by Jane Fallon
‘Thank God Amy had you two,’ he says. ‘She’s told me she never would have coped with the whole thing without you.’
Greg slaps him on the back. I almost expect him to start calling Tom ‘mate’, like he did Simon when he first met him. Greg has always been more at ease with women than with men, as if he’s not sure how to be one of them. Kat, of course, huffs and turns red and mutters something that sounds like, ‘Shut up.’
‘For God’s sake, don’t pay Kat a compliment,’ I say, laughing. ‘Not if you value your life.’
The doorbell rings again and I almost have a coronary. I don’t know why I’m so nervous.
As if he reads my mind, Tom says, ‘Do you want me to go and let them in?’ and I accept gracefully.
‘He’s nice,’ Kat says when he’s gone.
‘Oh no you don’t,’ I say. ‘It’s nothing like that.’
‘What? I just said he was nice.’ She looks at me, owl-eyed.
‘It was the way you said it.’
We’re saved from ourselves by the sound of voices in the hallway. I recognize Kieron’s immediately. He’s first in, followed by a blur of others.
‘There she is,’ he says, making a beeline for me. He looks so exactly the same but not the same that I get a lump in my throat. He’s still as striking looking as ever, but his once shaggy hair is now a number one, a casualty of impending baldness, by the looks of it. It suits him.
He swoops in for a kiss and then introduces me to Jim, who is behind him. I’m surprised that he’s on the short side and not in the slightest bit classically handsome, but then he smiles and it’s as if someone has turned on a light.
‘I’m going to say literally the worst thing you can ever say to someone you’ve just met,’ he says, as we shake hands. ‘I’ve heard a lot about you.’
Alistair is next. I’d recognize him anywhere from the haircut alone.
‘You haven’t changed a bit,’ I say, as he kisses me on the cheek.
‘You can talk,’ he says. ‘This is Siggy.’
A tall, blonde woman emerges from behind him. ‘I’ve also heard a lot about you,’ she says, in a clipped accent I take to be Scandinavian. ‘Good, I should say! All good.’
She hands me a fancy box that contains some kind of delicious-looking chocolate truffles.
‘They look amazing. Thank you.’
‘I made them,’ she says, rolling her eyes. ‘Our youngest just started nursery and I don’t know what to do with myself until I find a job.’
‘She’s basically superwoman,’ Alistair says affectionately.
Tom has clearly filled them all in on who Kat and Greg are because, one by one, they greet them like old friends. The sheer amount of warmth I feel coming from all seven of them could heat a sauna.
Kieron and Jim have brought a couple of bottles of fizz, so I put them in the fridge and Greg opens a cold one.
‘The bad news is you all have to climb a ladder now,’ I say, and four of them look at me as if I’m mental.
The next thing I know, it’s three hours later and I haven’t stopped talking and laughing all evening. There hasn’t been a lull in the conversation, no one has been left out. Both Kieron and Alistair have quietly told me that they’re sorry we lost touch, sorry they iced me out because of Mel.
‘Oh,’ Siggy says out of nowhere. ‘Did you tell her?’ She looks at Alistair. ‘We found Pia. Alistair tracked her down through a mutual friend. She’s living in Spain, very happily married, three kids and a job in a drama school.’ She beams happily, the bearer of good news.
‘She sent everyone her love,’ Alistair says. He looks at me. ‘Especially you. She told me she watched Murder in Manhattan religiously. She says, next time we all meet up, she’ll try and come over.’
I can feel I’m smiling from ear to ear, and it’s not just the wine. I’m feeling warm and fuzzy and melancholy all at the same time. I look over and see Kat happily chatting to Kieron and Siggy while Greg, Alistair and Jim all laugh heartily at something one of them has said. The evening is still warm and lights are twinkling all over London.
‘Are you having a nice time?’ Tom says from the seat next to me.
‘Lovely,’ I say.
He gives me a big, Tom-sized smile. ‘Marvellous,’ he says, and he reaches out and takes my hand. ‘Is that okay? Tell me if I’ve overstepped the mark.’
I look over and see Kat watching. She raises her eyebrows as if to say, ‘I told you so.’
I smile and look away. Leave my hand where it is, in Tom’s. ‘It’s definitely okay.’
Even if nothing more happens between us, I don’t care. So long as he’s my friend. Because I’ve realized that, once you find your real friends, you have to hang on to them. And so long as I have him and Kat and Greg, and all the other people currently partying on my roof in my life, nothing else matters. I’ll be fine.
Acknowledgements
As usual an army of people helped make this book happen and I can’t thank them all enough. Or individually, because that would be a whole other book in itself. Special mention though to Maxine Hitchcock at Michael Joseph, Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown, Charlotte Willow Edwards for her research and Elsie Fallon for actor-friendly call centre intel.
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‘A deliciously devious plot’
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‘A deliciously edgy read full of double-dealings and divided loyalties’
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‘Complex, moreish, emotionally intelligent’
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‘Sassy and brilliantly written’
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‘A great, intelligent read and I can’t recommend it highly enough’
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‘Intelligent, edgy and witty’
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‘Sparkling and unpredictable’
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THE BEGINNING
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First published in Penguin Books 2018
Text copyright © Jane Fallon, 2018
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Cover photos © Catherine Gratwicke Photography for Scarlet and Violet and © Shutterstock
ISBN: 978-1-405-93311-7
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