Page 39 of The Retreat
‘Careful, Jade. That’s my girlfriend you’re pawing at.’
A few people at the table snorted.
Jade laughed too, completely unfazed. ‘Relax, Talia. I was just admiring her bracelet.’
Talia smiled back. She was playing her part. See? All fun and games.
Then she looked at Imogen. She wasn’t smiling. She was looking at Talia with this odd sort of stillness. Like she hadn’t appreciated the joke.
Talia’s smile faltered.
She looked back at her plate, heart beginning to thump harder now. She picked up her wine and drank it too fast.
‘You all right?’ Rhona asked quietly from beside her.
‘Fine,’ Talia said. It came out a bit strangled.
She made herself look up again. Just in time to see Imogen lean into Jade’s space and say something close to her ear. Jade tipped her head back and laughed.
And the act dropped. Talia found herself wanting to punch Jade in the face.
Twenty-Six
Imogen wasn’t really listening to Jade.
The room was too warm. The wine had gone to her cheeks. And across the table, in the corner of her eye, Talia was sitting there like a thundercloud in brand-name casual wear.
Imogen gave Jade a little laugh because she was trying. Trying to be social. Trying to be liked. She was here, after all, as someone’s guest. As someone’sgirlfriend, allegedly. She needed to pull her weight.
Jade was twirling a ring around her finger and telling a possibly tall story about a recent date where she didn’t realise the guy was a sheikh until he discreetly handed the waiter a stack of cash to clear the entire restaurant.
Imogen smiled when she was meant to, nodded when she was meant to.
Then Jade’s hand brushed her wrist, and Imogen didn’t pull away. She simply ignored it. Jade flirted like she breathed. It was best to give her no reaction at all.
But across the table, Talia had gone still.
Imogen could feel it even without looking. The way you can feel a cat watching you through the banister. She took a sip of water and glanced down at her plate. Her fork hovered while she searched for another nod or chuckle to offer Jade something that would sound natural.
She didn’t notice Talia leaning forward until her voice cut through the chatter.
‘Careful, Jade. That’s my girlfriend you’re pawing at.’
Jade let out a cackle, clinked her glass against Imogen’s, and said something about admiring a bracelet. Imogen wasn’t even wearing a bracelet.
But that didn’t bother Imogen. The joke? Thatbotheredher.
Imogen glanced across the table. Talia wasn’t laughing now. She was frowning faintly, her mouth pressed into a line, her gaze fixed on her still-full plate.
She thought Imogen was flirting back. She was probably worried about how it looked to everyone else to have her ‘girlfriend’ practically cheating in front of her.
Imogen felt herself flush. Not with guilt, exactly, but with confusion. Shame, even. Because she wasn’t doing anything. She wasn’t interested in Jade. She was making conversation. Being a decent guest.
And now what? Now she was meant to playthispart too? A girlfriend crossing the line in front of Talia’s whole firm?
It was too much.
Someone stood, clinking their glass with a spoon. ‘All right. Shall we head to the fire?’ called Rebecca, phrased like a suggestion, but it was clearly a command.
