Page 133 of For Love or Money
It had been a couple of hours since the delivery man, and there had been no further movement in Al’s house. Lesley sighed. Unless she took the bull by the horns, she’d have to spend the whole day parked here, hoping whoever was in there would eventually show their face. Well, she had better things to do than sit here all day, she thought, getting out of the car.
She marched up to Al’s house and rang the bell. For a moment she thought whoever had been there earlier must have left somehow without her seeing them. Then she heard footsteps in the hall and the door was thrown open.
‘Oh! Lesley, hi!’
Lesley felt her jaw drop as Cassie gave her a friendly smile. She was wearing a baggy T-shirt and leggings, her feet bare, and she looked very much at home. ‘Hi!’ She attempted to smile back, but she was sure it came out as more of a pained grimace.
‘Were you looking for Al? He’s gone to work.’
‘Yes, I know. I’m well aware of Al’s movements, thank you.’ The lying, cheating wanker! ‘I just—I can’t find my phone charger and I think I may have left it in the kitchen.’
‘Well, come in, come in,’ Cassie said, opening the door wider and stepping back. ‘Let’s have a look.’
She padded ahead of Lesley down the wood-floored hall and led her down a couple of steps into an open-plan kitchen/living room. Well, it was big – he hadn’t lied about that. But there was feck all work being done on it.
‘Would you like a coffee?’ Cassie asked. ‘I was just going to make one.’
‘Oh, no thanks. I’m not staying.’ Lesley moved around the kitchen, running a hand over the worktops as she pretended to look for her charger. It was a gorgeous kitchen, with purple high-gloss units and a big island in the middle. She could just imagine Cassie and Al tossing back glasses of crisp sauvignon blanc as they lovingly prepared meals here together, which they’d then eat at the table in the atrium at the far end of the room, being all English and long-legged together, talking about scons and not pronouncing ‘sixth’ properly. Why hadshenever been in Al’s kitchen, she thought miserably. Well, no mystery there. You didn’t need to be Poirot to figure that one out.
‘No sign of it,’ she said brightly to Cassie.
‘Oh.’ Cassie gave her a sympathetic pout. ‘Well, I hope you find it. I’ll ask Al if he’s seen it when he gets home, shall I?’
When he gets home. Lesley wanted to howl at the casual domesticity of it. ‘Are you ... here on holiday, then?’ she asked.
‘No, I moved back to Dublin this week,’ she said, spooning coffee into the machine. She gave Lesley a curious look. ‘Didn’t Al tell you?’
So he’d taken her back. ‘No, he must have forgotten to mention it.’ Maybe he could never find the right moment since they spent most of their time shagging. It wouldn’t be very polite to tell someone they were dumped when they were sliding up and down on your dick – and Al was nothing if not polite.
‘Yah, I got offered a job here – a really good one. It was great timing because things weren’t working out with Jean-Claude. Are you sure you wouldn’t like a coffee? I’m gasping.’
‘No, thank you. It’d choke me.’
‘Okay,’ Cassie said with a puzzled frown. She switched on the coffee machine and leaned against the worktop, folding her arms. ‘So I decided to move back. And lucky for me, Al was kind enough to take me in.’
‘Huh! So you got everything you wanted. Well, bully for you!’
Cassie gave Lesley a bemused smile. ‘Um ... thanks.’
‘Right, I’ll go then,’ Lesley said. Her voice came out shrill, and she didn’t think she’d be able to hold it together much longer. She was furious and hurt, and furious for letting herself get hurt. Cassie wasn’t helping, being all chummy and welcoming, like there was nothing wrong. She obviously thought Lesley already knew she’d been dumped and there were no hard feelings. It was Cassie’s turn to ‘have a go on’ Al again, but they could still all be in a lovely incestuous friendship group together. Well, feck that!
‘I’ll tell Al you called,’ Cassie said, accompanying her to the door. ‘We must get together again properly soon, all three of us.’
‘Yes, let’s do that,’ Lesley said stiffly as Cassie opened the door. ‘Maybe when hell freezes over! How would that suit you?’
Cassie laughed. ‘You’re so funny, Lesley. Bye! See you again soon.’
The floodgates openedas she was walking down the path. She swiped impatiently at her eyes. She hated this and hated bloody Al for doing it to her. She was a complete mess as she drove home, barely able to see where she was going through the blur of tears. She wished she could go over to Romy’s for wine and sympathy, but she was on holidays in Malta for the week. Instead she went home, curled up on the sofa and balled her eyes out while she waited for it to be a decent time to start drinking.
She couldn’t remember ever being this upset about a man before. She certainly hadn’t felt like this when Rob broke up with her. It wasn’t fair, she thought as she howled. She’d really liked Al. He’d got under her skin with his Mr Nice Guy act, his open, affectionate manner and the brilliant sex. He’d made her think he was so into her too. And all the time he’d been having his cake and eating Cassie out too.
On the dot of six o’clock, she opened a bottle of wine and started drinking. Shortly afterwards, Al started ringing. She ignored the first three calls, but the fourth time, she decided to get it over with and picked up.
‘Lesley, I—’
‘I have nothing to say to you, Al.’ Her tongue felt like it didn’t quite fit her mouth, and her voice sounded a little slurry. ‘Kindly stop calling me.’
‘Are you okay? You sound awful.’
