Page 76 of The Honeymoon Affair

‘Hello.’ I extend my hand to her. ‘I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk earlier. I hope you two will be very happy together.’

‘Thank you. I’m sure our announcement was as much of a shock to you as his proposal was to me. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you guys, but I’m happy that you’re his agent-slash-ex.’

‘His agent-slash-ex,’ I echo.

‘He’s told me a lot about you.’

‘He has?’

‘I’m glad you two have a good working relationship,’ she goes on. ‘He depends on you a lot.’

‘More than you think.’ I can’t stop myself.

‘Ariel.’ Charles’s voice holds a warning.

‘I’m sure you’ll soon find out everything you need to know about me and my agency’s first client,’ I say.

‘I’ll make him happy,’ she says.

‘I hope he makes you happy too.’

‘Oh, he does,’ she says, and she smiles.

She’s pretty in an unsophisticated kind of way. Her eyes are big in her oval face and her spiky hair is very on-trend. She’s shorter than I first thought, but that’s because she’s discarded her heels and is barefoot. I dread to think what she’s picking up on her feet. It’s impossible to have a party without a lot of horrible debris ending up on the floor.

‘If you need tips on managing him, just ask,’ I say.

‘Izzy can manage anyone and anything,’ says her friend. ‘I’m Celeste. We’re cousins, though more like sisters really.’

‘Pleased to meet you,’ I say.

‘The taxi is on Morehampton Road,’ Celeste tells Iseult. ‘Should only be ten minutes if the driver doesn’t pick up a street fare and leave us in the lurch.’

‘I hope there’s no delay, especially not if you have to be at work,’ I say to Iseult. ‘Shame you have to go in on New Year’s Day.’

‘Iseult is a customs officer,’ says Charles, his voice bursting with pride.

I’m rarely completely surprised, but this does surprise me. Like me, Charles doesn’t know anyone outside of books and publishing these days. Though obviously his Caribbean sojourn meant he met a variety of people.

‘I’m sure that’s a very interesting job,’ I murmur while wondering if he’s thinking of another crime novel, this time set in the world of drug smuggling. She’d be perfectly placed to give him good material for that.

‘Five minutes for the taxi,’ says Celeste, who’s monitoring its progress on her phone.

‘Will you call me tomorrow?’ Iseult asks Charles.

‘Of course. I was hoping we could go shopping for a proper engagement ring.’

‘When I have my next day off.’

‘I want to get you something spectacular,’ he says.

‘I don’t need a flashy ring.’ She looks at the opal ring on her engagement finger. ‘This is lovely.’

I glance down at my own engagement ring, the diamond solitaire I wear on my right hand. Then I look at my other ring, the rainbow of garnets, sapphires and emeralds I chose instead of a more traditional wedding ring because I liked it so much. I wear the diamond occasionally, but I wear my wedding ring all the time – not because Charles and I haven’t divorced yet, but because it’s my favourite piece of jewellery.

‘Of course you want something spectacular,’ Celeste tells Iseult. ‘You’re not properly engaged until you have a decent ring.’

‘I wasn’t properly engaged when I had one either,’ she remarks.