mucked about in the waves, chased each other in and out of the water, and ended up rolling around on the sand. Back when life had been normal and happy, because it had never occurred to them that what they shared could be ripped away without warning and—
Bbbbbrrrrrrrbbbbb.
The doorbell. At eleven thirty at night. For heaven’s sake, she hadn’t even had time to start crying yet.
Bbbbbbrrrrrrrrbbbbbb.
Was this some kind of joke? In disbelief, Ellie clambered off the sofa and went over to the intercom. Curtly she said, ‘Yes?’
‘Are you awake?’
She closed her eyes. ‘What?’
‘Sorry, I know it’s kind of late. I saw your light was still on. You weren’t asleep, were you?’
‘No.’
‘Oh good. Now listen, was I a bit rude earlier?’
Ellie leaned against the doorframe, listening to the anxiety in the girl’s voice. ‘Possibly, yes, a bit.’
‘Oh, bugger, I knew it! Did I not even say thank you for my keys?’
‘Now you come to mention it, no, you didn’t.’
‘OK, so will you let me tell you why? The thing is, I was so bursting for the loo that I thought my bladder was going to explode. I could hardly speak, let alone make it up your stairs. When you threw the key down and I had to bend over to pick it up, I thought that was it, I was going to flood the road! And I’m not even exaggerating. I’ve never been so desperate in my life. So that’s why I forgot to thank you. And I’m really, really sorry if you thought I was rude.’
Ellie smiled and felt herself relax. ‘Apology accepted.’
‘Hooray!’ The girl gave a little whoop of relief. ‘I’ve got something for you too. OK if I come up?’
‘Only if you think your bladder can stand it.’
Chapter 6
Having pressed the buzzer, Ellie opened the door and waited for her visitor to appear.
Within seconds the girl with the cropped, white-blond hair came clattering up the stairs. ‘Hi, I’m Roo! I bought you a little thank-you present. Only from the late-night supermarket, but everywhere else was shut.’ Up close, she was tanned and goose-pimply in her strappy red dress, bare legs, and skyscraper heels. Bursting into the flat, she said, ‘Ooh, smells nice in here,’ before dumping her carrier bags on the coffee table and pulling out two bunches of bright orange roses. ‘These are for you.’
‘Thanks.’ Ellie was touched by the gesture. ‘You didn’t need to.’
‘Shut up. Here, this is for you too.’ With a flourish she produced a bottle of Chablis followed by a box of chocolate truffles. ‘And these.’
Ellie shook her head. ‘This is way too much.’
‘It isn’t, it’s to say sorry and thanks. And the reason I wanted you to have them tonight is because if I took them home, I’d end up eating the truffles and drinking the wine.’
There was something weirdly familiar about her voice. Puzzling to work out where she might have heard it before, Ellie picked up the chilled bottle. ‘We can open this now if you like.’
‘Fab, I love it when people say that!’ Eagerly Roo followed her into the kitchen. ‘Ooh, pasta sauce. That smells fantastic.’
She didn’t have a noticeable accent but the voice was still ringing bells. Now, covertly studying her face, Ellie really felt they’d met before. Probably in her early thirties, slim and toned and with huge dark eyes dominating a heart-shaped face, Roo was strikingly pretty beneath the layers of makeup…
‘Ah, the cogs are turning.’ Roo took the corkscrew from her and began energetically uncorking the bottle. She tilted her head and said with amusement, ‘Managed to figure it out yet?‘
‘Oh God, now I’m embarrassed. I knew I knew you from somewhere.’ Time for a wild stab. ‘OK, I work at Brace House Business Centre in Twickenham. Are you one of our clients?’
‘Nope.’
Damn.
‘I knew you weren’t. Um, let me think… have you ever worked in a shop?’
‘Yuck, no, thank God. Way too much like hard work.’ Roo sloshed wine into two glasses. ‘Kills your feet too. Unless it was a sitting-down type of shop. That might not be too bad.’
‘OK, let me think.’ Ellie was floundering. ‘Dentist’s surgery? Hospital? Hairdresser? Or did we meet at a party? Ooh, ever been to the Frog and Bucket in Hammersmith?’
‘No, and I never want to. Sounds too slimy for words. You are stone cold.’
‘Sorry, then. You’ll have to give me a clue.’ This was getting seriously awkward now.
Roo clinked her glass cheerfully against Ellie’s. ‘OK, picture me with long black hair down to here. On TV. Prancing