The Model Wife by Julia Llewellyn

Author:Julia Llewellyn
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Spouses, Contemporary Women, Stepfamilies, General, Chick lit, Fiction, Women
ISBN: 9780141033648
Publisher: Penguin Group (uk)
Published: 2008-09-23T20:09:24.417000+00:00

24

Naturally, Meena was thrilled.

‘A film première? Yay, Poppy! I’ll take the day off work.’

‘You don’t need to do that. It starts at seven thirty.’

‘But we’ve got to get ready. That’s gonna take hours. I’ll be round yours at three.’

True to her word, Meena was on the doorstep the following afternoon as punctual as a Japanese bullet train.

‘Ta-dah!’ she cried, flicking her long black hair over her shoulders and gesturing to the vast Samsonite suitcase she was wheeling behind her. ‘I’ve bought outfits! Where’s Clara? I have a fairy number for her.’

‘She’s with her nanny.’

‘Oh yeah, I forgot. You’re a proper trophy wife now. Staff and everything. Well…’ She produced a bottle of cava from a plastic bag. ‘With no child to keep up appearances for, let’s get ourselves in the mood.’

They turned the radio dial from Luke’s Radio 4 to Kiss FM and Meena set to work with her tools. It was just like old times.

‘Though really we should have got in a make-up artist and hair stylist,’ Meena declared, mouth gaping as she applied her fourth layer of mascara.

Poppy laughed. ‘Don’t be silly. That would cost a fortune.’

239

‘Yeah, but you’re a professional It-girl or whatever now. You need to dress up properly for these things. Paparazzi will be taking your photo.’ Meena hugged herself in excitement. ‘Oh my God, do you think Prince William will be there tonight?’

‘I doubt it.’

‘Brad Pitt? He’s the star, isn’t he?’

‘He’s married.’

‘No, he isn’t. He and Ange won’t tie the knot until American law changes so gays can get married too.’ Meena’s knowledge of such things was encyclopedic.

‘I’m still not sure I fancy getting into a fight with Angelina. You can imagine her getting nasty down a dark alleyway.’

‘Whatever. There’ll be plenty of chances now to meet famous guys. Because if you do this column, you’ll get invites like this all the time.’

‘If I do the column,’ Poppy said cautiously.

Meena placed both hands on her hips and glared ferociously at her.

‘What do you mean if ? It’s a no-brainer. You’re getting paid to attend parties every night. And you’ll be famous. I mean properly, glamorously famous, not like your boring husband sitting behind a desk reading an autocue. God, if you weren’t my best friend I’d want to kill you I’d be so jealous.’

‘I need to check with Luke first.’

Meena snorted just like one of the ponies all the other Brettenden girls had been brought up with. ‘Luke wanted you to get a job and you have one. So what’s the deal? He’s off swanning round Paris. Why can’t you have fun?’

‘I’m sure he’ll be fine about it. I just think I should check with him first. As soon as he gets back I’ll ask him.’

Meena sat down on the bed. ‘Poppy, you’ve never said it in so many words but you’ve had it hard the past couple of years: you’ve basically been a single mum; you’ve hardly gone out, you’ve missed out on so many laughs and you’ve never once complained. I’m proud of how you’ve dealt with things, but I bloody think you deserve to have some fun now.

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