Page 6 of Fool Me Twice

Not that she was the one doing all the teaching. Matt had certainly taught her a thing or two in the few months they’d been seeing each other.

“Seeing each other” maybe wasn’t the best turn of phrase for what they were doing. It was just sex. No fancy dinner dates or romantic walks along the beach. It was pure, animalistic, knicker-melting sex.

What was it the experts said about women reaching their sexual peak in their forties? Well, she was there, smack bang in the middle of her sexual prime and loving every minute of it.

And Mr Ever Ready had no complaints.

He was literally being paid to shag the boss. Okay, not exactly – he also got free board and lodgings. It was a win-win for both of them.

She wasn’t looking for Mr Right. That ship had sailed a long time ago. And Matt – well, put it this way. He never shrank from whatever challenge she threw at him. Whether they were suspended in a Zen sling or enjoying a little alfresco frolic in the sand dunes.

But lately, it all seemed a little... empty.

Peter scrolled through the list of messages from his soon-to-be ex-wife. It read like a Christmas wish list of a spoiled child.

I want the Beverly Park house...

I want the New York apartment...

I want the Ben Enwonwu collection...

I want. I want. I want.

Everyone had warned him he was rushing into things, making a big mistake.

Cathy had only passed a few months before, and he’d been lost.

The funeral was a blur, and the ensuing weeks had just rolled into an even bigger blur of pain, anger and recriminations. He’d kept his part of the bargain, so why hadn’t God?

After he’d returned from Crimzon Steel’s Australian tour, happy and optimistically looking forward for the first time in a long while, the last person he’d expected to find waiting for him when he’d arrived home was Cathy.

Peter knew it wouldn’t be easy telling her about Evie, but it was better she heard it from him than someone else. And since Evie would be joining him as soon as he could arrange the paperwork, he needed to do it sooner rather than later.

He opened his mouth, trying to force his voice to say the words, but they froze on his lips when Cathy informed him in a calm, matter-of-fact tone that a routine pap smear had detected abnormal cells. Further exploration had shown she’d need a full hysterectomy and some follow-on treatment, ending any hope she might have clung to of having a child of her own.

She didn’t expect anything from him, she’d said. But with such an ugly finality to their long and often torturous journey towards becoming parents, how could he have abandoned her then? Left her to travel that road alone, when they’d always trodden it together, hand in hand, side by side?

After that, everything happened so fast – the operation, the chemo – that perhaps he hadn’t tried as hard as he should have to get hold of Evie. Whenever he called, it went straight to voicemail, and what he’d had to say couldn’t be said in a message so he’d hung up, until finally, he’d stopped calling. Perhaps he’d taken the coward’s way out, but Cathy had to be his priority right then. And then he made that deal with God – if He spared Cathy’s life, Peter would never contact or even think about Evie again.

Peter had tried to stick to his side of the bargain, but some days were just easier than others, and neither of them had been prepared when the cancer returned. The chance had been small, according to the doctor, but still real.

The end, when it came, had been swift and brutal, leaving Peter consumed with helplessness, guilt and remorse.

In his fragile state, he’d probably been an easy target for Shari, but he hadn’t seen it at the time. He’d just been grateful that she was there for him, and when he’d finally been ready to take his first few tentative steps into his new reality, Shari had been there to hold his hand and help him navigate this unfamiliar world.

He should have listened to everyone, should have listened to Bogey. His friend may have talked shit most of the time, but when it came to lost love, he knew what he was talking about. He’d never got over Amberlene’s death. She was the great love of Bogey’s life, and no one had made his heart sing the way she had since.

He should have listened when people said he needed to give himself at least a year. That he needed to spend a year and a day experiencing every birthday, anniversary and milestone on his own before even thinking about embarking on a new relationship.

But before he knew it, the caterers had been booked, the invitations sent out, and he’d found himself stuttering through a bunch of vows he didn’t even remember writing, beneath a garland of imported blush-tinted roses, with a hundred pairs of eyes on him.

Standing before the celebrant with one of Shari’s friends beside him as best man, he knew he was making the biggest mistake of his life, but it was too late to back out. This whole thing was so wrong. It wasn’t him. He barely recognised any of the guests; they were mostly acquaintances of Shari’s. People she thought were important and needed to impress.

She’d pulled out all the stops, commissioning three Vera Wang dresses for her big day and flying in some band he’d never even heard of to perform at the evening reception.

It was Shari’s shining hour, her “look at me” moment. It was her declaration to the world that not only had she made it, but she’d hit the jackpot.

Chapter three

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