‘What the actual?’ Lisa cries. ‘You’re actually not taking my calls.’

Maddy is annoyed she’s been duped, but her heart leaps at hearing Lisa’s voice. They’ve always had a weird telepathy thing. How did she know she was thinking of her? Usually she’d comment on it, but she doesn’t. Lisa doesn’t deserve it.

‘I’ve been busy.’

‘Doing what? What’s so important that you’ve stayed away all this time?’ Lisa sounds indignant.

‘I’m trying to find Jamie.’

Lisa is silent for a moment, letting this sink in. ‘Trent is beside himself.’

‘Is he?’

‘Yes. I know you’re cross, but come home,’ Lisa says. ‘You live here. You don’t know anyone there.’

‘I do.’

‘Who?’

‘My neighbour.’ Maddy rubs at a smudge on her jeans, then for the hell of it adds, ‘And my swimming gang.’

‘Your what?’

‘I’ve taking up sea swimming.’

‘You hate the sea.’

‘I don’t.’

‘You’re far too much of a princess to get into cold water. You would only just about go in the pool when we went to Champneys that time and that was heated.’

‘Well, maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do,’ Maddy says, resentful that Lisa is bringing up a shared trip and all those memories that will bring them back together.

‘That’s it,’ Lisa announces. ‘I’m coming to get you.’

‘Don’t. Please don’t. I need to be on my own. I’m too angry and cross.’

‘With me?’ Lisa sounds hurt.

‘Yes, with you.’

‘I never wanted to be caught in the middle. You’ve got to believe me. It’s been a nightmare—’

‘You weren’t in the middle. You chose a side. And it wasn’t mine.’

Lisa lets out a frustrated growl. ‘You’re so stubborn,’ she snaps and Maddy is shaken to hear her voice choke into tears.

Maddy is stung by this accusation. She was in such a good mood having talked to Matteo, but this all feels too raw. ‘You have no right to call me names when you’ve hardly behaved as a friend. Let alone a best friend. You knew about their affair for all that time—’

‘I didn’t know about it at first,’ Lisa interrupts, clearly keen to get the facts straight. Her voice is still choked with tears. ‘I didn’t know that it was a thing until really recently. They kept it under wraps.’

‘Clearly.’

This news puts Lisa’s culpability in a different light, but Maddy still feels betrayed. If it had been the other way around, Maddy would have told Lisa straight away.

‘And … I don’t know, I wanted to tell you, but there wasn’t ever a good time and anyway, I just got the impression that you and Trent had some understanding about it.’

‘An understanding?’

‘I was going to tell you after Christmas. When you weren’t so busy.’

‘Well, you’re too late.’

‘Jesus, Maddy. You’re so black and white.’

‘Well, I’m sorry, but this feels like a black-and-white situation.’

‘Ugh.’ Lisa is clearly exasperated. ‘You know what your problem is? You’re exactly the same as Jamie.’