paid for Simone to go into rehab and had been seeing her regularly since she came out.
It was like an echo from her own past when Angel herself had got caught up with drug addiction, and it had been Cal who had got her straight. And look what had happened then . . . She had got together with him. Maybe that was going to happen with Cal and Simone? Angel was so jealous she felt physically sick. Cal had saved the poor fragile woman and got her life back on track, all ready to get back with him. And why hadn’t he told Angel about it? It must be because there was something more to their relationship than simply friendship.
There was a large picture of Simone post-rehab looking beautiful and fragile, along with several other pictures of her and Cal when they were an item. These were ones that Angel had seen before, but the sight of Cal with his arm around Simone sent a fresh surge of jealousy rushing through her, drowning all rational thought. She reached for the phone. Only talking to areally good friend would help right now. She tried Gemma, but the call went straight to answerphone, and then she called Jez. It was nine o’clock Sunday morning UK time, the only day Jez ever got a lie in, but Angel was so wound up she didn’t stop to consider that.
‘Is Cal seeing Simone?’ she demanded as soon as Jez picked up with a sleepy ‘Hi’.
‘Angel? What are you talking about?’
‘It’s the front-page story in the
News
of
the
World
,’ she replied, frustrated that he was being so slow on the uptake, and went on to fill him in on the details, stumbling over her words in her hurry to tell him.
‘He’s just been a friend to her, as far as I know.’
‘Yeah, right!’
Jez ignored the bitter sarcasm and said, ‘And please don’t throw a hissy fit, but Rufus and me have met up with her a few times as well. We’ve had dinner, and Rufus is trying to get her back on track with her fitness. I was going to tell you next time we spoke. I knew you’d find it strange.’
‘Strange’ was the bloody understatement of the year! Angel was outraged. Simone was a woman who had gone out of her way to be as nasty and back-stabbing to Angel as it was possible to be. And now her best friends and Cal were getting up close and personal with her!
‘Well, thanks a lot!’ she exclaimed hotly. ‘Some best friend you are. Don’t you remember how vile she used to be towards me?’ She felt bitterly hurt at the betrayal.
‘I know that, Angel, and I’ll never forget it either, but you saw the state of the woman. We just feel sorry for her, that’s all, and underneath that hard image she likes to put out she’s actually vulnerable and quite sweet. I imagine sympathy is all that Cal feels as well. Simone’s a wreck. I know you two have a history but . . .’He paused. ‘We all love you best – even Cal.’
Some of the anger was ebbing away, but the jealousyAngel felt about Cal’s new connection with Simone was still hanging on in there tenaciously. ‘I’m sorry, Jez, I probably did over-react. It’s just, being so far away from you all, I guess I felt left out and shocked by the story. I wish someone had told me.’
‘To be honest, I didn’t know it was coming out, but I’m not surprised. Simone is completely broke. I imagine the money was too big a temptation.’ He paused. ‘And I expect you wondered if there was any more to the story than Cal being nice to her?’ Jez voiced the fear that was most concerning Angel. ‘Like, has it gone beyond friendship?’
Angel dug her nails into the palms of her hands with anxiety; trying to hold it together in case Jez went on to say that Cal was having a relationship with Simone. ‘As far as I know,’ he said carefully, ‘and Cal doesn’t really open up to me – he is just seeing Simone because he feels sorry for her, nothing more. But why don’t you ask him yourself?’
‘Why should I care?’ Angel tried to say breezily, though she felt as if she was speaking through a
It was like an echo from her own past when Angel herself had got caught up with drug addiction, and it had been Cal who had got her straight. And look what had happened then . . . She had got together with him. Maybe that was going to happen with Cal and Simone? Angel was so jealous she felt physically sick. Cal had saved the poor fragile woman and got her life back on track, all ready to get back with him. And why hadn’t he told Angel about it? It must be because there was something more to their relationship than simply friendship.
There was a large picture of Simone post-rehab looking beautiful and fragile, along with several other pictures of her and Cal when they were an item. These were ones that Angel had seen before, but the sight of Cal with his arm around Simone sent a fresh surge of jealousy rushing through her, drowning all rational thought. She reached for the phone. Only talking to areally good friend would help right now. She tried Gemma, but the call went straight to answerphone, and then she called Jez. It was nine o’clock Sunday morning UK time, the only day Jez ever got a lie in, but Angel was so wound up she didn’t stop to consider that.
‘Is Cal seeing Simone?’ she demanded as soon as Jez picked up with a sleepy ‘Hi’.
‘Angel? What are you talking about?’
‘It’s the front-page story in the
News
of
the
World
,’ she replied, frustrated that he was being so slow on the uptake, and went on to fill him in on the details, stumbling over her words in her hurry to tell him.
‘He’s just been a friend to her, as far as I know.’
‘Yeah, right!’
Jez ignored the bitter sarcasm and said, ‘And please don’t throw a hissy fit, but Rufus and me have met up with her a few times as well. We’ve had dinner, and Rufus is trying to get her back on track with her fitness. I was going to tell you next time we spoke. I knew you’d find it strange.’
‘Strange’ was the bloody understatement of the year! Angel was outraged. Simone was a woman who had gone out of her way to be as nasty and back-stabbing to Angel as it was possible to be. And now her best friends and Cal were getting up close and personal with her!
‘Well, thanks a lot!’ she exclaimed hotly. ‘Some best friend you are. Don’t you remember how vile she used to be towards me?’ She felt bitterly hurt at the betrayal.
‘I know that, Angel, and I’ll never forget it either, but you saw the state of the woman. We just feel sorry for her, that’s all, and underneath that hard image she likes to put out she’s actually vulnerable and quite sweet. I imagine sympathy is all that Cal feels as well. Simone’s a wreck. I know you two have a history but . . .’He paused. ‘We all love you best – even Cal.’
Some of the anger was ebbing away, but the jealousyAngel felt about Cal’s new connection with Simone was still hanging on in there tenaciously. ‘I’m sorry, Jez, I probably did over-react. It’s just, being so far away from you all, I guess I felt left out and shocked by the story. I wish someone had told me.’
‘To be honest, I didn’t know it was coming out, but I’m not surprised. Simone is completely broke. I imagine the money was too big a temptation.’ He paused. ‘And I expect you wondered if there was any more to the story than Cal being nice to her?’ Jez voiced the fear that was most concerning Angel. ‘Like, has it gone beyond friendship?’
Angel dug her nails into the palms of her hands with anxiety; trying to hold it together in case Jez went on to say that Cal was having a relationship with Simone. ‘As far as I know,’ he said carefully, ‘and Cal doesn’t really open up to me – he is just seeing Simone because he feels sorry for her, nothing more. But why don’t you ask him yourself?’
‘Why should I care?’ Angel tried to say breezily, though she felt as if she was speaking through a
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