Page 111 of Friend of the Family

Juliet sat down on a chair. Amy could see that her hand was shaking.

‘Why did you tell her that David was her father?’

‘I didn’t say that outright. I told her that Karen had had intercourse with David. She must have done the maths.’

Her voice was quiet now, and Amy let her speak.

‘She deserved to know the truth, Amy. Don’t you think we all saw the way she was flaunting herself around him in Provence? It was embarrassing. And when you told me you had found the bra, I felt sick. I mean, this is beyond Daily Mail headlines territory. So I told her to stay away from him, and I told her why. It obviously hurt her. That was another reason why I helped get her the job.’

‘But David isn’t Josie’s father.’

Juliet paused, her lips pressed into a thin, frozen line.

‘How do you know?’

‘Because Karen told me. As did David.’

‘And you believe them?’

‘Actually, I do.’

Amy turned to leave. She hadn’t even taken her coat off. She paused in the doorway.

‘I thought you were my friend,’ she said.

‘I am your friend.’

‘Goodbye, Juliet.’

Juliet gave a soft, unrepentant snort. ‘I know you’re looking for someone to blame, Amy. Truth is, you’ve brought all this on yourself. You let yourself drift away from your husband, you messed up your interview for Mode, you let a complete stranger into your life without knowing who she was or what she thought of you. You flew too high and you just got burnt.’

But Amy wasn’t listening. She stepped out onto the street and slammed the front door behind her.

Chapter 37

‘Should you not be going to work?’ Amy was jamming a piece of toast in her mouth as she pulled on her hoodie.

‘Nope,’ David replied. ‘Thought I’d go in late this morning and accompany my wife and daughter to the school gate.’

‘Tilly will think it’s Christmas,’ laughed Amy, secretly thrilled. ‘Not just her mum, but her dad too doing the school run.’

‘I’ve booked dinner for us as well. Me and you, somewhere nice, and don’t even ask because it’s a surprise.’

‘Tonight? But what about a babysitter? Claudia has to leave at five thirty today to get to a physio appointment.’

David held up a reassuring hand. ‘Don’t worry. It’s covered. Mum is going to be here at six. Tilly has already planned that they’re going to watch Mulan together.’

Amy threw an admiring glance at her husband. ‘Is this a taste of things to come?’ she said, cocking her head playfully.

‘If you play your cards right,’ said her husband, and kissed her.

The day passed quickly. A walk with David in Holland Park and a Pilates class and it was almost two o’clock. Her mind occasionally drifted to the Verve office, and there were

emails from Tracey, Janine and Chrissie asking how she was. But for now she didn’t give anything away to anyone; just perfunctory replies at the recommendation of Max’s lawyers, though that seemed overly cautious to her.

Despite the nagging worry at the back of her mind, she found herself enjoying the day. Collecting Tilly from school and hearing her enthusiastically recount her day – a change from the usual ‘good’ when she asked at bedtime – was a particular treat.

When the doorbell rang at six, she welcomed Rosemary Parker with a hug.