Page 15 of The Pop-Up Cake Shop

Emily’s boyfriend was looking around now, turning this way and that as if he was trying to locate someone in the crowd oftourists. He spun right round in my direction. Our eyes met and held.

A cold hand gripped my insides.

Richard?

CHAPTER SEVEN

He was staring at me with a stricken expression, totally ignoring Emily’s attempts to talk to him and get a response.

I was frozen to the spot, my mind whirling out of control.

What was going on?

How did they know each other?

I felt like I was watching a scene from a movie. It didn’t seem real. Was I missing something here?

Was Emily a friend... someone he worked with?

She might be the sort of touchy-feely person who embraced everyone, whether she knew them well or not. Could she be the woman whose voice I’d thought I heard in the background when I was on the phone to Richard that time?

I started to walk over, telling myself to calm down because Richard was about to explain how they knew each other and why he was looking at me with that weirdly stiff expression, as if I’d caught him with his hand in the sweetie jar...

Because there had to be a reasonable explanation, didn’t there?

But as I drew nearer, Emily reached up on tiptoe, cupped his face in both hands and kissed him full on the lips.

Richard’s reaction was instant. He pushed her firmly away from him, and in my confusion, I drew comfort from his gesture.

Maybe Emilyimaginedthere was something between them and Richard was trying to fend her off? If they were working together, it might be difficult for him...

But even as my mind was coming up with all sorts of ‘reasonable explanations’, I could feel a growing sense of dread inside. I was only trying to protect myself from having to face the terrible truth.

Because that shocked look as Richard turned in my direction told me everything I needed to know.

Richard, who I’d really believed loved me, was clearly involved with this girl...

Reaching them, I was shaking. My face was burning and I felt physically sick.

Emily was looking from me to Richard and back to me, like a spectator at Wimbledon, clearly baffled as to what was going on. His cool reception – and his apparent rejection – was obviously not what she was used to.

I gave her a stiff little smile. ‘I must apologise for Richard. He obviously hasn’t told you about me. I’m his girlfriend. We’ve been together for six years.’

I saw the shock come over her face.So he really hadn’t mentioned me?

‘You’reKatja?’ She stared at me. ‘But you broke up at Christmas time, so why are you here?’

I looked at Richard incredulously. ‘Oh my God, that’s what youtoldher? That we broke up before you came to New York?’

‘Well... not exactly.’ He was squirming now, his eyes flicking away from mine and back again. ‘I said we hadn’t been getting on as well as we used to and that I knew you were feeling the same as me... that maybe our relationship had run its course?’ He shrugged. ‘Which is all true. Isn’t it?’ His look was almost pleading now, as if he wanted me to be complicit in his twisting of the truth so that Emily wouldn’t think he’d been lying to her.

Well, he could stuff right off if he thoughtthatwas going to happen!

Emily was frowning. ‘That’s not what you said, Richard. You told me you’dbroken upwith Katja. I’d never have started seeing you if I hadn’t been totally clear about that.’ She blew out a big breath and shook her head. ‘I’m not in the business of going out with guys who come on to me while I’m cleaning their apartmentbut then “forget” to break up with their girlfriend before sleeping with me!’

‘So you’re hiscleaner?’ I gasped, in a flash of understanding.

She nodded. ‘I delivered the clean laundry at eleven-ish, as I always do, and I saw his note.’ She shrugged. ‘I thought it was meant for me. It was lying on the kitchen table.’

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