Christmas Shopaholic(44)

“Er…”

I pause in my own thoughts. I haven’t, actually. That’s strange. Why haven’t I?

I rack my brain, trying to work it out. It hasn’t come up, I suppose. But there’s nothing sinister about it. I’m not hiding anything. It’s just that we’re a busy couple and we don’t tell each other every single thing, every single day.

If I admit any of this to Suze, though, she’ll overreact. She’ll think I’m “keeping things from Luke.” I mean, fair enough, she’s über-sensitive, and I don’t blame her. She had that wobbly patch with Tarkie, and she did keep things from him. (And me. And the world.) But this isn’t remotely the same.

“Of course I’ve told Luke!” I say, crossing my fingers behind my back. “He thinks it’s hilarious. We’ve joked about it.”

“Oh.” Suze looks wrong-footed. “Oh, right.”

It’s half-true, I tell myself, because I will tell Luke. The minute I clap eyes on him this evening, I’ll tell him about Craig and we’ll have a laugh and it’ll all be OK.

“Well, have fun tonight,” says Suze, lifting her chin. “Enjoy.”

“Suze, d’you want to come to the pub too?” I say hurriedly. “I’m sure you’re invited.”

“Oh no!” exclaims Suze in dignified tones. “He’s your friend. Why would I want to come? Let me know if you end up in the hot tub,” she adds with that same sardonic look. “You’d better take your bikini along.”





Honestly. Take my bikini along. What a ridiculous idea.

Although—should I? Just in case?

No. No. We won’t end up in the hot tub, of course we won’t. We’re going for a civilized drink at the village pub.

As I sit in the kitchen, coloring with Minnie and waiting for Luke to get home, I feel very slightly apprehensive about telling Luke all in one fell swoop that 1. my ex lives in the village now, and 2. he’s a rock musician, and 3. he’s asked us for a drink tonight.

I mean, it’s not a problem. It’s just quite a lot of information, out of the blue. Suze is right—I should have mentioned Craig before. I don’t know why I didn’t.

As I hear the front door, I draw breath, ready to start my little explanation, but Luke strides in, full of energy, and gets in first.

“I’ve been thinking about your hot boots all day,” he says, coming over and surveying me with gleaming eyes. “And they’re even better than they were this morning. Is it time to put Minnie to bed yet?” He glances down at her. “I’m sure she needs an early night. Don’t you, poppet?”

His intent is so obvious, I can’t help laughing. I stand up and say, “How was your day?” intending to lead quickly onto the topic of Craig, but Luke ignores the question.

“Here’s an idea,” he says, putting his arms round me. “How about you and I get away after Christmas? If you want to go to Warsaw, Becky, why shouldn’t we? I looked it up at lunchtime. Found a great hotel with a spa, right by the Presidential Palace. Couples’ massages available,” he adds with a fresh glint in his eye.

“That sounds amazing,” I say, a bit breathlessly, because I’m now actually quite anxious to get onto the subject of Craig. “So, um, a funny thing happened!” I pause, trying to get my words in order, but Luke doesn’t seem to hear me.

“What you said to me the other day got under my skin,” he says more seriously. “You’re right, we should stay connected. You’re always experimenting with clothes and music, Becky—and you put me to shame. Why not go clubbing in Gdańsk? Why not go for the weekend to Warsaw? Do you know any Polish?” He grins at me. “I looked up ‘great boots’ on Google Translate. It’s ?wietne buty,” he says with relish. “?wietne buty, kochanie. That’s ‘Great boots, sweetheart.’?”

“Right!” I say, desperate to stop his enthusiastic flow. “So, anyway, I’ve got something to tell you.”

“What?” says Luke, running his hands down my back and squeezing the tops of my thighs. “You bought three more pairs of those boots and you’ve hidden them under the bed? Well, that’s fine by me, as long as you bring them to Warsaw.”

“No!” I laugh nervously. “It’s just…um—”

“Yoo-hoo!” Suze’s cheery voice interrupts me, and we both look up to see her in the doorway, holding a big cardboard box. “Your door was open, and this was on the doorstep.”

“Oh yes.” Luke bats his forehead with his hand. “I was intending to go back for that, but I was waylaid by my beautiful wife.”

I see something in Suze’s brow soften as she surveys the pair of us. She dumps the box on the table and grins at me.

“Sorry to interrupt your love-in. I’m here to take those vile statues away.”

“Excellent!” says Luke. “My day gets better and better. Glass of wine, Suze? We’re planning a little trip to Warsaw.”

“Warsaw!” says Suze in surprise—then her eyes light up. “Are you going with Craig?”

“Craig?” echoes Luke.

“You know, Becky’s old boyfriend,” says Suze blithely. “Wasn’t he in Warsaw this weekend? Has Becky told you about the hot tub?” she adds with a giggle. “I just went to check it out. It’s massive. I don’t dare tell Tarkie; he’ll flip out.”