‘Nah, not at the moment,’ she replied, doing her best not to get ragu sauce on her white top. ‘I broke up with someone last year. Pete. Really good guy, he lives in my granny flat still.’
‘I hear your books are doing well.’
‘Ah, they’ve done alright,’ Alex replied modestly, when in fact they’d actually done remarkably well. She’d sold over ten million copies, been translated into thirty languages, with one film made and she had a decent advance to write the next three. She considered it to be eighty-five percent timing, ten percent luck and five percent talent. She wasn’t perhaps as well-known as other thriller writers, but she was known enough – enough to be financially comfortable, at any rate.
‘Hang on, back up… you live with your ex?’ Beth exclaimed. ‘I could never!’
‘You’ve never had an ex,’ Paul reminded her.
‘I’m not livingwithmy ex… not exactly. He just rents the flat from me, it was there when I bought the property. It sounds weird but it—’
‘But you’re just friends?’ Erin asked. ‘Nothing more?’
She nodded, wondering why everyone found their relationship so hard to understand, when in practice it was simple. Not every couple had to hate each other when they broke up.
Tara grinned. ‘But do you still… you know?’
Alex laughed. ‘God, no. That ship has sailed.’
‘And is he seeing anyone?’
All eyes were now on Christine, who lifted her wine glass, her own gaze fixed firmly on Alex. ‘Is he in a relationship now?’
Why yes, he is, prying woman I’ve never met.
‘Yeah,’ Alex replied. ‘Florence. The complete opposite of me, which is probably a good thing.’
‘Can’t imagine she’s too thrilled with that arrangement,’ Christine said, picking at her spaghetti. ‘It’s quite common for a rivalry of sorts to rear its head in these circumstances.’
Alex looked at Becky who was clearly uncomfortable with her girlfriend’s line of questioning.
‘Hmm,’ Alex replied, rather agitated by Christine. ‘I don’t—’
‘Alex met a man on the plane today and apparently, he’s an absolute ride. She gave him her number.’
Beth laughed loudly at Erin’s attempt to break whatever tension was mounting, while Alex cringed so far back in her chair, she feared she might break it.
‘Really?’ Tara asked, tearing at her garlic bread. ‘Good for you! What’s his name?’
Aiden. He’s sitting right beside you.
‘Um… Daniel, and it’s no biggie, I probably won’t ever hear from him again. Ships passing in the night and all that.’
‘Another ship analogy,’ Christine mumbled. Alex was certain she saw Becky nudge her girlfriend under the table.
‘Oh, course you will,’ Tara insisted, before elbowing an awkward-looking Aiden. ‘I mean, look at you! Aiden, look at her, will you? Can you imagine any man not calling that absolute goddess?’
Aiden, now forced to look, smiled weakly. ‘No. Of course not.’
‘See!’ she exclaimed triumphantly. ‘You were always too hard on yourself, Alexandra Moran, you need to nip that shite in the bud. If he has half a brain cell, I guarantee he’ll be thinking about you as we speak.’
‘Enough about me,’ Alex insisted. ‘I want to hear about Erin. We’re all just casually ignoring the fact that we’re sat here next to a genuine film star.’
The table whooped while Erin shuddered. ‘Oh God, enough. Being in a couple of movies does not make me a movie star.’
‘Well, two superhero movies, that’s a huge deal,’ Alex insisted.
‘I barely had any lines! It was a minor role!’
