‘Walk me through it.’ Betty lay on her front but propped herself up on her elbows. ‘You what, focus your sights on a woman and then lay a careful plan to seduce her out of straightness?’

There was a murmur of giggles from the group. Faith only cocked an eyebrow, though. ‘Please,’ she said, already reaching for her phone again. ‘Straight is an abstract idea. There aren’t straight women. Only women who haven’t met Faith.’

It was met with further squeals of laughter from the group. But there was a homing pigeon banging around in my chest. And I was too bothered by it to laugh along.

Chapter 29

Now

When the two-day hangover from the girls’ night out had cleared, I decided to text Rowan. I desperately wanted to mention Skye – to ask how she’d come hurtling back into our lives with such convenient timing. Assuming she ever even left, I thought as I typed, deleted, typed again. I didn’t want an argument over text; I didn’t want an argument, full stop. But I couldn’t not speak to him forever. So I sent a neutral message – Hey Row. I hope you’re okay. Thanks for the space. I’ve been thinking. Or trying to think. Ha. Let me know how things are? xx – and he’d dodged a written reply entirely, opting instead for a call.

‘I was so glad you messaged.’ He sounded glad, too; there was a breathlessness about him, as though the relief were a physical feeling, and the reaction set me back. ‘Edi, look, about everything that got said—’

‘Is Patrick sleeping with Skye?’ I let it out with an urgency, as though before that it had been trapped wind. There was an uncomfortably long silence after, though, so I added, ‘Or are you?’ I tried for a defiant tone, one that friends would be proud of, even though off-screen I was shitting a brick – boulders, even.

After another too-long silence, he only said, ‘No.’

I let out a breath I hadn’t realised I was holding. ‘Rowan, I’m choosing to believe you for literally one reason, and I’m going to get it out there, and then we’re going to be done with it.’ I thought I heard his lips part but I didn’t leave the space for him to jump in. ‘You could be sleeping with Skye. As in, according to the deal. So I’m trusting you to be honest because right now there’s nothing actually wrong with doing it.’ It was a lie. A dirty great whopping lie. But once it was out there, there was no going back.