Sebastian doesn’t move. ‘Well, I just wanted to say hi. If you need anything, anything at all, let me know. I’ll be happy to help. I work from home and I am here all weekend so just come and find me if you need anything.’
‘Great,’ I say. ‘Thanks. We’ll let you know if so.’ I try to get past him but he doesn’t move.
‘If you want me to show you how to use the hot tub …’ he says in his slightly high, reedish voice.
‘I’m sure we’ll manage,’ Kate says with a tight smile, pushing past him.
I smile politely as I squeeze by. ‘Thank you.’
‘Have a nice dinner,’ he calls after us.
In the Uber Kate reapplies her lipstick using her phone camera as a mirror and I stare out the window, taking in the city by night, the illuminated castle on a hill and a dazzling bridge over the river, which looks exactly like the Golden Gate Bridge. There’s no mistaking Lisbon for San Francisco though. Lisbon is distinctly European. The buildings are a mix of baroque and roman and even gothic architecture. I know all this because I read it in the guidebook. The area we’re staying in, Alfama, is the old Moorish part of the city and it’s a maze of cobbled lanes that wind up and down several hills. It’s quite beautiful and I’m rapt by the magical feel of it, with its steep staircases, waterfalls of flowering pink bougainvillea and colourful brickwork. It’s like stepping back in time or into the pages of a fantasy novel.
When she’s done with her lipstick Kate puts her arm around me and pulls me in close for a selfie. She turns to me and kisses me on the cheek, leaving behind a red mark she then has to rub off. After, she takes my face in her hands. ‘You know I love you, don’t you?’ she says, her tone and expression turning uncharacteristically solemn.
‘Of course,’ I say, bemused.
‘Good,’ she answers.
I wonder at the sudden declaration of love and friendship. We do tell each other we love each other all the time, though I suppose not too often recently. She must be drunk. She holds her booze well but I do remember that once she’s two sheets to the wind she can get very emotional. It’s one of the giveaways.
‘You’re my best friend,’ she says. She says it forcefully, as though I might contest it.
‘You’re mine too,’ I say, laughing.
‘Never forget that,’ she says, looking into my eyes in such a strange way that my laughter dies.
Chapter Three
We arrive at the restaurant, a candlelit place with a glass roof and so much greenery it looks like a hothouse at Kew Gardens. Our waiter leads us to a white-linen-clad table in the back but Kate insists on a table in the centre of the room. She always likes to see and be seen, and I roll with it because I’ve decided that tonight I want to make the most of my freedom and have fun.
‘That’s better,’ says Kate, shaking out her napkin with a flourish and ordering a bottle of champagne.
I bite my lip as I scan the menu and notice the prices. The champagne alone is eye-wateringly expensive at almost two hundred euro a bottle. Does it come in a gold-plated bottle? I’d be happy with Prosecco, which is only a quarter of the price and tastes, at least to my unrefined palate, exactly the same.
‘Dinner’s on me,’ Kate says, as though she’s read my mind.
I start to argue with her. She’s already paid for the apartment and she upgraded our seats to business on the flight over. ‘Honestly,’ she says, reaching her hand over and squeezing mine. ‘We deserve it, and besides, Toby’s paying, remember.’ She winks at me and laughs.
‘Are you sure?’ I ask. ‘Won’t he be mad?’
‘Yes, but he doesn’t have a right to be after what he’s done.’ She straightens her shoulders and lifts her chin, scanning the room. ‘And anyway, the lawyer says we’re going to screw him in the divorce so whether he pays now or later doesn’t really matter.’
Toby owns his own events marketing company that stages big launches for brands as well as music events. I’m guessing he earns a very good salary, given the amazing penthouse flat that the two of them used to live in and the five-star luxury holidays he and Kate used to take every year to the Seychelles and the Caribbean.