Page 23 of Fit for Love
“Jesus, Cora, how much were you paying him?”
“One-fifty a session.”
“How much?” The knitted brows shot up instead. “No wonder he thought all his Christmases had come at once. The going rate in Westbourne Water is way less than that.” She shook her head. “I’m surprised he didn’t turn you down.”
“Why would he? I must have been his dream client.”
Chewing on her lip, Piper studied me. “Then why would he ask you out the other day? And take the time to get to know you?”
If only I knew the answer to that one. I wished I hadn’t slept with him, allowed him into my heart. I should have kept my distance.
The front door banged and I leaped up. I didn’t want to see or speak to Ethan right now. Grabbing the two glasses, I headed for the stairs.
“Piper, I’m going to bed. Tell Ethan not to come after me.”
After a fitful night’s sleep, I awoke early. Shortly after I’d gone to bed the previous evening, there had been a tentative knock on my door and Ethan’s voice pleading to speak to me. I ignored him, pulling the pillow over my head to block out the noise. I hadn’t been able to finish the brandy and ended up pouring it away, which was a triumph compared to what had happened the night I found out about Orlando’s secret. Hoping that Ethan had already left for a job, I crept downstairs to find Piper and Therese in the kitchen.
“You’ve got that interview withStyle Me Nowtomorrow; they’re going to do a Skype call because of the time difference,” Therese was telling Piper.
“I hope you get Madeline,” I said. “She’s lovely.”
They both turned, each of them fixing me with a sympathetic look.
I plonked myself down in a chair opposite them. Hearing Therese talking about interviews and the online magazine I was very familiar with, provoked a pang of longing. Maybe it was time to get back to normal. Back to London.
“It’s okay, you’re safe,” said Piper. “Ethan headed out early.”
“Was Betsey here?” I couldn’t help but ask.
She shook her head. “No. It was him and Mal that came back last night when you went to bed.” There was a short pause. “I didn’t tell him anything, Cora, but Ethan’s wondering what he did wrong.”
“If he has to ask…”
Changing the subject, Therese faced me. “How many times has Madeline interviewed you? She’s been there a while now, hasn’t she?”
“A couple of times, most recently a couple of months ago. It was shortly after I’d started seeing Orlando. We had such a good conversation.” I let out a breath. It was all his fault that this was happening again. Maybe I should go away somewhere myself, after all. Take the South America trip Ethan was constantly banging on about.
Therese reached across the table and touched my hand. “Let me know if I can do anything. I’ve had a couple of people contact me to see if you’re back in circulation yet. Seems that there are folk out there that miss you.”
That was something I hadn’t factored in. There were people out there who liked me for what I did. I shouldn’t judge myself solely on what a couple of guys thought.
It really was time to sort myself out and decide what came next.
A sense of purpose flooded through me. I needed to clear my head and the best way to do that was to get out for a run.
“Thanks, Therese. I’m going to head out for a bit, but let’s talk when I get back. I should have a plan by then.”
She beamed at me. “Sounds good, Cora. Looking forward to it.”
It was drizzling by the time I got outside, although it didn’t bother me.
I felt energised and raring to go, ready to make changes, even if I wasn’t sure what they were yet.
Taking things at a steady pace, I ran down towards the town centre, for once not caring if anyone recognised me. I figured if anyone had been in The Fortescue Arms last night, they would have seen me there anyway. Breathing heavily, I changed course and started climbing the hill back up towards Bayview House. It was pretty steep and the ground was becoming more slippery underfoot, partly due to the wet leaves that littered the path. I dodged them as best I could, until someone in a passing car beeped at me. Immediately thinking it was Ethan, I turned sharply, trying to avoid him, twisting my ankle as I did so. With a cry, I collapsed in a heap on the pavement. Catching my breath, I reached down and ran my fingers over the bone, wincing as I did so. Carefully, I tried to get up, but found I couldn’t put any weight on my foot and ended up on my arse again.
I was at least a mile away from home.
I couldn’t stand up.
