Page 57 of The Lucky Winners

‘That’s great, Paige.’ I shift the phone from one ear to the other and sit on the edge of the sofa. ‘Just a reminder to let me know if you have any problems with the house or anything. I’m glad everything’s going well for you.’

‘I mean, there’s a lot happening at work as per usual. The same old office politics with people complaining about stealthduties being added, but you don’t have to worry about any of that now so I won’t bore you with the details.’

‘I’m not bored! I like to know what’s happening.’

‘Hmm. Well, as I say, nothing much to report. I’ve met a new friend at Pilates. She seems really nice and we have lots in common.’

‘That’s nice,’ I say, feeling a twinge of regret.

Paige and I have always been able to talk for hours on end. Our lunch breaks were never enough at work, so we tried to meet up regularly for coffee on our days off. I miss those chats. Now, our conversation seems stilted. So I try to rescue it, say something light that gets us talking about the elephant in the room: that Dev and I have won a multi-million-pound house.

I keep my voice upbeat. ‘I’m glad you’re keeping busy and the studying’s going well. Settling into a new routine can be hard. It’s been a bit of an adjustment for us here, too.’

‘Oh?’

‘The house is starting to feel more like home, at last. We’ve made a couple of new friends, which is nice.’ I pause, hoping she’ll ask something likeWho are they?Or evenHow did you meet them?Anything. I’m desperate to talk about the weird stuff that’s been happening.

I really need a long chat with her about Simon and Tilda’s conflicting accounts of each other. There’s no one else I can really confide in apart from Dev, and he’s a one-trick pony when it comes to theories. He makes up his mind quickly without much discussion, and won’t veer from it.

Paige stays silent, so I keep going. ‘It’s beautiful here, but a bit strange.’

‘Strange how?’ She still sounds detached.

‘It’s a lot quieter than home in Nottingham, as you’d expect. But I get this feeling people are very … curious, I think that’s the word, about our win and we’ve even had abit of vandalism here.’ I wait for a response but there’s just silence.

‘Sounds more like nasty suspicion than curiosity to me.’

‘Hmm, but as Dev says, it’s early days. You know what I’m like. I’m a private person, don’t really do curiosity myself.’

She lets out a hard laugh. ‘Well, you seem to be overcoming your shyness well enough.’

I blink. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I’ve seen the photos you’ve posted on Facebook. You can hardly blame people for taking an interest if you’re putting yourselves out there.’

‘What photos?’ I frown. I’ve never been a big user of social media and even less since we moved. I haven’t looked at my Facebook feed for weeks, never mind posted anything.

Paige laughs. ‘The ones of the house you posted late last night!’

‘I haven’t posted anything about the house online.’

‘Oh, right. OK.’ She doesn’t sound convinced. ‘Well, somebody has. Maybe Dev? It’s on your profile, so I just assumed …’

‘Sorry. I need to go and check this out, Paige,’ I say. ‘Ring me if you need to know anything house-wise. Sorry to rush off but I can’t rest until I’ve seen those photos.’

‘OK, let me know what you think.’

‘I will. Miss you, and I’ll call again soon.’

‘Look forward to it. Speak soon.’

My heart pounds against my chest wall as I open my laptop and tell myself that Paige is mistaken. I open Facebook and immediately get a pop-up window prompting me to sign in. I have to look in my password wallet for the details, but complete the form and press enter.

The window shudders its dislike and another message is displayed.

The email or password you have entered is incorrect.

I frown and click on the link to request a new password.