him?â
âNo.â
âWhy not?â
âDonât know.â Ellie shrugged and snipped another stem. âJust havenât.â
âDo you hate him?â
âOf course I donât hate him!â
Tony backed off. âOK, no pressure. Just asking. So when am I going to meet this new friend of yours, then? The one who lives across the street?â
âWhenever she can tear herself away from her new man. Or when heâs otherwise occupied.â Unable to hide her disapproval, she added, âWith his wife and baby.â
Tony said drily, âOh dear.â
Damn, what was she saying? Ellie bit her tongue; it was common knowledge that Tony had been unfaithful while heâd been married to Jamieâs mother. Hastily she said, âRooâs not had much luck with men. I donât want to see her get hurt, thatâs all.â
âWhatâs he like?â
âNo idea. Fantastic, according to Roo. Who knows?â The doorbell went and she felt a rush of relief; no more foot-in-mouth moments, no more talk of Todd. âThere you go, thatâll be your car.â
***
At lunchtime on Saturday, Ellie caught the tube to Camden then headed along Parkway in the sunshine. Before leaving the flat earlier this morning to pay a visit to his tailor, Tony had said, âBy the way, Iâve booked us a table at York and Albany. One oâclock.â And when sheâd protested that there was no need, she could rustle up something to eat here, he had shaken his head. âIf I was staying in a hotel, weâd be meeting up somewhere decent for lunch, wouldnât we? So letâs carry on doing that.â Straight-faced, heâd added, âNot that your fried eggs on toast arenât exquisite.â
He had a point. Tony enjoyed fine food and they both looked forward to eating out. As Ellie reached the restaurant, her stomach rumbled. She was ten minutes early, but maybe Tony was already here.
He wasnât, yet. She made her way downstairs to the Ladiesâ, faffed about with her hair for a bit, and redid her lip gloss.
Heading back up the stairs, she saw a new arrival sitting at a table by the window. Her scalp prickled and her mouth went dry. Oh God, no . At that moment, alerted by the sound of her heels on the wooden floor, Todd turned to see why the footsteps had so abruptly stopped.
From the expression on his face it was clear heâd had no idea either. He was as shocked as she was. He looked older, more grown up. And he was wearing a dark green shirt and navy trousers that didnât quite go. Gathering herself, Ellie loosened her hold on the banister rail and approached him.
âHello, Todd.â Did she look older too?
âHi, Ellie.â He rose awkwardly to his feet. âFancy meeting you here.â
âWell, Iâm guessing this isnât a coincidence. Tony asked me to meet him for lunch.â
Todd was evidently still wondering if he should try and give her a hug. âHe asked me as well.â
Trust Tony to take matters into his own hands. And he wasnât even here yet. Taking out her phone, Ellie called his number.
âHi, sweetheart. Is he there?â
âYes. Are you joining us?â
âEllie, just have lunch with him. Will you do that for me? And donât worry about the bill.â Tonyâs voice was soothing. âAll taken care of.â
âYou might live to regret that,â said Ellie. âIâm going to be ordering the most expensive wine on the list.â She hung up and looked at Todd. âHeâs not coming. I canât believe heâs done this.â
Todd eyed her with caution. âSo what happens now?â
âI donât know.â Ellie closed her eyes for a second, hating the fact that sheâd been set up. This wasnât a situation she wanted to be in. The last time it had happened had been during Jamieâs funeral, when all sheâd
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