When Karin reeled off the eleven digits, Leanne had no choice but to jump out of bed to grab her notepad. She was dithering as she scrawled down Beth’s number with only the light from her phone to illuminate the page. She squinted as she repeated it back to Karin. There was no answer. The line was dead.

The painful frost stole Leanne’s breath and sharpened her wits. When Karin sobered up, she would phone one of two people, and if Beth wasn’t speaking to her, the next person she would try was Claudia. Leanne would have to act fast, she wanted that pleasure for herself.

33

When Justin walked into the kitchen, he caught Claudia slumped over the breakfast table with her head in her hands. He squeezed her shoulder and she moved to press herself against him.

‘Why don’t you go back to bed?’ he asked.

Claudia straightened and stretched her neck. ‘I’m fine. You’re the one who needs a lie-in.’

Justin had arrived home in the middle of the night, dumped his flight bag on the bedroom floor, and was snoring two minutes after telling his wife how much he’d missed her.

‘Sit down, I’ll make you some coffee,’ she insisted. She picked up her empty cup to refill at the same time. ‘Do you want something to eat?’

‘I’m still on Washington time. Maybe later.’

As she waited for the fresh coffee to brew in the French press, Claudia rested her back against the kitchen counter. Aware that Justin was watching, she crossed one leg over the other, shifting her body so that her silk dressing gown fell open to reveal a smooth thigh and the lace of her chemise. She wanted him to want her.

He groaned as he rolled his shoulders. ‘Maybe I should go back to bed, but that coffee smells too good to resist.’ As Justin moved his head to the side, he tried not to make a show of checking the normally full wine rack. He was working out how much his wife had got through while he was away.

Claudia poured their coffee and returned to the table. ‘I’m glad you’re home,’ she said. She had wanted to sound seductive, but her voice hitched. She felt stupidly emotional.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked. ‘And don’t say nothing. You’ve been acting odd for weeks.’

In that moment, Claudia considered telling Justin everything; how she had allowed a man to seduce her when she had been at her most vulnerable, and how everything that followed on from that single error of judgement had made her realise how much she loved her husband. For all the lies she may have told, this was the absolute truth. She needed him to know that, but words failed her.