Jilly was wide-eyed. ‘I wondered why you were being short on messages with your answers about Miss Perfect and Jago and everything.’
‘I’m so sorry. I’ve been busy with the retreat and I’ve held it in. Zen knew without me telling her. Kel knows, but nobody else. I just haven’t had much time to have a proper face-to-face conversation with you, that’s all.’
Jilly squeezed Rita’s leg supportively. ‘You’re here now and I’ve got you, girl. So, what’s happening with Jago, then?’
Rolling her shoulders, Rita let out a huge sigh. ‘I can’t even tell you how stressful it’s been. I… I don’t even know where to start. Seeing Elodie, knowing she’s… been there… it just… it messed with me. I have moments of clarity and strength.’ She paused, letting the words trail. ‘I know Ihaveto tell him about this, but shehasto be gone, properly gone, before I do. He said she had, then she pitched up and let herself into his house! I’ve been lost, Jilly. Proper lost.’
‘Ah, love. No wonder you’re wound up, hormones are doing a samba, and your heart’s in a twist. So, my advice. First. You don’t sort this on the hoof. You set a proper time to talk. Sit down, no distractions, no phones, no nothing. Neutral ground even, so no bugger turns up at the door.’
Rita nodded. ‘Good idea.’
‘Then you tell him how you feel, what you need. Anger’s fine, tears are fine, just get it out. Pure facts, not some soap opera twist. You want him listening, not legging it to the hills.’
Rita sighed deeply. ‘It’s just… so much history. Too much to ignore, too much to let go.’
Jilly’s lips twitched. ‘Then own it. And as for Elodie? I’ve met types like her before. She’ll wrap him round her finger, no sweat. And the way you talk about Jago… he’ll fall for it. They like empathetic men like him.’
‘I’m sure that is what she is doing now.’
‘You can’t kid a kidder, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Amélie isn’t just a sorry pawn in her game too.’
Rita shivered. ‘I did say exactly that to him, and I do think she could be lying. But oh my God, surely somebody can’t be that wicked!’
Jilly smiled knowingly. ‘Be honest, be brave, and just keep breathing.’
Rita gave a shaky smile. ‘Thanks, Jilly. I’ll set a proper time. No walls. No hiding.’
‘Sound.’ Jilly jumped up. ‘And if he hasn’t got the balls to reciprocate, then more fool him.’
Checking her watch, Rita stood up and stretched her arms high.
‘Yes, look at the time. We’ve got twenty minutes to get you on a machine before my next client. You’re going to need a lead-lined pelvic floor with the two of them inside of yous.’
Rita was driving back from the harbour with a bag of goodies from Betty’s on the passenger seat. For today, she had decided, was all hers. No retreat guests, no running around like a headless chicken. She’d be snacking her way through the afternoon, sitting in her back garden, letting the radio, the sun and sea breeze do their thing. Jilly was always so no-nonsense and had made her feel as if everything with Jago was just a simple conversation to have in an adult manner. Which it clearly wasn’t!
She was about to alter the course of his life completely. He would soon be father to two babies with a woman he wasn’t even technically with right now, both of them hovering in that uneasy space between love and doubt. All after just being told that he had a five-year-old daughter with a probable narcissist. She was just thinking of what she would put in her invite message to him when her phone buzzed. Clicking it through to hands free, she turned up the volume.
‘Reet, are you at home?’ Kelly’s voice came through, urgent and full of excitement.
Rita screwed up her face. ‘Nearly, you all right?’
‘Yeah, fine. It’s just you know my mate Angie, well, her daughter’s getting hitched, and she’s all over the wedding sites and magazines. I went round for book club the other night and told her what you did, and… well, you’ve got to see this.’
Rita kept one hand on the wheel. ‘I’m driving, mate. What is it?’
‘Somebody called Imogen Hamilton-Clark… writes for one of those lifestyle sites… in this case, the wedding section. And get this, she’s written an article about your retreat.’
Rita blinked. ‘Really?’
‘Oh.’ There was a pause as Kelly scanned the articles.
‘Kel? You there?’
‘Yes, just reading it properly myself.’ Her tone then changed; she tutted. ‘Oh. It’s not all good either.’
Rita tightened her grip on the wheel, a mix of dread and curiosity twisting in her stomach. She could hear the ocean to her left, feel the sun on her face, and yet her mind was now far from relaxed.
‘Do you know this woman?’ Kel quizzed.
