Read Online Fast Friends by Jill Mansell - Free Book Online Page B

fuchsia pink Nicole Farhi strapless evening dress, the impeccably cut white wool loose jacket and
matching trousers, the striped silk
jacket in ice-cream shades of pink and
lilac, the plain, wide shouldered taffeta dress by Jasper Conran which was of
exactly the same lapis-lazuli shade as her eyes .. .
    ‘Now I need another cash injection to pay the dry-cleaning bills,’ murmured Camilla, who had been
devoted to polyester for the last ten
years. She tried to feel ashamed of her extravagance but it wouldn’t
happen. Her mouth kept stretching into a wide
smile of pure satisfaction and the Christmas- morning sensation simply
refused to go away.
    ‘I’ll go and see Jack tomorrow, see what I can do,’ Loulou
assured her, keeping a straight face. ‘I’ll just say: Hi, Jack. Your poor
cheated-on little wife blew the cash you gave her and now she’d like the same
amount again. This time she might even get around
to buying some knickers. On second thoughts, why bother? Who needs
knickers anyway?’
    ‘ You wouldn’t dare!’ exclaimed Camilla,
appalled. Then she thought, why not? There
really was no reason why Jack shouldn’t be shocked. He no longer mattered to her. The children, however, were another matter. ‘How did he seem when
you went to see him?’ she asked for the first time, unable to hide the
anxiety in her voice. It was no good, she couldn’t cut him out of her life so
quickly and completely. A husband wasn’t a bad appendix. She still cared about
him. And about Charlotte and Toby, desperately.
    ‘He was OK,’
said Loulou casually, having felt it unwise to mention at the time that it had been Roz who had made the visit. And judging by the look on Camilla’s face it
wasn’t quite the moment to admit to it
now. ‘He doesn’t deserve it, but he’s
just about OK. Hey, let’s not spoil a good day talking about that lower-than-dirt little creep. I’ve got
to get down stairs and hurl a few insults in the direction of my beloved
customers. You,’ she concluded, circling her index finger in Camilla’s direction, ‘have fifteen minutes to
change into that divine little Jasper Conran creation and admire
yourself in the mirror. Then you come down
and join me, and we’ll watch how far
Dirty Dicky O’Neill’s eyes pop out of his head when he clocks you.’
     
    ’I’m a fraud,’ Loulou told Christo, her favourite barman,
as she watched him expertly uncork four bottles of Beaujolais. ‘A bullshitter and a fraud. How,’ she demanded,
tearing a glossy leaf from a potted
palm with unnecessary ferocity, ‘do I have the nerve to stand there and
tell Camilla not to pine over her God-awful husband, when for the last three
days all I’ve been doing is pining for one
of mine – and he’s even more of a bastard than hers.’
    ‘ Which one?’ said Christo calmly, taking the
spiky-edged frond
of greenery from Loulou’s agitated fingers and dropping it into the bin behind the bar.
    ‘ Mackenzie,’ she
admitted, her face the picture of gloom.
‘The very worst one, of course. You’d think I’d have the sense to find some better way of spending my
time – like sitting on a bed of nails
or playing Russian roulette – but no,
I have to keep thinking about him, all day and all night, and at the same time put on a brave face for
Camilla. It’s too much.’
    ‘ What about Julian?’
    ‘ Gone to Sweden for a
fortnight. Do you think that’s why I’ve
started thinking about Mac again?’ Loulou gave him a wry smile. ‘You’re
absolutely right, of course. Celibacy doesn’t agree with me – it’s just that I don’t think Camilla could cope with it if I had a man in my bed while she was staying with
me. Seems a bit heartless, somehow.’
    ‘ Careful, Lou. If people
could hear you now your reputa tion
would be in tatters. This crowd,’ he indicated with a nod of his head the party of Sloanes who regularly
inhabitated Vampires, ‘would die
laughing if they thought you had a conscience.’
    ‘ Oh,