Read Online Shopping With the Enemy by Carmen Reid - Free Book Online Page B

the process.’
    The lemon tea arrived and the playful New York versus London argument went on. As Lana kept up with it, she felt her heart skipping about in her chest. Now and then her eyes met Parker’s and their legs underneath the tiny table were definitely touching.
    She could hardly believe how well this was going. He was interested, she was completely sure he was interested. Any moment now and he would ask when they could meet up again.
    Finally, the tea glasses were drained. Parker checked his watch then looked slightly panicked.
    ‘Whoa, we have to shoot. Like ten minutes ago,’ he said, pulling out a couple of bills from his wallet and putting them down on the table, ‘but Lana, on Saturday there’s this club opening, the Spider’s Nest. Big party, really excellent party and I’d love it if you would be my guest.’
    ‘Sure! Fantastic!’ Lana said, completely forgetting to be cool.
    ‘OK, let me take your number,’ Parker patted his pockets and found his phone, ‘and I’ll message you with the details.’
    For several minutes after Parker and Fabian had gone, Lana had to stay on at the little table smiling to herself. He so liked her! He must like her because he’d asked her to the opening: ‘be my guest,’ he’d said.
    But then the doubt began to set in. Be my guest? How many guests would he have? Did that mean she would be his plus one? Did that make it a date? Or were other people coming?
    If she was one guest of many, then that wasn’t a date. No. Surely she was his plus one? That was what he’d meant.
    She glanced down at her phone, wondering when his message would come in. For the sake of something to do, she clicked to Facebook and scrolled down the posts.
    Owen was writing in German. The nutter. Gracie had changed her profile picture to an image of an adorable pug puppy in a shiny PVC coat. As Lana’s eyes travelled across Gracie’s latest post, her heart sank like a stone.
    ‘
Spider’s Nest opening, Sunday night. Going with my new best friend Parker Bain. Woo hoo!
’

Chapter Nine
    Milan
    Svetlana travels:
    Multi-coloured wrap dress (Missoni)
    Pale suede blazer (Gucci)
    High cork wedge sandals (Jimmy Choo)
    Huge sunglasses (Chanel)
    Selection of diamond rings (selection of ex-husbands)
    Huge gold and emerald earrings (Bvlgari Co-ordinating luggage (Hermès)
    Total est. cost: £74,000
    ‘AND HERE IS our car,’ Svetlana purred.
    Annie’s eyes travelled beyond the glass doors of the airport towards a stately, old-fashioned, luxurymobile, gleaming in the bright Italian sunshine.
    ‘You have got to be joking.’
    ‘I never joke,’ Svetlana replied in a dark, Ukrainian-laced deadpan voice.
    Annie was already in a deeply woozy state. She’d woken up very early and made breakfast for her twins before squeezing, kissing, hugging them goodbye and catching her cab to the airport.
    As soon as she’d located Svetlana at Gatwick, standing with her chauffeur in front of the check-in area, Annie had been whisked into the world of first class splendour.
    There had been no queuing, no waiting, no grumpy-faced check-in girls. Just a flick of tickets and passports, then she and Svetlana had been rushed to the First Class lounge, where glasses of Bucks Fizz had been pressed into their hands although it was only 7.20 a.m.
    In the calm and rarefied atmosphere of the first class cabin, Annie had soaked up a little more champagne because it helped with the worries which were racing round her head, even though she was now officially on holiday.
    Would Ed and Dinah cope with Owen and the twins? Would she feel any better when she got back? Would her passion for fashion really return as Svetlana promised? Would Tamsin definitely want her back? And as for Lana … Annie and Lana had still not had a proper phone conversation. When was that row finally going to blow over?
    Svetlana didn’t talk much on the flight, she just issued occasional instructions: ‘If you are nervous, drink more champagne.