Chapter 9

‘Have you taken leave of your senses?' Linda exclaims. She's on her feet now, towering over me, hands on hips. ‘How could you trust someone you barely know with such an explosive secret? You made me promise not to tell another living soul about Liam, not even your own sister. You even made me swear on Polly's life.' I actually felt bad for making Linda swear on her beloved Persian cat's life. ‘What were you thinking?'

‘I didn't tell him,' I whimper, as she pulls out gold-coloured side plates from a cabinet. ‘I didn't have to. Frank saw us together on the day I met up with him.'

‘Oh, I see,' Linda says, her tone depicting tell me everything now.

I give Linda a quick rundown of what happened. On the day Liam forced me to meet him at an indie café in Crouch End, Frank turned up. It was only when I got up to go to the loo that I noticed he was sitting right behind me, so close that our chairs were practically touching. I wasn't going to introduce them. But then Liam shot to his feet and stuck his hand out and said, Liam Cooper, buddy. Bella's old flame. Pleasure to meet ‘ya.

‘Wow,' Linda says, ‘why didn't you tell me all this before?'

‘I didn't think much of it, to be honest. They met, so what? It wasn't until he came round earlier today, threatening to tell Tom everything if I didn't re-join the gym and put the incident behind us, that things got nasty.'

‘Fucking hell, that's considered stalking. Did he hear any of your convo with Liam? Because if he did…'

I rub the back of my neck. ‘No. I don't think so. He pulled out his earplugs when he saw me and looked genuinely surprised. But I had to make him promise to not say anything to anyone about seeing me with my ex. News travels fast in Serval and some of the mums from Georgia's school train there. I couldn't risk it.'

‘What was Frank doing in the cafe, anyway? Does he live in Crouch End?'

‘No, he lives in Hertfordshire. He'd arranged to meet a private client there.'

‘Bit of a coincidence,' Linda says dryly.

‘I thought that too, but then a client did turn up. He even introduced us. Claudia, I think he said, and off they went. Anyway, I refused to go back to Serval. We ended up having an explosive row outside mine earlier. I'm still quite shaken by it.'

‘He must be in love with you.'

I rub my chin. ‘I don't know about love. Probably an infatuation. You know, older woman, younger man thing,' I laugh lightly.

‘Well, hopefully, he'll disappear now he knows you're not interested.' Linda holds her chin. ‘Try not to overthink things.' A beat and then. ‘Any news from Liam about...' Pausing, she throws a glance at the summerhouse. ‘You know what?'

I shake my head. ‘He promised to stay away if I did what he asked.'

‘Good. I'm glad he's sticking to your deal. I don't think you'll be hearing from him again.' Linda reaches out and cups my shoulder. ‘I'm sorry your life's been a bit of a shitshow lately, babe, but, look, it's done now.' The oven alarm goes off and Linda gets to her feet and grabs a pair of black and white chequered oven gloves. ‘You made a mistake. Just put it all behind you and move on.'

‘You're right,' I agree, sighing loudly. Chatting with Linda always makes everything seem less daunting. Her energy is electrifying. ‘Anyway, let's talk about something else,' I say. I don't want it to spoil our evening. ‘On a happier note, I've finally hired a temp.' Grinning stupidly, I get to my feet, and as Linda begins plating the herby mushrooms, I fill her in on Daisy. ‘It's only for a few weeks – until she finds another job and somewhere permanent to live.'

‘Oh, you two,' Linda croons, wiping a bit of sauce off one of the plates. ‘That's such a wonderful thing to do. I was having a discussion about homelessness with the girls at work the other day, it could happen to any of us. Gosh, I wish I could do something like that, make a difference in someone's life,' she muses, chucking a tea towel over her shoulder. ‘Can you run this under the tap for me, sweetie?' She hands me a greasy spatula.

‘Daisy was so bloody grateful.' She actually cried out loud before bursting into tears, causing Mr Stanhope to yank back his curtain and glare at us. ‘It feels so good to do something positive for someone.'

Linda agrees, tells me kindness releases mood boosting chemicals in our brain, which makes us feel good about ourselves. So, in effect, being kind puts us on a natural high. ‘Oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine, to be precise,' she explains. ‘I read it in a magazine. Has she got any experience?'

‘A bit, but I'll need to train her up,' I muse, inhaling an aroma of tomatoes, garlic and herbs as Linda pulls the lasagne out of the oven. ‘But that should only take a couple of days.' Ripping two sheets off the kitchen roll, I dry the spatula, all the while gazing at my husband in the summerhouse as he chats with Keiko who is standing by the window, back to us. Probably giving him the third degree, knowing Tom.

I discreetly check Keiko out. Quite tall, not quite as tall as her ex, Chris, but not many people are six foot three. Keiko's hair is short and white. A mature man who looks after himself. Perfect for Zelda. ‘Anyway, what's Keiko like?'

Linda takes a deep breath, slamming a drawer. ‘That's the thing. I was going to tell you before you dropped your bombshell about that perve trainer. But…' Linda bites her bottom lip. ‘Maybe I shouldn't say anything.'

‘Go on,' I urge. A knot begins to form in my stomach. Linda is very perceptive. Good at reading people. I hope she's not going to say she doesn't like him.

‘I know him, Bells. We had a brief fling before I met Theo. I say fling but it was more of a one-night-thingy.'

The knot unfurls and Keiko regains his jewelled crown. I'm both relieved and gobsmacked. ‘Linda,' I exclaim. No wonder she's guzzling the wine like water. ‘You didn't tell me, you rascal.' It seems I'm not the only one keeping secrets.

‘I was too ashamed. I'd never done anything like that before and regretted it the next day. I even took the morning after pill and went to an STD clinic, just in case. Listen, don't say anything to Zelda,' she urges and I promise I won't. ‘She might say something, you know how free-spirited she is. I don't want Theo to find out,' Linda explains, and I shake my head, agreeing. My sister isn't the best person to confide in, which is why I didn't tell her I'd hired a personal trainer, or about meeting Liam. It's not because she's a blabbermouth, nor that I don't trust her. It's just that Zelda sometimes lets things slip unintentionally. Mainly because she doesn't care what people think. Apart from Mum. She definitely cares what she thinks and would never tell her about her affair with Chris.

‘You know what Theo's like,' Linda continues. We all do. Theo's jealous streak is notorious. ‘I know it's in the past and everything, but still. ‘Anyway, I don't think Keiko recognised me, thank God. I just about recognised him myself, to be fair. His hair was different then – dark, curly. It was his voice that did it, he's got a hint of a West Country accent and something about his eyes. I couldn't even remember his name.'

‘Did you see him again?'

‘God, no. He rang a few times, wanted to meet up. He was down from Gloucestershire, or somewhere, for the weekend. A stag do, I think.' Linda drains her glass. ‘It was just a bit of fun for me but I think he wanted more. Shhh, they're coming.'

There's a ruckus of movement, the door swings open, voices, laughter and the clatter of feet fill the humid kitchen, and then everyone is talking at once - my sister pulls me into a hug, and I inhale her mango-scented golden brown hair, tumbling elegantly over her shoulders. Linda is telling everyone off for not wiping their feet – her freshly cleaned tiles are ruined. Theo is holding Polly in his arms and stroking her long grey fur while Tom mutters something about a golf swing, and then I feel a gust of cold breeze as the door flies open again. In my peripheral, I catch sight of Keiko shouldering past Tom and Theo, heading for the sink in a waft of expensive-smelling aftershave.

I don't take my eyes off my sister. ‘Introduce me,' I whisper excitedly, digging my fingers into her skin. ‘I can't wait.'

We pull apart, grinning stupidly at each other. Zelda curls a hand around Keiko's arm. ‘Keiko, this is my sister, Bella,' she says and as he swings round, drying his hands on a tea towel, I look up at him and my heart stops.