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Chapters (64)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Dedication
  4. Chapter One
  5. Chapter Two
  6. Chapter Three
  7. Chapter Four
  8. Chapter Five
  9. Chapter Six
  10. Chapter Seven
  11. Chapter Eight
  12. Chapter Nine
  13. Chapter Ten
  14. Chapter Eleven
  15. Chapter Twelve
  16. Chapter Thirteen
  17. Chapter Fourteen
  18. Chapter Fifteen
  19. Chapter Sixteen
  20. Chapter Seventeen
  21. Chapter Eighteen
  22. Chapter Nineteen
  23. Chapter Twenty
  24. Chapter Twenty-One
  25. Chapter Twenty-Two
  26. Chapter Twenty-Three
  27. Chapter Twenty-Four
  28. Chapter Twenty-Five
  29. Chapter Twenty-Six
  30. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  31. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  32. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  33. Chapter Thirty
  34. Chapter Thirty-One
  35. Chapter Thirty-Two
  36. Chapter Thirty-Three
  37. Chapter Thirty-Four
  38. Chapter Thirty-Five
  39. Chapter Thirty-Six
  40. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  41. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  42. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  43. Chapter Forty
  44. Chapter Forty-One
  45. Chapter Forty-Two
  46. Chapter Forty-Three
  47. Chapter Forty-Four
  48. Chapter Forty-Five
  49. Chapter Forty-Six
  50. Chapter Forty-Seven
  51. Chapter Forty-Eight
  52. Chapter Forty-Nine
  53. Chapter Fifty
  54. Chapter Fifty-One
  55. Chapter Fifty-Two
  56. Chapter Fifty-Three
  57. Chapter Fifty-Four
  58. Chapter Fifty-Five
  59. Chapter Fifty-Six
  60. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  61. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  62. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  63. Epilogue
  64. Acknowledgements

I stand on the doormat, not sure how to say goodbye. ‘Sorry…and thank you. Thanks for being so kind.’

‘Of course, any time. I really enjoyed meeting you.’ Tristan looks through the open door. He starts to descend the steps. He looks back at me, turns around, and joins me on the doormat. ‘I like you, Imogen Mounce.’

He kisses me on the lips, softly. He does not open his mouth. He pulls away, looking slightly shocked, and confused, as though the kiss had been my idea. Then he grins and bounds back down the steps.

The clouds are edged in old gold, and even though the sky is turning darker and deeper, I feel a lightness inside that I have not known for a long time.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Our doubts are traitors

Harri

‘Harri, are you free for a quick chat?’

‘Now?’ No, not you too. I know the ship is sinking, but I’m building a raft. Trust me. ‘Actually, Imogen, I was hoping to grab you too, why don’t we go out to lunch?’ Harri had been excited about drawing Imogen into her conspiracy—now, she’s feeling anxious and wrong-footed. Is bad news about to trump good?

Imogen looks panicked. ‘Lunch, lovely! Where were you thinking? Cafe Cucina? Pret?’

Harri can do better than that. ‘What about Soho House? My treat, of course. I’ve got a meeting at twelve, meet me there at half one? Just give them my name at reception and they’ll send you through.’ Usually, Harri finds it’s an invitation that never fails to impress and excite a member of the media who has yet to see their thirtieth birthday. But Imogen barely flickers. She smiles weakly, and Harri watches the nation’s hottest, most audacious young sex writer shuffle back to her desk, back hunched, shoulders slumped. This is not encouraging.

Still, Harri has enough edgy energy for both of them. I bet this is what an affair feels like. Harri has a secret and she can’t quite decide whether she feels elated, or just paranoid. She has not slept for days. Her eyes are glittering, her hands are aching and her right index finger is slightly swollen, from obsessive scribbling. She has been plotting, and she’s afraid that it shows. Part of her research involved reading Imogen’s blog, from the beginning. Maybe Imogen has seen her analytics, she knows that some obsessive fan from north London has been bingeing her old posts and that’s why she’s treating Harri with suspicion.