Christmas at Tiffany's (20 page)

‘Stand up! Let me see what you’re wearing.’

Cassie stood up. She was in her new favourite outfit – chocolate velvet MiH jeans, knee-high shearling-lined boots, and a chocolate-and-camel-striped slouchy boyfriend jumper.

‘You’re so thin!!’ Suzy said accusingly, as though she’d been betrayed.

‘Yuh, what can I tell you? Little and often – what a joke. I’m like the Hungry Caterpillar these days, foraging for food where I can. I’ve become a secret opportunist eater. If it’s sitting on a desk, it’s mine.’

She sat back down and smiled shyly at the screen. Suzy was staring back, utterly gobsmacked.

‘I can’t believe the change. You look like an entirely different person. I swear to God I’d have walked right past you in the street – well, I might have stopped to give you a good slap. No one should look that good. You’re like a bloody poster girl for divorce, Cassie! Archie will go into a flat spin if he sees you looking like that. He’ll think you’re giving me ideas!’

She heard Archie offstage, calling through the flat. ‘What’s that? My ears are burning.’

His head popped around the doorway and he looked at the screen from behind Suzy, who was huddled up on the sofa, a tub of popcorn by her knees. ‘Who’re you talking to? Hey! Is that . . . Cass?’ His familiar, jovial face came into focus – the ruddy cheeks and curly red hair as comforting to her as a childhood bear. ‘Bloody hell! Get a load of you!’

Cassie giggled, but not curled over with one hand over her mouth like she always used to. She had her legs double-crossed, one foot snaking behind the other leg, and the opposite arm sliding down it like a bow on strings. Suzy sat up, squinted and leaned in closer to the screen. ‘There’s something else, though,’ she murmured. ‘What else have you had done?’

Cassie looked down at herself – shiny, painted, shaped nails, cuticles pushed firmly back; swingy glossy hair, perfectly blow-dried; designer wardrobe bought at cost at sample sales. ‘I think that’s probably it, isn’t it?’

‘No. There’s something else. It’s . . .’

‘My make-up?’

Suzy shook her head.

‘It’s something about . . . your energy or something. You’re moving differently. When you turned just now, it wasn’t how you usually move . . . There was a bit of a . . . wiggle in your hips,’ she said, trying to work it out. ‘Holy Cow! You’ve got a man!!’

Cassie blushed bright red and went straight back to her schoolgirl self. ‘Suzy!’ she cried, mortified to have her shout it out in front of Archie.

Suzy clapped excitedly, delighted with herself for having discovered the secret without being told. She grabbed a huge handful of popcorn. ‘Tell me
everything
!’

‘Absolutely not,’ Cassie said, her eyes flicking over to Archie, who looked just as fascinated as Suze.

‘Oh, bloody hell – bog off, Arch!’ Suzy said, whacking her husband on the shoulder to shoo him away. ‘She’s never going to dish the dirt with you hanging around like some old pervert. Go and stack the dishwasher. God forbid you or Henry should ever help around here.’

Archie leaned in as close to the screen as he could, planting a big smacker on it. ‘I’m pleased for you, girl. You have some fun,’ he beamed. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t eavesdrop – I’ll hear all about it from Suze later.’

Cassie burst out laughing as Suzy hit him over the head with a cushion and a brief pillow fight ensued, which Suzy, of course, won.

‘Right,’ Suzy gasped finally, a feather in her hair, as Archie trotted out of the room. ‘Where were we? Oh yes!’ She leaned forwards till she was practically going to topple off the sofa. ‘So – are you bonking yet?’

Cassie covered her eyes with her hands, peering at Suzy through her fingers. Suzy’s hand – full of popcorn – was poised in mid-air. Clearly, this moment was too big to munch through.

‘Yes,’ she whispered, her eyes star-bright. ‘Last night.’

Suzy dropped the popcorn. ‘Oh. My. God!’

They stared at each other over the Atlantic. They both knew what a big deal it was for her. Gil was the only man she’d ever been with.

Suzy started munching double-time. ‘Was it good?’

‘
Mind
-blowing. Every time.’

Suzy gasped. ‘How many times?’

Cassie giggled. ‘Four.’

‘I hate you!’ Suzy cried, throwing a piece of popcorn at the screen. ‘Where were you?’

‘At his.’

‘Did you stay the night?’

‘Yes.’

‘And how was it this morning?’

Cassie sighed. ‘Lovely. He went out and got me breakfast, and today’s issue of
WWD
.’

‘
Women’s Wear Daily
!’ She almost choked on her popcorn. ‘Oh well, then that’s definitely love!’ Suzy quipped.

Cassie stuck her tongue out at her.

‘When are you seeing him again?’

‘Wednesday. He’s flying to Costa Rica this afternoon.’

‘Costa Rica? What is he – a coffee salesman?’

‘He’s a fashion photographer,’ Cassie admonished, giggling.

That brought Suzy up short. ‘Oooooh, Cass,’ she said, sucking on her teeth. ‘Photographers are . . .’ She shook her head.

‘What?’

‘Well, they . . . you know, they’re . . .’

‘What?’

‘Well, they’re surrounded by beautiful women in hardly any clothes most of the time. They don’t make the most reliable boyfriends.’

‘That’s such a cliché,’ Cassie said, pooh-poohing her. ‘Anyway, it’s not like I’m looking to marry the guy or anything. It’s only a bit of fun.’

‘I just don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all.’

‘Well, I think we’re all a bit too late on that score, Suze.’ She sighed heavily and tried to smile, but Suzy carried on saying nothing, not even eating, which was even more disconcerting. ‘Look, Gil hurt me more badly than I’ve ever been hurt in my life, okay? That’s the bad news. The good news is that no one
could
hurt me again as much as he did, so I reckon this is a win-win situation for me now.’

Suzy smiled – somewhat sadly – through the screen. ‘I guess that’s one way of looking at it.’

‘Don’t worry about me! I’m a big girl!’ she said, just as Archie sauntered back into the room. He had stripped down and was wearing just a pair of pink and green mini-gingham checked boxers. ‘Bloody hell!’ Cassie whispered. ‘When did Archie start hitting the gym?’

Suzy turned around. ‘Oi! Arch! I told y— Oh, Henry! It’s you.’

‘Who’d you think it was? The postman?’ His voice sounded faint at the back of the room. He was rummaging in the bookshelf. ‘Here, have you gone off with my Kings of Leon CD?’

‘What? No! Listen, clear out. I’m trying to have a conversation here.’

‘Huh? Who’re you talking to?’ Cassie heard his voice coming closer as his body came into crystal-clear definition.

‘I’m Skyping. Can’t you go hog the bathroom or something?’

‘Well, I can’t be rude, can I? . . . Who’s that?’ Henry leaned over the back of the sofa, his eyes twinkling. ‘Cass!’

Cassie smiled shyly, feeling rather foolish to be ‘beamed’ to him through a computer screen.

‘Hi, Henry.’ She held up a feeble hand.

‘You were right,’ Suzy said, looking up at him. ‘Hot!’

Henry smiled without taking his eyes off her. ‘Yeah,’ he nodded.

‘She’s got a new man,’ Suzy said slyly.

‘Suze! You’re supposed to be discreet!’ Cassie tutted, rolling her eyes and blushing again.

‘What?’ Henry frowned, looking shocked. ‘Well, who is he? Is he . . .’

‘Authorities checked?’ Cassie teased. ‘God, you’re all so overprotective! Don’t worry, I don’t intend to get pregnant or engaged.’

‘Has anyone else met this bloke yet? Does Kelly know him?’

‘Yes, she knows him. It’s all fine.’

‘But . . .’

‘Honestly, it’s
fine,
’ Cassie insisted, laughing. ‘And I’m very happy. Isn’t that the main thing?’

Henry stared at her and she wondered whether he was even aware that he was talking to her in just his underpants. His skin had a deep golden tan.

‘Your bruise has gone, I see,’ she said, nodding towards his chest.

‘Oh . . . yes. Just the broken rib to heal now and getting over my phobia of running in open spaces and I’ll be fine.’

Cassie chortled. ‘Are you going out somewhere?’

‘Just to the pub with some friends.’

‘Will Lacey be there?’ Suzy asked, happily munching again.

‘Yes. Along with others.’ He looked back at Cassie. ‘How about you? You seeing your new fella tonight then?’

‘He’s in Costa Rica till Wednesday,’ Suzy replied for her.

‘Costa Rica! What’s he do? Sell coffee?’ Henry quipped.

‘Already done that one,’ Suzy crowed, with a satisfied grin. ‘He’s a
photographer
.’ The tone of her voice suggested it was a controversial career choice. More so than Arctic exploring, for example.

Cassie held up a stern finger. ‘Just don’t.’

He sighed and stared at her, seemingly feeling no need to fill the silence with chatter.

‘Well,’ he said finally. ‘I’d better go. It’s eight o’ clock over here.’

‘I’m aware of that,’ Cassie grinned.

‘They’ll all be waiting for me.’

‘Sure.’

‘It’s good to see you.’

‘And you.’

Cassie noticed Suzy’s head moving back and forth between them like a tennis ball.

‘See you soon.’

‘Yeah.’

He straightened up and began to walk away.

‘Blimey! And they say women can talk!’ Suzy said, collapsing back into the cushions.

‘Oh! I forgot to ask—’ Henry said, bounding back into view.

‘Oh, for pity’s sake, man!’ Suzy cried. ‘What’s wrong with you?’

‘Did Kelly give you my list? I put it in the pocket of that jacket.’

‘Yes, thanks. I found it,’ Cassie laughed. ‘You’ve got a good sense of humour. A dinner party in Kelly’s kitchen, huh?’

‘You’ve got to do it.’

‘Yeah, yeah.’

‘Yeah, yeah yourself. And the Central Park run – you realize it means you’ve got to do it in one go, right? Not over the course of a week.’

He laughed and strode off, leaving Cassie shaking her head at the screen.

‘Brothers,’ she muttered. ‘I’m glad I don’t have one!’

Cassie blinked sleepily, unperturbed by the clicking sound that was now her alarm clock. It had become something of a ritual in the past few weeks. Every morning, Luke took a picture of her in the few moments before and during waking, and even though she was always convinced she’d been snoring or was dribbling, his images proved otherwise – her cheeks were maiden-pink with sleep, her hair tousled, lips parted like she was blowing a kiss. It had been odd at first – intrusive, even. But he liked shooting her in black and white, printing them up in the softest tones of grey, without any artificial light, just the sun slanting in, bouncing down from the opposite tower blocks like a periscope. She’d grown used to it.

‘Rise and shine, Beauty,’ he whispered, planting a small kiss on the end of her nose.

Cassie groaned and rolled on to her back, her arms thrown above her head. Luke knelt above her, still clicking away.

‘Stop, enough already,’ she mumbled, hiding her face with an arm.

‘Never. Never enough,’ he smiled, looking at her through the lens. She moved her arm away and looked back at him.

‘I’m supposed to be your lover, not your new project,’ she said, pronouncing ‘lover’ ironically. She couldn’t bring herself to say it in earnestness, and Kelly had fully briefed her that she wasn’t allowed to say ‘girlfriend’. You only became that when you stopped dating other people and became ‘exclusive’, like her and Brett, but that was a conversation they hadn’t had – and weren’t likely to, either, if Kelly had been right about his reputation.

She had no intention of sleeping with anyone else whilst she was with Luke, although Kelly still insisted on dragging her out for token clubbing at Mischka every now and then, even though neither of their hearts was in it and they only stayed for one drink. But she had decided to assume that Luke was still ‘seeing’ other people anyway – that way she couldn’t be disappointed when she did eventually find him with another woman. After all, it was obvious that was how it would end between them. Until then, she was taking a what-she-didn’t-know-couldn’t-hurt-her’ approach, because this wasn’t about love. She wasn’t looking for another husband. She was just looking to feel better, and sex with Luke was making her feel better than she’d ever felt in her life. It made her wonder what she and Gil had been doing all those years, fumbling awkwardly, whispering politely in the dark.

Out of all the girls, Anouk had been the only one who was delighted by the news. ‘I always say that the best way to get over one man is to get beneath another,’ she’d trilled in all seriousness. Suzy and Kelly had been a lot more reticent, especially when Kelly had discovered exactly
which
fashion photographer it was she was involved with – she’d thought any chance of seduction between them had evaporated when Cassie had stormed out of the attic room, red-faced and flustered, two hours after she’d entered it. But whatever had made Cassie leave him then, she clearly couldn’t walk away from him now. She just kept telling them all that she was involved with him with her eyes wide open, and reiterated to Kelly his assurances that the relationship with Alexa had finished a good month before they got together.