Page 19 of You Lied First

W hen the others have left, Margot pours herself a large glass of wine and sits out in the garden, propping her legs up on another chair.

She breathes in deeply and exhales slowly, absorbing the fragrance of the evening plants and the caress of the warm air on her skin.

How long has she got, she wonders, until the rabble returns?

And then she feels bad because she’s including her son in that description, but the group is more than the sum of its parts.

Despite the attention Guy’s giving to Sara, she thinks Sara’s harmless enough.

She has quite a soft spot for Olivia, she adores Flynn, obviously, and Guy is Guy.

It’s just lying, cheating, fake Celine who makes her teeth grate.

But when they’re all together they become something worse; something she wants to avoid.

Much as she loves being here, a part of Margot is actually looking forward to the day they get on the plane and she no longer has to be bound with this particular group.

How bittersweet that is: she’s finally returned to the country that stole her heart – and here she is looking forward to going back home.

Maybe there’s a way she can come back to Oman by herself, she thinks.

Maybe she can try to get clients here and fly out on work trips.

Or maybe she’ll actually leave Guy. A little snort escapes through her nose as she thinks that.

Guy’s made sure there’s no way she can do that, not unless she’s got an alternative plan for her dad.

But it’s more than that. Margot’s always been determined to find a way through any difficulties she’s had in her marriage – which, to be honest, have been quite a few.

But she can’t deny that something is shifting inside her.

Maybe it’s the famous menopausal drop in oestrogen, the ‘caring’, domestic hormone.

But she has a feeling that wasn’t there before – a slowly surfacing knowledge of who she is and what she wants – and she’s realising she wants far more than to spend the rest of her life pussyfooting around Guy Forrest. She’s had enough of him taking charge; of him telling her what they’ll be doing; of him making – and ballsing up – all the decisions that they should be taking as a couple.

She wants to rise up and be seen for herself. But how?

Yet, for now, she pulls open the fridge and wonders what she can throw together for dinner.

Another night self-catering when they should be eating out.

With a weary sigh, she pulls out a big pack of chicken breasts and locates some vegetables that would roast well.

She chucks them all in the oven for a tray bake, and she’s had another glass of wine and only just finished roasting the chicken in the hot, stuffy kitchen when she hears car doors slamming outside and her heart sinks at the knowledge that her peace is about to be shattered.

‘How was it?’ she asks as Guy crashes through the front door with all his noisy energy.

‘Oh my God!’ Flynn says. ‘Liv got lost!’

‘It’s okay,’ Liv says. ‘It wasn’t for long.’

But Margot can see from her puffy eyes that she’s been crying and she understands that this was a big thing. She looks at Sara, who widens her eyes at her, and half-rolls them as if there’s more to the story.

‘The main thing is, we found you,’ Sara says to Liv. ‘Oh my God, when I saw you there outside that shop, I could have died of relief.’

‘I think we all need a drink,’ Celine says.

‘Too right.’ Guy grabs a bottle from the fridge and they both head out to the garden. Flynn goes to the bathroom, leaving Margot, Sara and Liv alone.

‘So what happened?’ Margot asks.

Sara and Liv look at each other.

‘Celine dragged Flynn off,’ Liv says.

Margot can see by the way she says it that this is not the first time that Celine has irked Liv.

‘I’m sure she didn’t mean to,’ Sara says placatingly.

Margot rolls her lips to stop herself from speaking. In her opinion, Sara might be better off sticking up for her daughter instead of standing up for her friend of half a second.

‘You should have seen her!’ Liv says. ‘It’s like she wanted to lose me.’

Margot raises an eyebrow. ‘Right.’

‘Guy came with me to get my wind chimes.’ Sara holds up and waggles a plastic bag. ‘I asked Celine to stay with Flynn and Liv, but …’ she shrugs. ‘Anyway, Livvie. It’s all over now and you’re safe and nothing happened.’

‘It’s a very safe country,’ Margot says. ‘You’ll have been fine in that respect, Olivia, but I know it must have been scary. It can be quite intimidating on your own in the middle of the souk, especially if you don’t know where you are.’

‘What’s actually scary is the way Celine looks at Flynn,’ Liv says. ‘Have you noticed that as well? It’s like she’s always flirting with him, or glancing at him.’

‘You can say that again,’ Flynn says, re-entering the kitchen.

Sara frowns. ‘Maybe she’s just trying to be nice.’

Liv scowls and Margot realises it’s upsetting her more than she’s letting on.

‘Do you want me to say anything to her?’ she says to Flynn. ‘Because I can.’

But Flynn shakes his head. ‘It’s fine.’

‘Well, if you’re sure. Anyway, dinner’s ready, so would you just help me bring out some bits for the table and then we can eat?’

‘Oh …’ says Flynn. ‘We ate in Muttrah. In one of those cafés on the corniche, you know?’

Liv sees the look on Margot’s face and puts her hand over her mouth. ‘Sorry, Mrs Forrest. We didn’t think.’