Her phone vibrated against her hip. She wrangled it out of her pocket, eyeing the screen. ‘Hi, Lotte! How’s it going?’
‘Fabulous as always, darling.’ Lotte loved mimicking the drama queens and models she worked with. ‘Where are you? I was passing and thought I’d drop in, but the only one here’s Clueless.’
Poor Cleuso. One day he’d prove them all wrong. ‘I popped out to buy coffee, but I’ll back in a jiffy...if you can hold on.’
‘I can...but get your skates on because I’ve got something exciting to tell you.’
Lotte stopped scrolling and looked at her. ‘So, what do you think?’
‘They’re certainly different!’ The footwear Lotte was showing her on the laptop was made from recycled plastics and fabrics. Bright. Innovative. Interesting. ‘I love them. I’d wear them.’
Lotte arched an eyebrow. ‘I’ll bear that in mind.’
Lotte was always being given clothes and accessories after her photo shoots, quite a lot of which came her way because Lotte’s own tastes were very particular. For one thing, Lotte didn’t do dresses. That was how she’d ended up with the gorgeous dress that Theo had liked.
‘So...? What’s the story?’
Lotte kicked off her shoes, crossed her legs and dropped her knees out Buddha-style. ‘Okay, so the designer’s called Kris Haynes. He’s one of the designers taking part in a showcase of—’ she scratched quotes into the air ‘—fashion with a conscience. They’re calling the event Watch your Footprint, and it’s going to be held at Tobacco on the fifteenth of September...proceeds going to charity.’
‘So you’ll be photographing the show...?’
Lotte nodded. ‘And I’m doing publicity photos for the designers ahead of the event. There’s going to be a social media push and a printed programme—on recycled paper, of course!’
‘That’s great! You’re nailing it, and rightly so. Your work is amazing.’
Lotte waved her hands dismissively. ‘Thanks, but yada yada...’ She grinned. ‘I wanted to give you the full brief because I’ve told them you’ll write the copy for the programme.’
It took a moment for Lotte’s words to sink in. ‘Me?’
‘Hell yeah! I pointed them to your Dilly and Daisy write up, and they loved it. They want a similar approach: some background on the designers, something about ethical fashion, the move away from fast fashion et cetera... You can expect a call from the organiser very soon.’
Her heart ballooned. ‘Aww, Lotte...thanks so much.’ She leaned across the sofa and gave her friend a hug. ‘You’re so sweet.’
‘It’s nothing to do with being sweet. You’re a fabulous writer and you’re the perfect fit for the gig. You’ll love doing it and you’ll make some great contacts.’
‘Contacts are always useful.’
Lotte rocked forward, an impish grin on her face. ‘Which brings me to the best bit.’ Her eyes danced. ‘The organiser is Eline de Vries!’
Mia’s lungs collapsed. ‘As in the super—?’
‘Yep!’
A boat chugged past, its vibrations filling the air. A welcome moment of respite. She swallowed hard, trying to look thrilled. ‘Wow! That’s such a...’ The words got stuck so she forced a wide smile onto her lips. ‘That’s so great!’
Lotte beamed. ‘Isn’t it? I mean, Eline freaking de Vries! That’s got to open some doors—for both of us.’ She folded her laptop, poked it into her bag then stood up, sliding her feet back into her shoes. ‘I’m sorry but I’ve got to go...’ She adjusted the bag strap across her shoulder, then she looked up, eyes narrowing. ‘Are you okay, Mia? You’ve gone pale.’
She wasn’t okay, but it wasn’t Lotte’s fault. She’d been all over the place after her lunch date with Theo, so she’d only given Lotte a tightly edited version. Lotte had no idea that Eline was Theo’s ex.
She got to her feet and managed a shaky smile. ‘I’m shell-shocked, that’s all. As you said, Eline freaking de Vries!’
It was warm and sunny on the deck. She didn’t usually sit out in the afternoon, because there were too many people going past, too many curious eyes, but Lotte’s news had thrown her into a flat spin and she’d needed some air. Cleuso had wasted no time in joining her in the old wicker chair, and now he was sitting on her knee purring, his eyes closing.
‘You can’t go to sleep.’ She rubbed his throat, tilting his face upward, but his lids determinedly stayed shut. She released his chin and stroked his head. ‘I was hoping for some advice...’ He shifted, turned a slow circle then curled into a neat furry bundle; a warm, soft weight in her lap. She slumped backwards, stretching to reach her cup of camomile tea from the base of an upturned plant pot. Camomile wasn’t her thing, but her nerve ends were fraying fibre by fibre and she’d thought it might help.
Eline de Vries!
Of all the people in the world, Lotte had set her up for a job with Theo’s ex, had inadvertently handed her the mother of all conundrums. To tell him or not...? To take the job, or not....? She sniffed the tea, shuddered and set it down again. If she told him he wouldn’t take it well; she knew that instinctively. It wasn’t unreasonable, she supposed, most people wouldn’t want their current partner meeting their ex, but she had a feeling that Theo’s reaction would go beyond ordinary discomfort.
There was something he wasn’t telling her about the reasons for Eline’s affair; she was sure of it. What he’d said about them marrying too young, about Eline’s career driving a wedge between them... It had sounded like a cliché and it didn’t tally with the bitterness she’d seen in his eyes when they’d been talking in his kitchen. At the time, she’d felt that his pain was genuine, but she had been wrong about someone before. She’d fallen for Hal’s masquerades, jetted off
