Wicked Wives by Anna-Lou Weatherley

Author:Anna-Lou Weatherley [Weatherley, Anna-Lous]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-909490-20-8
Publisher: Bookouture

Sipping on a strong espresso on the beautiful terrace of the Epicure restaurant in the heart of the 8th district, Ellie slipped on a pair of Stella McCartney aviators and sat back into her seat, wishing she could allow herself to open up to her friend about her troubles – and more importantly, her past. The whole thing was driving her to distraction. Deep down she knew she should tell Vinnie, yet she couldn’t. Was a lie only what you said as opposed to something you didn’t say? Jesus, she needed to purge herself of all this anxiety somehow. The threat of Tom’s presence had cast a black cloud over everything. She gulped back her espresso, allowing the hot liquid to burn the back of her throat almost as punishment.

‘Plus de café, mesdames? The impeccably dressed waiter approached the table with an air of Parisian insouciance.

‘Actually, I fancy something a little stronger,’ Victoria began perusing the wine list with alacrity, ‘oh screw it, let’s have the Louis Roederer Cristal 2004!’

‘Magnifique!’ Ellie replied enthusiastically. A glass of the good stuff was what she needed to take the edge off her troubled thoughts. The waiter nodded his approval and returned almost instantly with a chilled ice bucket and two glasses.

‘Salut!’ the two women chinked flutes. It didn’t escape Ellie’s eye that Tor had gulped half her glass back in one hit.

‘Everything OK, Tor?’ she carefully asked.

‘Couldn’t be better,’ Tor replied, wondering just how many more lies she would have to tell before they began to trip her up. ‘The book is coming along brilliantly and Lol is fab, phoning me as often as possible, though it can get tricky out in the jungle you know, dreadful reception . . . I do worry about him, all those strange animals and insects . . .’ she pulled a face.

‘You must miss him terribly. I know I miss Vin,’ Ellie sighed wistfully, wishing how things could just go back to being how they had been a few weeks ago, when she had been none the wiser about the auction or Loretta and Tom and what could only be described as their ridiculous sham of a marriage.

‘Oh I do,’ Victoria gushed guiltily, ‘but this is the price one pays for having a successful husband, no?’

Ellie sighed her agreement, trying to shake off the thought of Tom and Loretta sashaying up the aisle together, a look of love in their eyes as they exchanged vows. ‘This Australia trip is a big deal for Vin. If the Aussies sign on the line then I’ve pretty much lost him for the next six months. I’ve told him if he comes back with an Aussie accent I’ll divorce him.’

Victoria laughed, though it struck her that on the very odd occasion, usually after a few glasses of fizz, that Ellie herself slipped into a soft stateside lilt. ‘I wish I could be there with him but someone’s got to be around to keep an eye on things . . . Tess being one of those “things”.

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