to tell me that your date went so well he’s moving in?”

“No! Why would you—” Milly took a deep breath. “It wasn’t a date, Zoe. I never said it was a date.”

“But Gramma and Nanna Peg said—”

“I know what they said. When I told them I needed you to stay with them for the night, they jumped to conclusions, and I didn’t correct them.”

“Why not?”

“Because they needed to think something, and I couldn’t tell them the truth. I made a promise to someone.” And now she was about to break that promise, but she couldn’t see any other way. Zoe lived in the boathouse. What was Milly supposed to do? Arrange for her daughter to stay with her grandmother for the duration of Nicole’s visit however long that turned out to be? That wasn’t going to happen. After all the upheaval Zoe had endured in the past eighteen months, Milly was determined to minimize any change in her life. No, Zoe was staying in her own home. Sleeping in her own room.

All the same she felt uncomfortable because she prided herself on being one hundred percent discreet and dependable as a friend, and that wasn’t going to change just because Nicole’s own behavior had fallen short. If someone told her a secret, she guarded it fiercely. And Nicole’s presence was a secret.

She wished she’d thought to discuss this part with Nicole so at least she was warned.

“I’m going to tell you something, and you can’t repeat it to anyone. Not to Dad, not to your friends at school—especially not your friends at school. I’m trusting you with this because I know you won’t gossip.”

Did she know that? Zoe was thirteen and had a close group of friends. Granted, they spent far more time outdoors on their bikes than they did curled up indoors painting their nails, but they were still teenagers, and they still giggled and talked. Milly didn’t know what they talked about, but remembering herself at the same age she was pretty sure there weren’t many topics that would be out of bounds. Zoe probably talked about things she wouldn’t discuss with her mother, which was exactly how it should be, of course. But gossip? The sharing of secrets? That was different. Having Nicole Raven staying in your house would be enough to make the average teenager burst with excitement, but hopefully Zoe would be able to contain herself.

Milly drove out of the village and eased into the traffic on the main road.

Zoe was virtually vibrating with expectation. “What?”

“Do you promise not to say anything?”

“I promise! Am I supposed to swear a blood oath or something? This is pretty intense. What’s going on?”

“Last night I had to go out, that’s true, but I wasn’t on a date.”

“I know! You just said that, but where were you, then? Mum, you’re killing me. Just say it!”

But once she said it she wouldn’t be able to unsay it. She wished she’d never been put in this position. “Nicole called me a couple of days ago.”

“Nicole?” There was a pause as Zoe absorbed that. “You meanourNicole? Aunt Nicole?”

“Yes, our Nicole.” She felt a pang of loss because there had been a time when she had indeed thought of her friend that way. When they were young she’d thought of Nicole as family.Sister. She’d had such a shiny view of their friendship. “She called and asked me for help. She’s in some trouble.”

“Is this anything to do with that story a few days ago? The one with Justin Fisher pulling stupid faces next to his wife? Awkward. You could tell hesodidn’t want to be there. She had her hand locked around his wrist, like literally trapping him in place so he couldn’t run.”

It probably shouldn’t have surprised her that her daughter knew more about it than she did, but what did surprise her was that Zoe hadn’t mentioned it.

“You’ve seen those stories?”

“Everyone has seen those stories.”

“You didn’t mention it.”

“Because you hate that stuff. You always have.”

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