The Dilemma(50)

‘Oh, Cleo, I’m sorry. Do you want me to sort him out for you?’ I add, trying to lighten the moment.

She smiles. ‘You sound like Dad.’

She couldn’t have said anything worse. Rage rises inside me at Rob threatening to sort out his daughter’s boyfriend, who might or might not be cheating on her, when he’s having an affair with my daughter – his daughter’s best friend.

‘I love your dress,’ I say, to hide the fact that I’ve stood up abruptly. ‘I’d better go and find Adam, I’ve barely seen him since the party started. He keeps doing a disappearing act.’

‘Mum says he’s got a migraine.’

I nod. ‘Maybe if I can get him to eat something, he’ll feel better. I’ll catch you later.’

‘Enjoy your party!’ she calls after me.

‘Thank you!’

I move to the centre of the lawn and slowly turn myself in a circle, hoping to spot Adam. An arm snakes around my waist.

‘Hello, birthday girl. Have you been avoiding me?’

It’s here, the moment I’ve been dreading. My flesh crawls at the touch of his hand. He’s always been a flirt – maybe another reason why Adam doesn’t particularly like him – and although it bothered me for Jess, I always went along with it. It’s how Rob is, how he’s always been. But now I’m overwhelmed with disgust at the thought that he has touched me, hugged me, and kissed me in that lingering way of his, when he was also touching, hugging and kissing my daughter. White-hot anger flares inside me. I wrench my body round, dislodging his arm roughly.

‘Hey, what’s up?’ he asks, looking at me in confusion.

The urge to lunge at him, slap him, scratch him, scream at him is stronger than anything I’ve ever felt. I take a step towards him, my teeth and fist clenched. But before I can do anything, someone takes hold of my wrist and pulls me back, away from Rob.

‘Sorry, Rob.’ Max’s voice comes from behind me. ‘Livia is needed in the kitchen. Something to do with the desserts melting, apparently.’

Rob presses his hands together in a prayer. ‘Please don’t let anything happen to the desserts, Livia. You know how much I love a good pud!’

It’s incredible the way he’s able to tell himself that the look on my face couldn’t possibly be anything to do with him, because isn’t he such a good guy and anyway, nobody could possibly know about him and Marnie because everyone is gullible enough to take both him, and what he says, at face value.

I’m still seething as Max walks me to the kitchen. There’s no sign of Liz.

‘She must be in the dining room,’ Max says, leading me through. She’s not there either, but my thoughts are too full of Rob to register that anything is wrong until Max closes the door and leans against it, stopping anyone from coming in.

‘What are you doing, Max?’ I ask. But I know what he’s doing, I just can’t believe that he’s chosen my party to ask me why I’ve been off with him for the last few months. ‘I really need to get back out there.’

He doesn’t say anything, just looks at me, his blue eyes boring into me, weighing me up.

‘Look, I’m sorry if I’ve been off with you lately,’ I say impatiently. ‘I’ve just been defending Marnie because I know the two of you have fallen out. I know I shouldn’t take sides, but Marnie’s had a bit of a difficult time lately and I thought—’ I stop, because how can I tell him that I thought he and Marnie were in a relationship?

‘Go on,’ he says.

‘I thought maybe you wanted a relationship with her and she didn’t,’ I say.

Max frowns. ‘Gross. Marnie’s like a sister to me. Which is why I’m so bloody angry with her!’ It bursts out of him. ‘I know, Livia. I know about her and Rob.’

My heart misses a beat. ‘What do you mean?’

He looks at me in alarm. ‘Oh God, don’t tell me you don’t know. I thought, because of the way you’ve been avoiding Rob all evening, and the way you looked as if you were about to kill him just now, that you knew.’ He runs a hand through his hair. ‘Shit.’

I lay a hand on his arm. ‘It’s OK, Max, I do know. I just didn’t think that anyone else did. How did you find out?’

The relief that washes over him is quickly replaced by anger. ‘I went to surprise Marnie once in Durham and I saw them together.’

‘When?’

‘About a year ago. Maybe a bit more – March, I think.’

Not long after Rob began spending two days a week in Darlington, I realise bitterly.

‘Why didn’t you say anything to me or Adam?’

‘Because when I asked Marnie about it, she said I’d made a mistake. When I told her what I’d seen, she said it was a moment of madness and that it was all over. And I believed her – until last December, when Josh mentioned that Rob’s company was sending him to Singapore for a week. I know it’s not that close to Hong Kong but it made me suspicious, because why was he suddenly going to Singapore? I looked up the company and they do have offices there. But it still didn’t feel right; I couldn’t stop wondering if he was going to see Marnie, so I emailed her and asked if I could visit her around the time of Rob’s trip to Singapore. And she did everything to put me off, telling me first that she had to work on her assignment, then that she was going away.’