Love Me Till Wednesday (Sapphire Stars #1)

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Lisa went back to work on Tuesday. Normally, she hated her first day back after a week off, but today, she was grateful for the distraction of starting a new project. It was taking her mind off her confrontation with Mel later. She had a few online meetings, but no one said anything about her return to the public eye, which suited Lisa just fine.

Now it was gone seven o’clock, and Lisa was pacing the kitchen, waiting for Mel to arrive. The house was incredibly quiet. Elise was out with a friend, and Pete was still at Andy’s.

Mel was late, which wasn’t unusual, but Lisa could have done with her being on time this evening. She just wanted to get this over and done with.

She checked her phone in case Mel had texted with an ETA. There was no update from her but there was a new notification on WhatsApp from Nick. How had she missed that?

Landed in LA. Good luck with Mel. Last night was amazing. Love you so much xxx

She smiled to herself and sent him a few heart emojis. While she was pondering what else to say, the doorbell rang. Lisa took a deep breath and headed into the hall.

‘Hola amiga! I’ve got you a little gift from Malaga,’ Mel said as she marched into the hall, clutching a bottle of Rioja. ’Oh, you’re not ready.’

‘I’m not in the mood for running this evening. It’s been a stressful few days.’

‘Running’s good for relieving stress. Almost as good as sex.’

Oh God. Mel was probably planning to go into great detail about some romantic conquest in Spain. Was she really behaving as if everything was fine?

‘If you say so,’ Lisa said.

‘You sound like you need cheering up. You can tell me all about it over a glass of vino.’ Mel started walking towards the kitchen.

Lisa barred her way. ‘No. Let’s sit in the living room.’

Mel looked surprised. ‘We never sit in the living room.’

‘We are tonight.’

Mel looked uncomfortable but did as she was told. By the time she’d put her wine bottle on the side table and settled down on the sofa, she’d regained her composure. ‘I’d forgotten how lovely it is in here. We should have done this more often. It’s a pity you’re moving.’

Lisa didn’t respond. She calmly sat in the armchair opposite. ‘Tell me about the night Nick visited our flat while I was at my parents’.’

Mel laughed. ‘He was always round at ours. I can’t possibly remember what happened on a specific night that long ago.’

‘He remembers.’

‘Oh, he does, does he? I’m guessing from your attitude that it’s something negative. But then he always hated me. He resented any time you and I spent together. He wanted you all to himself.’

An interesting opening gambit. Was Mel projecting her own feelings about Nick onto him? ‘He said you’d told him I was with someone else. That he should pack up the things he’d left at ours and go because I wasn’t coming back.’

Mel huffed. ‘That’s a convenient lie, isn’t it?’

‘Why would he lie?’

‘Isn’t it obvious?’

‘Not to me. Explain.’

‘Because he’s realised the errors of his ways. He wants to get to know his son. And Jim won’t want anything to do with him if he thinks Nick abandoned you. If Nick plays the martyr, you’ll both take pity on him. Meanwhile, I get thrown under a bus. You’ve not fallen for it, have you?’

‘Yes, we both have actually. We believe him.’

‘Lisa, don’t be so naive. Nick’s a world-class actor. Of course he’s believable.’

Which would have been a compelling argument if it wasn’t for the other examples of Mel’s manipulative behaviour.

‘So you never made a pass at Pete either?’ Lisa asked.

‘I beg your pardon.’

Mel looked on edge now. Lisa guessed she’d expected to be quizzed about Nick but no one else. Her brain must be working overtime.

‘When Pete and I were together, I went home for the weekend, and you took him a takeout and threw yourself at him.’

‘Oh, that! He invited me round. He was all over me! I had to make a quick exit before anything happened.’

‘The men in my life seem to have terrible memories as far as you’re concerned. And then there’s Greg.’

‘I wanted to tell you about that, but he begged me not to. ’

Lisa was intrigued where this was going. She’d been planning to challenge Mel about how she’d persuaded her to ignore her gut feeling that Greg could be a cheat, but it sounded like something more serious had happened. ‘What’s your version of events?’

‘You’d taken the kids to see your mum for her birthday, and Greg dropped off that dress you gave me for the staff Christmas party.’

Lisa remembered that. It was a red sequinned number she’d loved, but it was too tight after Elise’s birth. She’d been happy to let Mel put it to good use. Greg had reluctantly agreed to take it to Mel’s, so she’d got it in time to wear at the party.

Mel continued. ‘I offered him a drink. We sat and chatted, and then one thing led to another.’

Lisa couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘Are you saying that you had sex with my husband?’

‘He said you and he hadn’t been intimate for a while. You’d gone off it after Elise was born.’

‘For a few weeks, maybe. But Elise was one when I gave you that dress. So you took pity on him? Is that what you’re telling me?’

‘I thought it was better he got what he needed from me than some other woman who might want to steal him from you. I was trying to be helpful.’

‘How very generous of you.’ Lisa sat back in the chair. It sounded like it wasn’t a one-off. ‘How many times did this happen?’

‘Only a few times a year.’

‘A few times a year?’ Lisa was astounded. ’For how long?’

‘Until he hooked up with Isabella.’

Lisa did the maths. It started when Elise was one, and she was fourteen when Greg walked out .

‘You were my husband’s mistress for nearly thirteen years?’

‘She was doing what?’ Nick asked. Lisa had FaceTimed him so she could see whether he was as flabbergasted by Mel’s revelation as she was.

‘Screwing my husband. Well, ex-husband now, obviously.’

‘And she justified it by saying it stopped him running off with someone else?’

‘Yes, though it wasn’t that effective a strategy as he ran off with Isabella eventually. It explains why she was so upset when he left me.’

‘What a shame. My heart bleeds for her. Hang on, didn’t you say she used to be married?’

‘Yes, it was going on while she was with George. It makes lying about us seem trivial.’

‘I wouldn’t go that far!’

‘No, I suppose not. I’m just annoyed with myself for not realising what was going on right under my nose for so long.’

‘Don’t beat yourself up. She’s obviously an accomplished liar. There’s more than a touch of the narcissist about her.’

‘Is there?’

‘Lack of empathy, arrogant, exploits others, manipulative. How much more do you need?’

‘I didn’t realise you knew so much about it.’

‘I had to research it for a part years ago. How did you leave it?’

‘I politely asked her to go. She texted me about ten minutes later, saying when I’ve calmed down, she’d like to talk as she still wants me as a friend. It’s unbelievable!’

Nick laughed. ‘There you go - no empathy. What have you said? ’

‘I haven’t. I was tempted to send her a string of expletives but I’ve blocked her instead. How are things with Adrienne?’

‘She’s still ensconced in my house. I’m going round there later to discuss her moving arrangements.’