The Guilt Trip(75)

She almost drops the mic in shock, unable to believe that she’s taken leave of her senses. What the hell was she thinking?

“Sorry,” she mumbles as she shakily hands the microphone back to the DJ. Jack takes hold of her arm and guides her over to where Noah and Paige are standing.

“Have you completely lost your mind?” he hisses, through a fixed grin.

“She can’t keep being allowed to get away with it,” says Rachel, still defiant, but grateful that somebody has stopped her from saying anything more. “I bet everybody here will be relieved it’s not just them she does it to.”

“What the hell’s going on?” asks Paige, looking from Jack to Rachel and back again.

“God knows how many relationships she’s destroyed—friendships she’s ruined,” blurts out Rachel. “I’m not going to let her do it to mine.”

Paige looks at Jack with raised eyebrows. “I thought I told you to sort this out.”

“Oh, it’s got even better since then,” says Rachel, no longer caring who knows what anymore. “Apparently it’s not Ali he’s having an affair with.”

“O-kay,” says Paige hesitantly, looking at Jack. “So, that’s a good thing, no?”

“Do you want to know who she says he is having an affair with?” Rachel’s talking as if Jack isn’t there. It’s easier that way, as it fools her into thinking they’re not talking about the man she’s loved for the past twenty years.

All three of them look at her expectantly.

“You!” she says, laughing and pointing at Paige.

“What?” the three of them say, in unison.

“That’s what I mean,” says Rachel. “She’s wrecking relationships. You should have let me say what I was going to say.”

Paige looks like she doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Well, that’s just…” she starts. “I don’t even have the words…”

“Well, where has she got that idea from?” asks Noah, looking from Paige to Jack and back again.

“It’s a long story,” sighs Jack. “But it goes without saying that it’s completely untrue.”

“Of course it is!” snaps Paige.

“It seems she’s got form,” says Rachel, the four of them staring at Ali across the restaurant. “This is what she does. She must be so unhappy with herself that she throws hand grenades into as many other people’s lives as she can.”

Paige’s lips pull into a tight line as she looks Ali up and down, her hostility apparent. “She knows I’ve never liked her,” she says snidely. “I guess this is what she does when someone doesn’t dance to her tune.”

“Oh, come on,” says Noah. “This is all a bit melodramatic, isn’t it? I mean, I know she’s a live wire and sails a little close to the edge sometimes, but she’s never crossed the line.”

“That’s because, like most men, all you see is her sweet smile and big tits,” says Paige, crudely.

“Oh, right.” Noah laughs tightly. “She’s one of those women, is she? How do you describe them again, Paige?”

She looks at him blankly, but there’s tension pulsing in her jawline.

“Ah, that’s it,” says Noah, as if he’s just remembered. “You’d refer to her as a man’s woman.”

“Well, I think this quite clearly demonstrates that she’s not a woman’s woman,” says Paige.

“So, that’s all this is, is it?” he asks. “A spiteful vendetta against you because you’re a fellow female who’s dared to show your obvious disdain toward her?”

“Clearly,” snaps Paige. “What else would it be?”

“Okay,” says Rachel, stepping in. She hadn’t quite thought about the effect her announcement would have on Paige and Noah. “Look, I don’t think it’s anything against Paige per se. It’s a much bigger picture that centers around Jack, it seems.”

Noah raises his eyebrows in a silent question.

“It’s honestly too complicated to go into now,” says Rachel.

“I’m going to talk to her,” says Paige, going to shoulder her way past Noah.

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” says Jack, grabbing hold of her arm. “There’s all sorts of things going on that you don’t know about. For Will’s sake, I suggest we all just get through the rest of the evening, as best we know how, making as little fuss as possible.”

Paige laughs acerbically. “What? And let her get away with telling my best friend that I’m having an affair with her husband?” She’s still tugging at Jack to release his grip on her.

“For the moment, yes,” says Jack authoritatively.

“But you are going to deal with this?” says Paige. It’s a rhetorical question.

“And you are going to tell Will what’s been going on?” adds Rachel, piling the pressure on him.

Noah snorts. “Isn’t it a bit late for that?”

“I’ll deal with Will,” says Jack. “But not now.”

“Isn’t this just wonderful?” says Ali’s mum, as she approaches them, misreading the mood completely.