Page 46 of The House on Sunset Lake

‘Three weeks. What about you?’

‘Three years.’

‘And you’re a reporter?’

She nodded. ‘I came over on a graduate scheme for one of the tabloids, but I liked it and stayed. Now I’m on the news desk at Whizzfeed.’

‘The website? I thought it was all lists and pictures of fluffy kittens.’

‘We’ve got a news team of thirty-five, and a bigger investigations department than Newsweek.’

‘What story are you working on this week?’

‘The top ten places to buy doughnuts in New York City.’

Jim looked at her with bemusement before she burst out laughing.

‘I’m kidding.’

‘You’ve got the filthiest laugh since Sid James, do you know that?’

‘And I can’t tell you how good it is to speak to someone who knows who Sid James actually is, even if he was about twenty years before my time.’

He made a mental calculation of her age, but didn’t do it discreetly enough.

‘I’m twenty-seven,’ she smiled playfully. ‘What about you?’

‘Older,’ he replied, swirling his beer around his bottle.

‘Are you the same age as Jennifer?’

‘More or less.’

‘Is that how you know each other? You were contemporaries?’ she asked, fishing for information.

‘We were neighbours in Savannah for one summer about twenty years ago. I hadn’t seen her for years until I moved to New York.’

‘Did you have a fling?’ she asked bluntly.

‘A fling?’

‘Back in Savannah. Was she a holiday romance?’

‘She was a friend. A good friend. What about you? How did you meet her?’ he asked, grateful to steer the conversation away from him.

‘Some swanky charity event,’ smiled Sarah. ‘I’d been sent to cover it for the parties section of the website. I was on my own, didn’t know a soul. I was loitering by the buffet wondering when I could leave when Jennifer came over and introduced herself. Turns out she organised the event and still managed to be the friendliest person in the room. You don’t often get that in New York society circles.’

Jim gave a soft smile. ‘That sounds like Jen.’

‘We kept in touch. I helped her promote the charity. Somewhere along the line we became friends. She says she likes the British sense of humour. Maybe I remind her of you.’ Sarah grinned.

Jim ordered them both another drink.

‘So do you know Connor?’ he asked, his turn to mine for information.

Sarah groaned and Jim felt a sense of satisfaction.

‘You’re a fan, then?’