The Annie Carter Series Books 1–4. Jessie Keane

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       48

      Annie had made two decisions. Now she was settled into the apartment, she felt stronger and more able to start setting her life straight.

      One, she was going to deter Kieron from being a fucking nuisance and hanging around her like a lovesick hound. You didn’t mix it with Max Carter like Kieron had and carry on getting away with it. When Max snapped – and Annie knew he would – Kieron would be in deep shit. And she didn’t want another death on her conscience.

      Her second decision was that she would try even harder to build bridges with her sister. She knew it wouldn’t be easy, but however long it bloody took or however tough the going got, she was determined to bring Ruthie back to her. The thing with her and Max was over. Now, surely, there could be forgiveness and reconciliation. Feeling apprehensive, she phoned Queenie’s place across town and was both pleased and nervous when Ruthie picked the phone up.

      ‘Oh. It’s you,’ said Ruthie when Annie announced herself.

      Not a great start, but Annie pressed on. ‘I thought I’d call and see how you are.’

      ‘That’s good of you,’ said Ruthie with sarcasm.

      ‘I want us to be friends again, Ruthie,’ said Annie. ‘I know I did a horrible thing to you. I was young and stupid and jealous of the attention you got.’

      It was only one and a half years since Ruthie and Max had married, but Annie felt she had aged ten years in that short time. She had been forced to grow up fast, and she could see clearly now how bad her behaviour had been.

      ‘Ruthie, I can’t begin to say how sorry I am. But all that’s over now. I’ve made a new start with my life, and …’

      ‘And you want to wipe the slate clean,’ said Ruthie.

      ‘Yes. Exactly.’

      ‘I want to do the same,’ said Ruthie.

      ‘Oh? Well … good.’

      ‘I want to forget I ever knew you, you cheating whore. And I will.’

      ‘Ruthie,’ said Annie desperately, ‘it’s over with me and Max. You’ve got to believe that.’

      ‘Oh, I think I do. He told me the same thing, you see,’ said Ruthie. ‘So maybe between you there might be a hint of the truth in there. He’s taken the Surrey house off the market. It’s a bit bloody inconvenient, to be honest. I’ve packed up so much, now I’ve got to get it all out of the boxes again. But never mind. Max says I can redecorate the place, chuck the damned boxes away if I want, start all over again.’

      ‘That’s good,’ said Annie cautiously.

      ‘Yes, it is. He’s taken Miss Arnott back too. We’re thinking about a second honeymoon. Max wants to try again.’

      Annie felt sick. To her horror she felt her eyes fill with tears. Oh sure, it was over. But if all this was true, if this wasn’t just Ruthie trying to hurt her the only way she knew how, then it was hurtful. She couldn’t help how she felt, even though she wished she could.

      ‘He told me he talked to you at that Kieron Delaney’s art exhibition,’ went on Ruthie. ‘He said you agreed between you that it was over.’

      Which they had, Annie supposed. All true. But her heart felt like a lump of lead in her chest. She wondered if this was Max’s way of getting his revenge. He knew that sooner or later she’d hear about this from someone if not from Ruthie herself. And he knew it would hurt her.

      ‘Yes, that’s right,’ she forced herself to say.

      ‘So the way’s clear for me and Max to make a go of our marriage,’ said Ruthie. ‘So I have to say thank you, Annie. Thanks to you for finally giving up trying to steal my husband. It’s taken you long enough.’

      ‘I know that what I did was unforgivable,’ said Annie.

      ‘That’s right. It was,’ said Ruthie, and put the phone down.

      Annie put the phone back on the cradle. Well, what had she expected? A tearful reunion, Ruthie coming over for coffee and cakes?

      Oh yeah, that was sure to happen, she thought.

      She looked around her, at her beautiful empty apartment. She was alone and feeling the ache. She missed the cosy chats around the kitchen table with the Limehouse girls. She missed Celia. She missed Max. She missed Ruthie more than anything. Then she jumped as the phone rang. She snatched it up. It was Ruthie, phoning back, had to be.

      But it wasn’t. It was Kieron.

      ‘What do you want, Kieron?’ she asked him wearily.

      ‘I just wanted to see how you are,’ he said.

      ‘I’m fine.’

      ‘Oh. You sound … I don’t know. Upset.’

      ‘Just a bad day.’ One of many.

      ‘Only you went off with Max Carter at my exhibition, and I haven’t seen or heard from you since. It’s been some time, I’ve been worried.’

      ‘Nothing to worry about. He just drove me home.’

      ‘Oh.’ Kieron gave a laugh. ‘I was a bit put out, I’ll admit. After all, you were my guest. It isn’t quite the done thing, leaving with another man, is it?’

      Fuck it, now he was chiding her for her behaviour. Stung from Ruthie giving her an ear-bashing, she had no inclination to sit there and listen to Kieron giving her another one.

      ‘I’m not a fucking trophy, Kieron,’ said Annie. ‘I went with Max because you were heading for trouble with him and you were too bloody stupid to even see it.’

      ‘Ah, catch yourself on,’ said Kieron breezily. ‘I can handle the likes of him.’

      ‘Don’t be fucking funny, Kieron,’ exploded Annie. ‘He’d bloody-well eat you and spit out the bits. Now don’t be a fucking idiot. Stay away. We can’t see each other any more, and that’s an end to it.’