Page 44 of Our Secrets and Lies

‘Fine, thanks. I’m still seeing Frank, and I know none of you approves. Yes, he is still married and, yes, I know Ishould feel guilty, but I don’t. We meet, we shag, the sex is good, he pays for nice hotels, champagne, chocolates, strawberries and all that stuff and we have a lot of fun. It’s easy. No strings, no hassle, just fun.’

Sarah glanced at Lucy. They said nothing.

‘I’ve got to sayit sounds good,’ Darren said.

Jenny smiled. ‘It is.’

Darren seemed downcast. ‘I’m afraid I’ve lost Sarah. We used to be close, we used to have regular sex, but then he came into our lives and ruined it.’

‘What?’ Jenny and Lucy said, shocked.

‘Netflix,’ Darren announced dramatically. ‘Sarah prefers Netflix to me.’

Sarah laughed. ‘It’s true.’

‘I tried to throw the leg over the other nightwhen she was in the middle of watchingPoldarkfor the tenth time and got punched. She actually punched me away and said, “What the hell are you doing? He’s about to take his shirt off.” ’

They all burst out laughing.

‘To be fair, he has a body to die for,’ Sarah said, with a giggle.

Darren threw his hands into the air. ‘You see what I’m against? Men all over the world are cursing Netflix becauseit’s ruined our sex lives.’

‘Netflix is my sex life,’ Lucy muttered.

‘Well, that’s because you never go out. If you don’t go out, how do you expect to meet someone?’ Jenny reminded her.

‘What about Damien?’ Sarah asked. ‘You’re still seeing him, aren’t you?’

‘I see him the odd time, but he’s been swamped working on the Lippet case and I haven’t had a booty call in ages.’

Jenny crinkled hernose. ‘Do you really want to be sleeping with him? He’s not good enough for you. He’s got no sex appeal and he’s so serious and intense.’

‘First of all, I don’t think you’re in any position to judge me. Besides, he’s available, he likes me, he makes me feel good about myself and the sex is good.’

‘Is it really?’ Jenny asked.

‘Well, it’s fine,’ Lucy said.

‘I’m doing up a bachelor fella’s houseat the minute,’ Darren said. ‘Nice, decent-looking, about fifty. I could introduce you.’

‘Define “decent-looking”,’ Jenny said. ‘Are we talking Ryan Gosling or Will Ferrell?’

Darren paused. ‘Well, he’s kind of a bit like Wayne Rooney, but older.’

Jenny jumped up and pulled Lucy to her feet. ‘Quick, grab your bag! It’s your lucky day! Darren’s going to set you up with Wayne Rooney’s dad.’

‘I don’t know how to thank you, Darren,’ Lucy said. ‘I’ve always wanted to have sex with Wayne Rooney’s dad. Thank you so much.’

Darren laughed. ‘All right, maybe he’s not a good match.’

‘For the love of Jesus, Darren, she’s not interested in sleeping with some ugly footballer’s lookalike dad. Find her an Aidan Turner clone,’ Sarah said.

Darren turned to her. ‘If I did that, she’d have to fightyou off him first.’

Sarah threw her head back and laughed. ‘Very true.’

Darren topped up their glasses.

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