‘What is it?’ Fran asks. ‘Is there a problem?’

‘No.’ She hears the smile in his voice. ‘You’re … you’re very refreshing.’

‘I’ve heard that before. Anyway, are we set?’

‘Yes, Fran. We’re set.’

‘Okay then. I’ve gathered all the tape I need. You go and lie over there.’ She gestures, again, in the dark. ‘And I’ll sit at the bottom of the steps.’

There’s a beat. ‘Thank you, Fran.’

‘For what?’

‘Just …’ She hears Tom move quietly away. ‘Just thank you.’

Chapter 51

Now

KATE

Kate pulls up behind Renata’s black Range Rover, turns off the engine and looks up at the house. All the lights are off and the curtains are drawn. The rage she felt on discovering that Tom had abandoned the guests hasn’t abated. If anything, the forty minute drive through the dark has made it worse. Over the course of their marriage she’s forgiven Tom for so much – for lacking ambition, being a flake, having no backbone and for letting her do all the hard work.

She even forgave him for sleeping with Jenna.

She knew the woman was needy – she’d had to prise Tom away from her on the plane to Malta – but she’d never seen her as a threat to her marriage. For all Tom’s faults, she’d never once suspected him of infidelity. In the early days of their relationship she’d been suspicious about the motives of a couple of women in Tom’s group, but when she checked his phone she didn’t find anything incriminating. In fact, if anyone in the group texted him anything even remotely flirty or suggestive he’d either ignore it or call it out for being inappropriate.

It was Kate’s idea that they keep their marriage secret. She knew women were drawn to him and if they thought he was single it would only increase his allure. And it had worked. Not only did his YouTube videos attract a huge number of marriage – and more lascivious – proposals, they raked in money. Kate became obsessed with analysing the drop off graphs and she began editing the videos to concentrate on what the viewers were interested in: his face, torso and eyes. Tom found what she was doing amusing. He didn’t care who found him attractive, he’d tell her, as long as she still wanted him.

She’d never dreamed that he’d cheat on her.