again. So, when Lydia invited her to a barbecue she was hosting the following week, she accepted.
Of course it hadn’t taken long for Miranda to realise that Lydia was completely self-absorbed and a total narcissist. But, despite that, Miranda always had fun in Lydia’s company. And what, frankly, was the alternative? Sitting in her huge house alone watching TV?
Doug, though, just as Miranda suspected, had been unimpressed by her new friend.
‘She’s a bit in your face, isn’t she?’ he remarked on first meeting Lydia.
Miranda couldn’t deny it. Lydia was very much ‘in your face’, but she kept life interesting. Sometimes so interesting that Miranda ran out of energy attempting to keep up with her. Indeed, although she would never dare admit it to Lydia, there were times when, rather than hitting a nightclub, or jetting off to Marbella, Miranda would’ve preferred snuggling up to her husband and watching a soppy film, or going for an evening walk, just the two of them. But she couldn’t do either of those things because Doug was never there. A fact she dealt well with – mostly. Except on those days she felt completely purpose-less; when she longed for some ingenuous human company. And it was on one of those days that she made the biggest mistake of her life.
It had been early September, a glorious day with the sun blazing down from a cloudless sky. Miranda, incredibly bored and lonely, with nothing else to do, had spent the entire day in her bikini by the side of the pool, sipping Pimms and listening to old nineties tracks on her iPod.
Shortly before five o’clock, Eduardo arrived for Josie’s tennis lesson, but no sooner had Miranda exchanged pleasantries with him than his mobile rang. It was Josie – stuck in town. She apologised and rearranged the lesson for the following day. Understandably, Eduardo was less than impressed.
‘Now I have free hour,’ he huffed, in his thick Spanish accent. ‘And nothing to do.’
Horizontal on her sunbed, tipsy from the alcohol, and fed up with being on her own, Miranda waved an airy hand. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll pay you for the hour. And if you want something to do, why don’t you stay and have a drink?’
Eduardo blew out an exasperated breath. ‘You mind if I have swim?’ he asked, gesturing to the pool.
‘Of course not,’ replied Miranda. ‘Help yourself.’
At the questioning dark eyebrow raised in response to her blasé statement, and the accompanying visual appraisal of her bikini-clad body, Miranda couldn’t resist a surreptitious smile as Eduardo whipped off his T-shirt and dived gracefully into the pool. It was a massive confidence boost to know she could still attract the attention of someone ten years her junior – and someone as good-looking as Eduardo. She reached for her glass and knocked back another large slug of Pimms. Watching the Spaniard from behind her Gucci sunglasses, his strong arms slicing effortlessly through the water, she suddenly felt extremely hot and bothered. A situation not helped when he hauled himself out of the water and came to stand before her, rivulets of water running down his strong, muscular body.
‘Your husband? He is home?’
Miranda shook her head. ‘He’s never home. He’s working in Dubai at the moment. And after that, who knows where.’
Eduardo’s dark eyes grew even darker as they roved, once more, over her toned, almost naked body, this time leaving a trail of heat in their wake.
‘Then you are alone a lot?’
‘A lot,’ she murmured, her head beginning to swim under the intensity of his gaze.
‘I think he must be very stupid man, leaving such a beautiful woman alone.’
Miranda gulped. As corny as the line was, the way he said it caused her stomach to flip over. ‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ she eventually replied. The last thing she wanted was people feeling sorry for her so she injected as much bravado as possible into her tone. ‘I love having the freedom to do whatever I
Of course it hadn’t taken long for Miranda to realise that Lydia was completely self-absorbed and a total narcissist. But, despite that, Miranda always had fun in Lydia’s company. And what, frankly, was the alternative? Sitting in her huge house alone watching TV?
Doug, though, just as Miranda suspected, had been unimpressed by her new friend.
‘She’s a bit in your face, isn’t she?’ he remarked on first meeting Lydia.
Miranda couldn’t deny it. Lydia was very much ‘in your face’, but she kept life interesting. Sometimes so interesting that Miranda ran out of energy attempting to keep up with her. Indeed, although she would never dare admit it to Lydia, there were times when, rather than hitting a nightclub, or jetting off to Marbella, Miranda would’ve preferred snuggling up to her husband and watching a soppy film, or going for an evening walk, just the two of them. But she couldn’t do either of those things because Doug was never there. A fact she dealt well with – mostly. Except on those days she felt completely purpose-less; when she longed for some ingenuous human company. And it was on one of those days that she made the biggest mistake of her life.
It had been early September, a glorious day with the sun blazing down from a cloudless sky. Miranda, incredibly bored and lonely, with nothing else to do, had spent the entire day in her bikini by the side of the pool, sipping Pimms and listening to old nineties tracks on her iPod.
Shortly before five o’clock, Eduardo arrived for Josie’s tennis lesson, but no sooner had Miranda exchanged pleasantries with him than his mobile rang. It was Josie – stuck in town. She apologised and rearranged the lesson for the following day. Understandably, Eduardo was less than impressed.
‘Now I have free hour,’ he huffed, in his thick Spanish accent. ‘And nothing to do.’
Horizontal on her sunbed, tipsy from the alcohol, and fed up with being on her own, Miranda waved an airy hand. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll pay you for the hour. And if you want something to do, why don’t you stay and have a drink?’
Eduardo blew out an exasperated breath. ‘You mind if I have swim?’ he asked, gesturing to the pool.
‘Of course not,’ replied Miranda. ‘Help yourself.’
At the questioning dark eyebrow raised in response to her blasé statement, and the accompanying visual appraisal of her bikini-clad body, Miranda couldn’t resist a surreptitious smile as Eduardo whipped off his T-shirt and dived gracefully into the pool. It was a massive confidence boost to know she could still attract the attention of someone ten years her junior – and someone as good-looking as Eduardo. She reached for her glass and knocked back another large slug of Pimms. Watching the Spaniard from behind her Gucci sunglasses, his strong arms slicing effortlessly through the water, she suddenly felt extremely hot and bothered. A situation not helped when he hauled himself out of the water and came to stand before her, rivulets of water running down his strong, muscular body.
‘Your husband? He is home?’
Miranda shook her head. ‘He’s never home. He’s working in Dubai at the moment. And after that, who knows where.’
Eduardo’s dark eyes grew even darker as they roved, once more, over her toned, almost naked body, this time leaving a trail of heat in their wake.
‘Then you are alone a lot?’
‘A lot,’ she murmured, her head beginning to swim under the intensity of his gaze.
‘I think he must be very stupid man, leaving such a beautiful woman alone.’
Miranda gulped. As corny as the line was, the way he said it caused her stomach to flip over. ‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ she eventually replied. The last thing she wanted was people feeling sorry for her so she injected as much bravado as possible into her tone. ‘I love having the freedom to do whatever I
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