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‘Ooh, look—it’s Lulu and Darren,’ Elaine said, tugging the magazine out of Carrie’s grip. ‘Isn’t she one of your clients?’
‘Yes,’ Carrie said, unsettled by how quickly her thoughts had bypassed Lulu and settled on Nikos Kristallis kissing her in Darren’s study.
‘Maybe not any longer,’ Elaine said. ‘Look—it says Darren has thrown her out.’
‘What?’ Carrie gasped, pulling the magazine back and placing it on the table between them. Was that her fault? Had Lulu been right about how strongly Darren would react to the voicemail she’d left him? If only Nik hadn’t interrupted her and she’d been able to get to Darren’s phone in time.
‘It says that she’s been having an affair with another footballer!’ Elaine said. ‘Darren discovered them together last week at a party. There was a terrible scene, ending with him throwing her out!’
‘How awful!’ Carrie said, feeling torn apart on Lulu’s behalf. But she couldn’t help wondering exactly what had really been going on when Lulu had begged her to get the phone.
They both looked at the photographic evidence in front of them—a sequence of shots that apparently showed Darren and Lulu arguing, followed by pictures of Lulu leaving the house in tears.
There were lots of other photos of guests at the party. Some of them were celebrities, some were not well known, but all of them seemed happy to be photographed at the glitzy party. Carrie frowned, thinking how fickle the media was—happy to build you up when it suited them, and even happier to drag you down if it made a better story.
‘Good grief—look at this!’ Elaine hooted, pointing to a photo of a couple kissing. Their faces were pressed together, keeping their identities hidden, but there was no hiding the way the couple’s bodies were intimately entwined in a position that was frankly sexual. The man’s leg was pressed between the woman’s thighs, pushing her skimpy red skirt up revealingly, and her back was arched so that her breasts were more than half exposed, and looked as if they were about to explode out of the dress altogether. ‘That’s positively indecent! Just what kind of party was it? Were you invited?’ Elaine asked.
‘What?’ Carrie gasped, feeling her blood run cold as she looked at the photo.
Oh, God! It was a picture of Nik kissing her!
‘Makes you wonder what goes on at these celebrity parties,’ Elaine said. ‘Some people have no shame. They’ll do anything to get their photo in one of these magazines. Did you see all this going on?’
‘No…no, I didn’t stay at the party,’ Carrie stammered. Her heart was pounding and she felt sick to her stomach. ‘Ready for your workout?’ she blurted, hoping Elaine wouldn’t notice that she was shaking, and beads of perspiration had broken out on her clammy brow.
Elaine laughed and tossed the magazine back on the table.
‘That’s why I love you!’ She smiled. ‘You’re so focussed. You never let me waste my workout time.’
‘I think you’ll enjoy the routine I’ve got planned,’ Carrie said, inwardly wincing because she certainly wasn’t focussed on Elaine at that moment. She continued speaking, trying to sound breezy and natural, when inside she felt like curling up and hiding. ‘It’s good to take advantage of the pool while we’re here.’
‘As long as it works,’ Elaine said, patting her stomach and looking critically at her thighs. ‘I haven’t got long to fit into my outfit.’
‘Your dress already looks great,’ Carrie reminded her. ‘And you’re so much fitter. You know you’ve done brilliantly.’ She was proud of how well Elaine had got back her fitness after an operation had prevented her from exercising for a while.
Carrie wasn’t really concerned with how slim people were; she just wanted to help them achieve their fitness goals so that they could enjoy life to the full. In her work as a trainer she always put the emphasis on fitness over conforming to stereotyped images of body size and shape. But she understood how important it was for Elaine to feel she looked good at her younger sister’s wedding.
‘Right—let’s do this,’ Elaine said, jumpin
g into the pool.
Carrie switched on the portable CD-player, and immediately a funky dance beat filled the air.
‘Okay, let’s warm up,’ she said, slipping into the water beside Elaine. She concentrated on the task at hand, hoping some hard work would burn off the stress adrenaline that was pumping round her body. As long as she didn’t let herself think about that appalling photo she’d be all right.
In the past she’d always taught aqua-aerobics from the poolside, where she could keep her eye on a whole class. Earlier, when she’d been planning the session, she’d thought it would be fun to get in to the water and join in properly—now she was grateful for something that required a higher level of concentration from her.
She started off gently, taking Elaine through the unfamiliar moves, but before long both of them were thoroughly involved in the routine. Carrie almost felt disappointed as she came to the end of the cool-down and stretch section of the workout.
‘That was really great,’ Elaine said, climbing out of the pool and pushing her wet hair out of her eyes.
‘I’m glad you enjoyed it. We’ll do it again tomorrow,’ Carrie said, pulling herself up out of the water. The tiles surrounding the pool felt deliciously hot under her wet feet as she walked across them to pick up a towel from the table.
She lifted the towel to dry her face, but as she closed her eyes behind the soft warm fabric a shiver suddenly darted down her spine.
Something was wrong. Elaine had started to speak, then suddenly gone quiet.
‘What is it?’ she asked, glancing quickly over to the children, who were still playing under the tree, and then back to Elaine.
