that?’ Louisa shuddered as Ellie bent and did the inverted nappy-bag trick to pick it up. ‘That’s so gross.’
Did she think poo-collecting was her favorite hobby? Ellie said evenly, ‘I don’t love it. It’s just something that has to be done.’
‘What time did Zack say he’d be back?’
‘He didn’t.’ Oops, another lie. ‘He could be gone for hours yet.’
‘Or he might not. I could stay and wait.’
‘I don’t think so, I have to work,’ said Ellie.
‘I wouldn’t be a nuisance. I’ll just wait for him upstairs.’
‘Really, it’s not a good idea.’
‘Oh, for God’s sake, you’re not very sympathetic, are you?’ Louisa’s emotions rose and her face reddened. ‘You just don’t get how important this is! I love Zack and I want him back. He means everything in the world to me. My heart is breaking, I’m going through hell here… you can’t begin to understand how I feel!’
Just for a microsecond Jamie appeared without warning, leaning against a parked car with his arms casually crossed and his blond hair glinting in the sunshine. He surveyed Louisa with amusement. Then, as if sensing that Ellie was teetering on the edge of retaliation, he turned and shook his head at her. ‘Don’t do it.’
He was right. It would be the cheapest form of one-upmanship. Ellie exhaled. Then a taxi drew to a halt and Jamie, in his pink T-shirt and jeans, simply vanished. Elmo let out a volley of barks as Zack jumped out of the cab.
Chapter 36
‘Well, well, what a surprise,’ Louisa jeered at Ellie. ‘You were lying. Fancy that.’
‘I told you, I didn’t know when he’d be back.’ Ellie bristled; Zack was welcome to take over now.
‘Hello? Do I look stupid? You were just trying to get rid of me because you’re after him yourself.’
It had evidently slipped Louisa’s mind that she did look stupid. Well, hooray for that. Zack finished paying the cab driver and strode across the road towards them.
He took in the situation at a glance. ‘What’s happening here? What’s been going on?’ He moved towards Ellie. ‘Are you all right?’
Which was nice in one way, but succeeded in sending Louisa into paroxysms of jealousy.
‘Zacky, I’ve missed you so much! I need to see you.’
Zacky? Oh good grief, did she actually call him that?
‘Seriously.’ Zack carried on addressing Ellie. ‘Are you OK?’
‘I’m fine.’ His hand was on her arm. It felt amazing…
‘Zacky? We have to talk!’
He turned to look at Louisa. ‘Really, there’s no point.’
‘Oh my God, I don’t believe this. Look at the two of you together. And you’re protecting her!’ She swung round, her swollen piggy eyes homing in on Ellie like lasers. ‘I asked if there was anything going on between you two and you denied it. You sneaky, lying, little—’
‘I’ll leave you to it.’ Ellie headed past her to get to the house. Zack kept a firm grip on her arm and went with her. Enraged, Louisa let out a howl and lashed out wildly in an attempt to separate them. The tissue-thin handles of the nappy bag were torn from Ellie’s grasp. The bag hit Louisa’s ankle with a wet thud and this time her reaction was ear-splitting, her screams reverberating down the street as she jerked back and kicked it like a football into the air.
‘Ugh… eurgh! ’ The bag hadn’t burst but the fact that it had made contact was enough. Louisa hopped around, looking as if she’d quite like to amputate the offending leg. Elmo, entranced by another opportunity to play fetch, scooted along the pavement and joyfully retrieved it. Carrying the bag back by its handles, he deposited it at Louisa’s feet and waited for her to do it again.
‘You filthy disgusting animal, get away from me!’
‘OK, enough.’ Zack unlocked the front door, ushered Ellie past him, and whistled at Elmo to follow her. ‘I’m sorting this out now. Get inside.’
Ellie pulled the door closed behind her and headed on through to the kitchen. She watched Elmo slurp noisily from his water bowl. Moments later the phone rang.
‘Well, this has brightened my day no end,’ said Geraldine. ‘It’s like Sex and the City on my very own doorstep.’
At the sound of her voice, Elmo pricked up his ears and disappeared through the dog flap.
‘Elmo’s on his way over,’ said Ellie.
‘Are you in the kitchen? Why aren’t you watching the fun? Come on, get the binoculars out! Louisa’s on her knees now, she’s going to ruin those smart shoes of hers. Or you could come over here and we’ll