Louise Bentley is a feisty, wild, 'let's-go-to-Capri-for-the-weekend-yeah?' kind of girl. She spends her days working at a party-planning company. Oh, and she never wants kids. Ever.
Ben Langford is a studious, quiet, 'I'm-busy-reading' sort of man...
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"Right," Louise said. "I have a confession."
They were sitting in a tearoom in Marylebone, stuffed into squashy brown chairs in front of an empty fireplace. An array of half-eaten scones, clotted cream, and little Viennese whirls littered the table. Ophelia doled out more rosehip tea from a floral-patterned teapot.
"Ah," Ella said. "So it was you that broke the salad bowl yesterday."
She was sitting cross-legged in a chair, dressed in black leggings and a jumper; her blonde hair was pulled up in a baseball cap. Not, Louise thought, that they were very likely to get papped at a members-only tearoom, but still — you couldn't be too careful.
"Wasn't me," Louise said. "Although I can see why you'd think that."
Ella nibbled a biscuit. "You do get clumsy when you're drunk."
"I really do."
Ella shrugged. "Must have been Max."
Louise took a sip of tea. Ophelia — who'd spent most of Christmas dinner admiring the ceramic bowl with painted oranges-and-lemons on it — was suddenly very interested in buttering a raisin scone.
"Must've been," Louise agreed.
Ella typed something on her phone. Ophelia leaned over.
"I'll buy you a new one," she whispered. "Promise."
Louise winked.
"Anyway," Ella said, looking up from her phone, "you were saying, Lou?"
She set down her phone. Ophelia leaned forward. Her auburn hair was twisted into a complicated updo, and she was wearing a floral tea dress that made her look like a photograph from the 1950s. Except, Louise thought, women in the 1950s didn't wear Apple watches — and they certainly wouldn't discuss their sexual escapades.
At least, not publicly.
"Oh, God." Louise covered her face. "I can't believe I'm about to admit this."
"Go on," Ella said.
"So you know how Langford and I share a bed?" The words came out muffled.
Ophelia's voice was wry. "Well, we do now."
"Right." Louise felt slightly sheepish. "Sorry for not giving you a heads up about that. But anyway, this morning, Ben and I were in bed, and he sort of..." She lowered her hands, glancing at a man typing on a laptop nearby. "Got excited."
Ella's eyes widened. "You mean...?"
"Yeah."
Her hand went to her mouth. "Oh, my god."
Heat pooled in her cheeks. "Exactly."
"What did he say?"
"He didn't," Louise said, picking up her tea. "I got up and made the kids breakfast. Then he left for work."
