Copyright
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2016
Copyright © Amanda Valentine 2016
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2016
Cover photographs © Diane Kerpan/Arcangel (main image); Shutterstock.com (texture and apple)
Amanda Valentine asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Source ISBN: 9780008116552
Ebook Edition © November 2016 ISBN: 9780008116569
Version 2016-10-13
Dedication
For Jessica Valentine, who made the task of bringing up a teenager surprisingly easy
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Scarlett
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Scarlett
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Scarlett
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Scarlett
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Scarlett
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Scarlett
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Scarlett
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Scarlett
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Scarlett
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Scarlett
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Scarlett
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Scarlett
Chapter 25
Scarlett
Chapter 26
Scarlett
Chapter 27
Scarlett
Chapter 28
Scarlett
Chapter 29
Scarlett
Chapter 30
Scarlett
Chapter 31
Scarlett
Acknowledgements
Questions & Answers
Keep Reading …
About the Author
Also by Amanda Brooke
About the Publisher
Scarlett
You might as well know from the start, I’m not going to tell on him and I don’t care how much trouble I get in. It’s not like it could get any worse than it already is. Well, actually, it probably could get a whole lot worse, which is why I’m not doing it.
I can’t. Don’t ask me why, I just can’t.
It’s so unfair.
1
The Accusations
Monday, 22 February 2016
Nina sat alone at the breakfast bar as the sun began its slow ascent over the quiet Cheshire town of Sedgefield. The watery light had an ominous red tinge as it crept into the darkened kitchen of the pretty townhouse she shared with her husband and two teenage children. By rights, she should be unloading stock at the shop by now after an early morning trip to the flower market, but Nina was still in her dressing gown, her blonde hair pulled back in a butterfly clip, her face unwashed and her blue eyes dull and empty.
Nina had inherited a strong work ethic from her father, along with the family floristry business, and it had been going against everything he had taught her when she phoned her assistant Janet to say she wouldn’t be in. There were a handful of orders that Janet would do her best to complete from the slim pickings what would be left at the market by the time she got there, but Nina had told her not to worry and to turn down new business if she needed to. In truth, Nina didn’t care, and she had no idea when that situation might change. She wondered what her parents would make of the sorry mess she was in. She was almost glad they weren’t around to see it.
Ever since Scarlett had dropped her bombshell on Saturday night, Nina had been in a state of shock, and more than twenty-four hours later, she was still struggling to work out how she was meant to react. It didn’t help of course that Scarlett had barricaded herself in her bedroom. Nina had tried to reason with her, she had spoken gently to coax the truth out of her daughter, and when that had failed, she had yelled and made threats, only to be met with equal success.
With nothing except the most meagre of information to go on, Nina had no option but to sift through the minutiae of her life and question everything she had thought to be true. The returning answers were ones she didn’t want to hear, but she couldn’t ignore them, not any more, not when her fifteen-year-old daughter was pregnant.
And of all the questions she had, there was one that scared Nina most. Who the hell was the baby’s father?
2
Before
Tuesday, 1 September 2015
Nina pulled up outside the house and paused for a moment to savour the new life she was slowly adjusting to. Something both marvellous and momentous had happened over the summer holidays: Nina Carrington was no more. The ever so slightly bitter divorcée who had brought up two children singlehandedly, vowing never to be financially or emotionally dependent on any man ever again, was no more. She blamed the Welshman.
She had met Bryn Thomas at a New Year’s Eve party thrown by one of Sedgefield’s most renowned citizens who happened to be Nina’s best friend and confidante. Sarah Tavistock and her husband Miles knew how to throw a good party and Sarah had high hopes every year of finding a suitable candidate for the vacancy in Nina’s life.
Yet despite Sarah’s valiant efforts, for the previous eight years Nina had been left feeling distinctly underwhelmed. It was going to take someone exceptional to persuade her to forsake the independent life she had become accustomed to, and, to everyone’s surprise, that someone had been the taxi driver who had dropped her off at the party.
Within six months, Nina couldn’t imagine life without her Welshman and by August, Nina Carrington had officially moved out, making room for Nina Thomas, the forty-two-year-old, newly married wife of Bryn. Nina’s second husband was a year younger than her, and as far removed from her first husband as she could hope. Where Adam Carrington had been a smooth operator, Bryn was quietly charming. He was attentive, he was eager to please, and he was gentle in spite of his muscular frame. Bryn did his best to keep in shape despite a job renowned for late nights fuelled by junk food, but he was by no means vain, which was perfect because Nina hadn’t been looking for an Adonis. She had been looking for someone who wasn’t expecting to be noticed, and when she had found him, the speed of their relationship had surprised them both, as it had her family and friends.
When Nina Thomas put her key in the front door, she pitied her former self, who would have been about to step quietly into an empty house. It was Liam and Scarlett’s first day back at school and Nina would
normally be the first one home during term-time. What wasn’t normal, or at least not yet, was coming home to the aroma of home baking.
‘You’ve been busy,’ she said as she stepped into the large open-plan kitchen.
Bryn picked up a flapjack from the cooling rack and held it temptingly towards her. ‘Like to try one?’
Nina walked over and with her hands behind her back, opened her mouth while suppressing a smile. Bryn held the flapjack at a tantalizing distance so that Nina had to snatch a bite. When she bit down on the delicious mix of sweet, golden oats, toasted hazelnuts and juicy raisins, she groaned. ‘You’re deadly for my figure.’
‘I’d say it’s your figure that’s deadly,’ Bryn said, replacing the flapjack with a kiss.
‘You won’t be saying that after I’ve had a year of your home cooking.’
‘The recipe is low-fat and I’ve only used natural sugars. Besides, a little of what you fancy does you good.’
‘And what happens if you have too much of a good thing?’ Nina asked.
Bryn patted his stomach. ‘If I’m anything to go by, you won’t be gaining weight.’ There was a note of pride in his voice, but then a thought occurred. ‘But that’s only because I was turning into a bit of a couch potato before I met you. I’m not suggesting you need to lose weight.’
Nina gave a soft laugh. ‘Don’t panic, I know what you meant, but I could stand to lose a few pounds. Believe it or not, I was once as slim as Scarlett.’
‘And she has you to thank for her looks,’ he said, sounding serious all of a sudden. ‘You are without doubt the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, Nina.’
When she held his gaze, Nina felt such a rush of love that it took her breath away. She knew they were still in the honeymoon period and there would come a time when they would settle into a comfortable life but, right now, she wanted her husband and he knew it. The air fizzed between them.
‘The kids will be home soon,’ he said.
Letting out a frustrated sigh as she took control of her desires, Nina said, ‘I know. So what else have you been up to? I hope you’ve had a chance to get your head down.’
‘A few hours, once I knew the kids were off OK.’
Bryn worked the late shift for a local cab company and was out from early evening until the small hours. Before taking on the responsibilities of a family, he would have returned home and gone straight to bed, not rising until midday.
‘How were they this morning?’ Nina asked, having set off for the market shortly after Bryn had come home.
‘I wouldn’t go as far as to say they were raring to go,’ he said, ‘but they were both up in time to eat breakfast, even if Scarlett did have to rush to catch the bus. Liam was his usual leisurely self, so if he was running late, I didn’t notice.’
Nina scrutinized Bryn’s slate-grey eyes. He was painting a picture of average family life that didn’t quite fit with her household. For most of their young lives, her children had endured an absent father and an overworked mother who had either dragged them out of bed to stay with a childminder, or more recently, left them to their own devices in the mornings and hoped for the best.
Liam was the oldest at seventeen and Scarlett two years younger, and despite the challenges of single-parenting, they had all been happy enough with their unremarkable lives. Nina wasn’t sure if her children had ever considered the possibility that she might find a new man; Bryn had been her one and only serious relationship since her divorce. Their reaction to his sudden appearance had been muted, and while they hadn’t gone as far as refusing to accept Bryn into their lives, neither had they welcomed him. Liam had continued with his usual routines, which rarely involved leaving his room; for the most part, his acceptance had been less tangible. Scarlett, on the other hand, was more aloof than hostile. Nina had watched anxiously as her daughter attempted to work out how, or even if she should, acknowledge Bryn’s intrusion into the family.
Aware that the idyllic family life of her dreams was still a work in progress, Nina asked, ‘Did you actually see them?’
‘I piled a plate high with toast to tempt them,’ he said in a low hush as if he were a naturalist out in the field waiting for a glimpse of some rare species. ‘Using a newspaper as a hide, I heard the female approach. The fridge door opened, orange juice was poured and there was the distinctive crunch of toast. When I looked up, the juice had been discarded and the creature was cursing under her breath as she slammed the front door.’
‘And the male?’
‘He was far more elusive, and I must have become distracted by the sports section, because the next thing I knew, the last of the toast had been reduced to crumbs, and with a gentle click, the front door closed again.’
‘Did either of them actually speak to you?’ Nina said, her playful tone replaced by one of exasperation. When Bryn winced in response, she added, ‘Not even a good morning, please or thank you?’
‘It’s the first day of term, what did you expect?’
‘A bit of gratitude wouldn’t have gone amiss, given how you stayed up to make them breakfast.’ She looked at the flapjacks, and added, ‘And I suppose those are to make their homecoming more welcoming?’
‘I enjoy baking. I enjoy having a family to look after.’
Nina slipped her arms around her husband’s neck, which was quite a stretch. She was the shortest member of the household and even Scarlett towered over her these days. ‘Well, if my self-centred children don’t appreciate you, I do. I really did get lucky when I phoned for that taxi.’
‘Oh for God’s sake, get a room,’ someone said from behind them.
Rather than pull away from the embrace as Bryn intended, Nina drew him closer for a kiss, not caring that it would intensify her daughter’s mortification. If she couldn’t convince her children to accept Bryn, she was going to make it absolutely clear how important he was to her. Marrying Bryn Thomas was not the symptom of a midlife crisis, as Sarah had suggested on more than one occasion. There were simply times when something felt right because it was right.
By the time Nina was ready to face her daughter, Scarlett had turned her back on them and was inspecting the contents of the fridge. Gone were the days when her daughter looked cute in her new uniform. Her plaid skirt had been rolled up at the waist so that it was a couple of inches higher than the regulatory knee-length, although thankfully still longer than most of the outfits she was inclined to wear these days.
When Scarlett picked up a half-eaten bar of chocolate, Nina said, ‘Why don’t you try a flapjack?’
‘Chocolate’s good for you,’ Scarlett said, snapping a piece from the bar.
Nina tutted. ‘You do know that’s just a myth? There’s no scientific evidence behind it.’
Scarlett popped the chocolate in her mouth and beamed a smile. ‘I’ll take my chances.’
‘The flapjacks will keep, I’ll put them in a container,’ Bryn said. ‘They’re only a hundred calories each, and they have slow-releasing energy.’
Under her mother’s withering glare, Scarlett’s conscience was pricked. ‘I suppose I could take some out tonight for my mates.’
‘Out? Tonight?’ Nina repeated. ‘I don’t think so. Summer holidays are over and you have your GCSEs this year. No socializing during the week and only once at the weekend.’
Scarlett’s jaw dropped. ‘You can’t do that!’
‘It’s not open for discussion, Scarlett. That’s how it is. And by the way,’ Nina added, dropping her gaze to Scarlett’s hands, ‘when I told you last night to take off your nail varnish, I meant take it off. You know the school rules, and by my reckoning you’re breaking at least half a dozen.’
‘But, Mum, nobody cares. Everyone wears makeup and nail varnish, and the teachers don’t say a thing. If you’re that bothered, I’ll put nail-varnish remover in my bag and, if any of the teachers freak out, I’ll take it off.’
‘No, do it now.’
Scarlett shoved another piece of chocolate in her mouth b
efore returning the remainder to the fridge. ‘If I do, can I still go out tonight? It’s not as if school’s started properly.’
In the midst of their negotiations, Liam had appeared like a spectre only vaguely aware of the world around him. Without uttering a word, he grabbed something from the fridge and wedged it between two slices of bread before disappearing.
‘I give up, honestly I do.’
Scarlett’s face lit up and she ran over to give her mum a dramatic hug. ‘Thank you, Mum,’ she said, scurrying out of the kitchen before Nina realized her daughter thought she had been talking to her. Nina was going to have to up her game if she were to avoid being outmanoeuvred by her children in the coming year.
Nina stood on the landing staring at two firmly closed bedroom doors, and as she listened to Bryn preparing dinner downstairs she could feel her frustration get the better of her. She accepted that they were all in a period of adjustment, but was it too much to expect Liam and Scarlett to at least acknowledge the efforts their stepfather was making, even if they chose not to reciprocate? Her marriage could be a great opportunity for them to have a male role model in their lives at long last, if only they would recognize it.
Liam and Scarlett’s dad worked on the North Sea oil rigs and lived a single life in Aberdeen as far as Nina was aware. His children rarely had contact with him and it had been a year or two since either of them had made noises about going to stay with him. Nina had been a lone parent in every sense of the word and, despite heroic efforts, there had been limits to the advice and support she could offer her children, not to mention time. Bryn could bridge the gap. He was bridging the gap, and while Nina wasn’t quite ready to drive the point home forcefully, she wasn’t averse to helping things along.
The Affair Page 1