Page 134 of For Love or Money
‘I have a cold.’ She did a big sniff to illustrate.
‘Oh. Well, look, Cassie said you’d called round and you were acting very oddly.’
‘Oh!’ Lesley said haughtily. ‘Well, I’m very sorry if your girlfriend didn’t care for my manner.’
‘Ex-girlfriend. Anyway, she said you were looking for some charger you thought you’d left in my house.’
‘Correct.’
‘But you’ve never been in my house.’
‘And now we know why. I knew you were hiding something, Al.’
‘It’s not what you think. Just let me explain—’
‘Nothing to explain. You lied to me.’
‘No, I didn’t. I never said—’
‘You told me you were having your kitchen done up.’
‘Oh! Yes, okay, I suppose I did lie about that, but—’
‘Your kitchen is beautiful, Al.’
‘Um, thank you.’
‘Pristine. Not a hair out of place. Those purple cabinets ...’ she gave a strangled sob.
‘But listen, the only reason I lied to you was because—’
‘Look, I get it. Obviously it’s over with us and you’re with Cassie now—’
‘But I’m not! Would you just let me speak for a second!’ Al was starting to shout.
‘But you didn’t have to lie to me about it. You were only pretending to be my boyfriend anyway. It wasn’t real.’
‘That’s not true and you know—’
‘We can break up now that the investigation’s over. But you could have had the decency to tell me.’
‘There’s nothing to tell,’ Al growled. ‘Would you just listen to me for one—’
‘I think I’ve listened long enough.’
‘You haven’t listened at all, you daft—’
‘I think I should hang up now before you resort to name-calling,’ she said with great dignity. ‘No hard feelings. I was only having a go on you to pass the time while we were in France—’
Al gasped. ‘That’s a horrible thing to say!’ He sounded genuinely hurt, and Lesley felt a stab of guilt. Then she remembered Cassie standing in his beautiful kitchen making coffee in her bare feet ...
‘Why did you never let me into your kitchen, Al?’ she wailed.
‘What? Sorry, is that a metaphor for something? Are you drunk?’
‘Never you mind. And no, it’s not a metaphor! You literally never let me into your kitchen. Or any other room in your house.’
Al sighed. ‘Look, Lesley, can I just come round? If you’d let me explain—’
