Page 19 of Such a Good Couple
‘He’s what?’ Maggie was now layering on several delicate gold necklaces.
‘He’s … I dunno. It feels like he’s barely around. He’s late from work and then he’s tired and I’m tired.’ Clara sat down on the edge of the bed. ‘This is going to maybe sound silly but he’s started taking showers at weird times, late at night and stuff.’
‘Maybe he’s just sweaty after work?’ said Annie.
‘No, I meanreallylate at night. He showers after work but then a couple of times I’ve woken up at, like, one in the morning and he’s back in the shower again.’ Clara messed with the hem of her dress. ‘He’s changed the passcode to his phone,’ she announced flatly. ‘That’s strange, right?’
She spotted the girls exchanging looks.
‘Maybe it’s not?’ Maggie leaned back against the table. ‘Maybe he had to. Maybe he got locked out?’
‘I never thought I’d have to worry about this with Ollie after everything with his dad. And, like, I’ve always thought that if Ollie tried to have an affair, I’d have to organise it for him.’ Clara tried not to sound like she was about to cry. ‘And then have to remind him to actually go to the secret hook-ups.’
Annie snorted. ‘He isnothaving an affair. This is Ollie. Devoted-to-you-since-forever Ollie.’
‘Yeah,’ Maggie chimed in. ‘If anyone’s having an affair, apparently it’s Fionn. If Deuxmoi says so.’ She shrugged unhappily.
‘He’snot having an affair either,’ Annie interjected. ‘Of course he’s not. Neither of them are!’
A brisk knock startled them all.
‘Ladies!’ A beautiful man with shiny American teeth peeked around the door. ‘Ready to be transformed?’
Clara made her way back to her room. Her face felt about two pounds heavier with the make-up and she was pretty sure she looked borderline ridiculous. Still, it had been fun being pampered, and a glass of champagne had relaxed her somewhat. The code was a stupid thing to read into and neither Annie nor Maggie had been particularly fazed, which had helped to assuage her worries.
In the bedroom, Ollie was in the shower. Where else?
Clara rooted in her suitcase for her evening bag and dropped in the new Pat McGrath lipstick and powder her make-up artist had given her, along with the phone she’d grabbed up from the end of the bed. As she bent to retrieve her shoes, she saw another identical phone on the carpet half under the bed. She and Ollie had the same make so she pressed the home button on the one from her bag to check whose was whose. The picture of her and the boys flared into view. It was Ollie’s. Across the lock screen was the preview of a text. Her stomach dropped.
I had such a good time, Ollie. The best yet.
CHAPTER 5
Conor arrived back in the room looking sweaty, just as Annie, fed up waiting, had finally gotten dressed.
‘Where have you been?’ She stood to face him.
‘I was just squeezing in a workout before dinner, the gym is in the basement, it’s amazing. There’s a guy down there. Like, stationed at all times. Completely batshit. He’s there alone 90 per cent of the time, wiping down the equipment. Anyway, he gave me some tips on my deadlift.’
‘I’m sorry, but what the actual fuck, Conor. I’ve been waiting here. We were supposed to have sex.’
Conor ducked his head but Annie still caught the grimace his features had twisted to form. He moved towards the bathroom and reached in to swipe a towel off the rail. Now armed with the towel, he could completely avoid meeting her eyes as he made a big production of wiping sweat from his face and neck.
‘Conor?’ Annie stared at him and felt a kick of sadness. Sadness she’d been on the run from for so long now, certain that if she could just get pregnant then it’d all go back to normal. ‘Conor,’ she repeated, ‘you don’t even have the balls to just tell me, do you?’
He stilled and then straightened up. ‘Tell you what?’
Annie rolled her eyes and went to the full-length mirror to check her reflection. She was wearing a black wrap skirt with tiny white flowers all over it and a black sleeveless top. She eyed up the chunky black boots, wondering if the evening would becooler than the scalding day they’d had. She looked up to find Conor’s eyes in the mirror.
‘I don’t feel like explaining it to you.’ She was exhausted. It felt like not just the weight of the day but the weight of many months was bearing down on her.
‘Annie.’ He at least looked upset, as he came up behind her and put his arms around her.
‘Conor, if you don’t want this anymore …’ She could barely bring herself to say the words.
‘Don’t say that.’ His face was buried in her hair and Annie wished she could see his eyes.
‘Don’t say it because it’s not true?’
