‘Jamie loves you. Why would he suggest you were making it all up?’ Lisa said, trying to piece together the disjointed story. It didn’t make any sense.
‘Because I accused him of having an affair…’ Rebecca said, watching Lisa closely, taking in her expression and her body language, as she tried to gauge if Lisa knew. ‘He thought I was saying it to get his attention.’
‘What?’ Narrowing her eyes, Lisa shook her head adamantly, trying to make sense of what she was being told. ‘I mean; there’s no way Jamie would cheat on you. Trust me, he might be my brother, and Christ, even I know he’s not perfect. I mean to start with, he’s a man. That’s a pretty big handicap right there…’ Lisa quipped, trying to lighten the mood. ‘But there’s no way on this earth he’d cheat. We spent too many years watching our own mother fall apart after our father walked out and left her completely alone. Me and Jamie had to pick up the pieces and trust me, after how grief-stricken and humiliated our mother was, there’s no way Jamie would ever do that to his wife.’ Lisa spoke with conviction, but Rebecca still wasn’t convinced.
‘But why would he accuse you of making all this up? That’s crazy!’
Rebecca nods her head. ‘Which is exactly what your brother thinks I am. He hasn’t said it so directly, but I know that he’s thinking it. We’re having problems…’ she admitted, relieved to say it openly to someone, at last. ‘I didn’t want to say anything at the café, because, well, he’s your brother, and I don’t want to put you in an awkward situation, but I don’t know who else to talk to. I feel so alone, Lisa.’
‘Don’t be silly, Becks. You know you can always talk to me. I’m here for you both. I love you both.’
‘I know. It’s just, I don’t even know where to start with it all. Things feel so different between us. Since Ella. It’s like, lately, I can’t quite reach him. He’s been working all hours, hardly ever home and when he is, everything I do seems to irritate him. Or he spends all his time alone in his office. And I can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something from me. He’s being so secretive. On his phone all the time…’ Rebecca skirted around the issue, not wanting to say out loud what she really wanted to say. As if speaking the words out loud would somehow make it all real. ‘And the other night, when we slept with each other… he called out his assistant’s name.’
Rebecca finally admitted the thing that had been bothering her the most of all.
It was real.
She was certain of it.
‘Who? Jenna? No way?’ Lisa said, instantly dismissing the idea. ‘He was probably still thinking about work, you know how he can never switch off.’
‘I really hope so. I mean, tonight, he says he’s away on business. And I should believe him – he hasn’t given me any reason not to, only I can’t shake the feeling that he’s lying to me. What if he’s with someone else, right now? What if he’s with her?’
‘There’s no way! He wouldn’t do that to you, Rebecca. He loves you,’ Lisa said with conviction. When Jamie had first told her about wanting to marry Rebecca, Lisa had thought he was acting completely out of character. They’d only been dating for three months, but he was besotted with her and Lisa had never seen him so happy. Despite the early alarm bells that screeched inside her head, she was happy to say now that she’d been wrong.
Jamie and Rebecca were perfect for one another, and now they had Ella too.
There was no way Jamie would cheat.
‘Honestly, Becks. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. You’ve just had a baby. And as beautiful and perfect as my darling little niece is things are bound to feel difficult at first. You’re both parents now and that changes everything. It’s all new dynamics, and that’s bound to add pressure to even the strongest of relationships. But you’ll get through it, it’s just a stage. As much as my brother can be an arse at times, there’s no way he’d ever cheat on you.’
‘Do you really think so?’ Rebecca sniffed, wiping her nose with her sleeve. She felt stupid now and Lisa’s words of reassurance were instantly resonating with her.
Things had been so intense lately, but all she really had to go on was her suspicions and a drunken, mumbled name. It was hardly concrete evidence that something was actually going on. Maybe she really was just overthinking things.
‘I don’t think so, I know so,’ Lisa said vehemently. ‘Honestly, you have nothing to worry about. You and Jamie are the modern-day cliché; you’re made for each other. The rest of us mere mortals would kill to have just a taster of what you two have.’ Lisa smiled then as Rebecca visibly relaxed opposite her. ‘You’re both adjusting, Becks. That’s all. These things take time. The only other woman in Jamie’s life is that little one upstairs. Trust me.’ Lisa nodded towards the baby monitor that Rebecca had placed on the coffee table in the middle of the room.
‘You’re right. Of course, you are.’ Rebecca shrugged. ‘God, I feel so embarrassed that I even questioned it. I think I’m just exhausted. Sometimes I wonder how he even puts up with me.’
‘He doesn’t put up with you, he loves you. And I love you too,’ Lisa said, raising her glass of wine and giving Rebecca a big smile. ‘Now, drink up! We’ve got this bottle of wine to get through and didn’t you mention something about a Chinese takeaway, because I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Plus, I’ve been dying to tell you about this hot delivery guy who came into the office this week. OMG, Becks, he is just about the finest looking man I’ve ever set eyes on.’
Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh. Chinking glasses with her friend, she finally felt herself relaxing for the first time in ages.
Lisa was right.
She was overthinking things, creating problems that weren’t even there.
Jamie was out working and having Lisa here was just the tonic she needed.
Chapter Sixteen
It’s safe to say that the first night I met Jamie, I caught him off guard.
Because he wasn’t looking for anything more than a one-night stand. That’s the sort of guy he was.
I could tell by the upmarket hotel bar that we were in, a place that he regularly frequented according to the staff, what sort of women he was used to. Women who weren’t any real challenge, who gave no chase. Dolled up to the nines, out in their packs, ready to snare someone who had some real money.
I was different to them all, and I think he realised that right from the very start.
Jamie had looked bored, standing awkwardly with a group of colleagues, who I guessed he was only with that night out of obligation. He was out of place, surrounded by mindless drunken gossip. Voices high-pitched and slurred.
It was one of the group’s birthdays by the sounds of it, and they were getting louder and rowdier with every drink they downed, only Jamie seemed somewhat reserved.
Nursing his glass of Scotch, he had a look on his face that said he was hoping it would hurry up and kick in and numb him from the monotonously long evening he had ahead of him.
I saw him scan the bar for a better option and he was spoilt for choice. Women seemed to gravitate around him, huddled in their little packs nearby. Their tables cluttered with bottles of wine and half-finished cocktails. With their caked-on make-up and revealing outfits.
Aware of him of course, because a man like Jamie oozed money. Dressed in an expensive designer suit, adorned with a flashy watch.
At six foot two, with blond hair and ice-blue eyes, he wasn’t the type of man who was ever short of attention.
But I could tell by the bored expression on his face that no one really piqued his interest, as I sat there at the far end of the hotel bar, by the wall. My book open, pretending to read while discreetly looking over the top of it and taking everything in.