Wow, it had all come tumbling out. A wife and kids.
‘Gosh,’ said Flo. ‘Couldn’t he rent a flat, move in there?’ This was, after all, the man who had set fire to a fifty-pound note purely for entertainment purposes. Because it was fun.
‘No, he can’t, because she’s making him pay for everything . . . and I mean everything. Horse-riding lessons for his daughter,’ Lena spat. ‘Guitar tuition for the son. Even a skiing holiday, can you believe it? Money money money . . . I swear to God that woman’s doing it on purpose, taking him for everything she can get.’ She spread her arms in despair. ‘So you can see how unfair it all is. Giles’s hideous wife is living in his house, you’re here living in my flat . . . my God, is it any wonder I’m stressed out?’
The brief silence following this tirade was broken by a sneeze. And it hadn’t come from anyone in the living room.
‘You’ve got someone here,’ said Lena.
Flo nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘Hiding a man in your room?’
‘I wouldn’t call it hiding.’
‘So you’ve got yourself a boyfriend.’ Lena’s ice-blue eyes narrowed. ‘He’d better not be living here. That’s not allowed.’
‘He doesn’t live here,’ said Flo. ‘I promise.’
‘Well, anyway, I’m off. No wonder you weren’t dressed when I rang the doorbell. It’s all right for some people.’ Her tone was pointed as they left the living room. Out in the hallway, she paused beside the kitchen, then turned to look at Flo.
‘Have you been honest with me?’
‘Yes.’ Flo nodded.
Lena’s jaw was taut. ‘Hmm.’
Chapter 26
‘Phew.’ Flo threw open the bedroom door. ‘I thought she was going to come bursting in here.’
‘Me too. I can’t believe I sneezed.’ Zander shook his head. ‘I’d make a rubbish secret agent.’
Back in the kitchen, they began frying bacon and tomatoes. Flo told him about his sister’s grievances and Giles’s wife and children.
‘Why am I not surprised? What a mess. Lena never does anything the easy way.’
Five minutes later, Zander’s phone rang. He looked at the screen and sighed. ‘Oh God, what now?’
Flo, standing beside him, didn’t need it to be on speakerphone to hear Lena’s voice, shrill with panic.
‘Zander? Zander! I just got home and someone’s smashed in the front door . . . there’s glass everywhere and loads of stuff’s gone . . .’
‘Fuck.’ Zander went pale. ‘OK, wait outside, I’m on my way. I’ll be there in two minutes.’
He raced down to the ground floor, pulled open the front door and stopped dead in his tracks. Flo, at the top of the stairs, heard him say, ‘Oh, fuck,’ for the second time.
‘Well, quite,’ retorted Lena, pushing past him and stomping back up the staircase so ferociously it was a wonder her spiked heels didn’t go through the wood.
Which might have held her there and proven useful, to be honest.
Instead, Flo found herself on the receiving end of an arctic glare.
God, Lena was good at that.
Behind her, Zander said, ‘So I take it the flat hasn’t been broken into.’
‘Of course it hasn’t. I lied. Seems to be a lot of it about.’ Lena was still gazing fixedly at Flo. ‘My word, you’re a sly one, aren’t you? More than my brother realises, that’s for sure. I know exactly what you’re up to.’
‘Lena, stop it. Flo hasn’t done anything wrong.’
‘Trust me, you don’t have a clue.’ Pointing at Flo, Lena said triumphantly, ‘And that trashy friend of yours in the restaurant? I knew she was lying, too. As if her kids would ever have names like that.’
OK, this conversation was in danger of veering in an embarrassing direction . . .
Zander was getting annoyed now. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Ah, didn’t she mention that bit to you? You’ve got yourself involved with a real player now. It’s all planned out in advance, you know. She’s going to marry you.’
Zander, understandably, looked pretty stunned. ‘What?’
And there it was. Flo’s toes were tightly curled under with mortification. ‘It was a joke . . .’
‘Didn’t sound like a joke to me. You’d clearly discussed it with your friends. The tarty one said When you marry Zander, as if it was all decided.’
Had Annie really come out with those exact words? Flo couldn’t remember, but she definitely knew she’d gone bright red. And all she could do – again – was protest, ‘She was joking.’