‘And you’re still blushing,’ Jake couldn’t resist pointing out.

‘Oh, shut up.’ Seeing Kate had caused her to regress; she was feeling stupid and inadequate all over again and now to cap it all she was redder than her glass of red wine. Right, stop it, enough.

Nuala Stratton leaned across the bar, agog. ‘Is that her? Is that the one who was always so horrid to you?’

As if Estelle Taylor-Trent were likely to bring any number of half-stunning, half-scarred 26-year-olds into the restaurant for dinner.

‘Come on,’ said Jake cheerfully, ‘time we hit the dartboard before the opposition gets here. We could all do with the practice.’

Kate was hating every moment. Everyone was pretending not to look at her. They had ordered from the menu and now she longed for a cigarette, but the dining section was non-smoking and she definitely wasn’t going to venture through to the bar to be ogled at close quarters.

‘Hungry, darling?’ Valiantly attempting to pretend there was nothing wrong, that this was just a normal, happy mother-daughter outing, Estelle was struggling to keep the conversation going. ‘The new chef’s much better than the old one. Daddy and I had a fantastic bouillabaisse last time we were in.’

Kate pointedly examined the salt cellar. In desperation, her mother gazed around the other tables.

‘Ooh, those mussels look nice.’

How could mussels look nice? Mussels were mussels, for crying out loud, nothing more than a heap of black shiny shells.

‘Sweetheart, trust me, everything’s going to be fine,’ Estelle whispered. ‘Just give them a few days to get used to you and—’

‘Oh please, Mum, don’t treat me like a kid,’ Kate hissed back. ‘Everything isn’t going to be fine. How can it, with me looking like this? I’ve had almost a year to get used to it,’ she went on bitterly, ‘and it hasn’t happened yet.’

‘But darling, it’s only a few little scars! How you look on the outside isn’t important, you’re still you ... oh Kate, where are you going? Sweetheart, come back.’

Chapter 6

It was no good, she couldn’t do this. Feeling horribly trapped, Kate stood up so fast she almost tipped her chair over. If she was going to cry, she had to get out of here before it happened. But pushing back through the crowded bar – past the darts teams limbering up for their match – would be too much of an ordeal.

Glimpsing the corridor to the right, Kate abruptly veered towards it. The ladies’ loo was through a door on the left. Locking herself into the cubicle with trembling hands, she collapsed onto the lowered lavatory seat and took several deep breaths, tilting her head back and willing the tears to go back down.

Thankfully it worked. When it was safe to return her head to the upright position, Kate snapped open her Prada bag, took out her cigarettes and lit one. This was what she was reduced to now; hiding in the toilet, smoking a Marlboro Light, hideously aware that out in the bar people were laughing and talking about her, and. there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to stop it.

All her life she’d adored being the centre of attention. But not like this.

Exhaling furiously, Kate pictured Maddy Harvey, whom until tonight she hadn’t seen for eight years. The change in her was amazing; Maddy had been the original ugly duckling.

If Estelle hadn’t kept her up to date with developments, she might not have recognised her. But having been told what to expect, she had known at once that the sparky blonde at the bar was Maddy.

She’d heard the burst of laughter, too, after she and Estelle had made their way through the bar. And when they’d been seated at their table she’d found herself covertly glancing over at her. Being prepared for an improvement was one thing, but this much of a transformation had come as a major shock. Maddy may only have been wearing a little black vest and black trousers, but the colour enhanced her bouncing, layered, white-blonde hair and golden tan. As she drank and joked with the visiting darts team, she exuded down-to-earth glamour and the kind of easy confidence that Oh hell.

Kate shrank back instinctively as the door handle to the loo began to jiggle. She stared at it, willing the intruder to give up and leave her in peace.

The jiggling stopped, then started up again, accompanied by the creak of wood as someone leaned against the door. Go away, thought Kate, wondering if it was her mother come to see how she was. Just go away.

‘ Hello?’ called a voice that clearly didn’t belong to Estelle. ‘Is anyone in there?’

Drawing hard on her Marlboro, Kate rose to her feet, lifted the wooden lavatory seat and dropped the rest of the cigarette down the loo. Then she flushed it away.

‘Oh, sorry!’ the voice sang out. ‘Sometimes you think there’s someone in there and it’s just that the door’s got stuck.’

A shiver went down the back of Kate’s neck. Was that Maddy’s voice? Swivelling round, she peered up in desperation at the tiny window, but it was no bigger than a cat flap. You might just be able to squeeze a loaf of bread through there, but a grown woman? Forget it.

So she was trapped. The only way out was through the door. Meanwhile, the more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that the voice on the other side belonged to Maddy Harvey.

Bracing herself, Kate unlocked the door.

And there she was, leaning against the sink, looking even more spectacular close up, those emerald-green eyes no longer hidden behind geeky spectacles.

‘Oh. Hi.’ Maddy hesitated. ‘Sorry about the door. It gets stuck sometimes.’

Kate reached the second door, the one that would lead her back out into the corridor.

‘And I’m sorry about your ... um, accident,’ Maddy went on awkwardly.

Bitch. I’ll bet you are.

‘Yes.’ Kate fixed her with a look of utter derision. ‘I heard you laughing.’

Maddy flinched as if she’d been slapped. ‘Oh, but I wasn’t laughing at—’

‘You,’ Maddy insisted to Jake and Juliet when she rejoined them. ‘I was about to say, "I wasn’t laughing at you," but she just slammed the door shut in my face! God, it was awful, I was only trying to be polite. And then when I came out of the loo they were sitting there eating their meals and I wondered if I should go over and explain, but what if she’d started causing a massive scene in front of everyone, chucked a bowl of mussels over me or something?’ Maddy shuddered. ‘I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, and now everything’s more awkward than ever.’

‘So?’ Jake was typically unconcerned. ‘Don’t let it bother you. Scars or no scars, she’s always been a bitch. Anyway, we’ve got a match to play.’

‘And someone here has his eye on you.’ Juliet gave Maddy a nudge. ‘You could be about to pull.’

The last time they’d played the team from the Red Fox, Maddy had been charmed by their captain, a burly rugby-player type called Ed. Throughout the evening they had flirted happily with each other, until last orders were called and Ed had regretfully confided that he’d love to take her out some time, but he had a girlfriend. Which was sweet, of course, and showed he was the faithful, trustworthy type, but at the same time not what she’d wanted to hear.

Maddy glanced across at Ed now, throwing darts and pretending he didn’t know he was being watched.

‘He’s already seeing someone.’

‘Wrong. He sidled over when you were in the loo and asked if you were available.’ Juliet looked smug. ‘Then he casually mentioned that he’d finished with his girlfriend. I think you’ve definitely made a conquest.’

Maddy wished she could feel more enthusiastic. Before, she had been quite taken with Ed, but somehow this news no longer filled her with delight. It was like seeing a great pair of Timberlands and not being able to afford them, then walking into the shop two months later with your birthday money in your purse, realising that the yearning to own them had evaporated and that, actually, you’d much prefer a pair of fantastically sleek stiletto-heeled boots.

Oh God, was she seriously comparing Kerr McKinnon with a pair of boots?

‘Come on, you’re miles away.’ Jake pushed her forward. ‘You’re next.’

Needless to say, they lost the match. Not because Maddy’s mind wasn’t on the job but because they invariably lost. They were the worst team in the league, the upside being that their opponents were always delighted to play them.

‘Bad luck,’ said Ed, joining Maddy at the bar where she was sitting with Juliet.

Spotting the glint of intent in his eye, Juliet slid off her stool and murmured, ‘Back in a minute.’

For a single woman with no love life of her own, Juliet was an incorrigible matchmaker.

Whenever Maddy tried to interest her in a man she simply pulled a face and said easily, ‘He’s nice, but not my type.’

‘Hi.’ Now that his way was clear, Ed said casually, ‘Did you hear I’d broken up with my girlfriend?’

‘Well, yes. You told Juliet. She told me. I’m so sorry,’ said Maddy. ‘You must be devastated.’

He looked offended. ‘No, no! I finished with her. Anyway, the thing is, I wondered what you were doing this weekend, Friday or Saturday night. Maybe we could go out somewhere.’

‘Oh, what a shame,’ Maddy said sorrowfully, ‘I can’t. I have to babysit my niece.’

‘Both nights?’

‘Both nights. Sony.’ Aware that Jake was listening behind her, she prayed he wouldn’t give her a dig in the ribs and say embarrassingly, ‘That’s not true.’

But Jake waited until Juliet was back from the loo and Ed had slunk off in defeat before saying,

‘Hey, Juliet, fancy a wild weekend in Paris?’

‘Why?’

‘Maddy’s babysitting Sophie on Friday and Saturday, so she may as well have Tiff too. That leaves you and me free to do whatever we want brilliant restaurants, loads to drink, fabulous sex ...’

‘Thanks,’ Juliet gave his arm a consoling squeeze, ‘but you’re not my type.’

Behind the bar, vigorously polishing glasses, Nuala said with frustration, ‘You always say that. But what kind of man do you go for? I mean, what was Tiff’s dad like?’

Since Juliet had spent the last five years not elaborating on the subject of Tiff’s father, Maddy didn’t get her hopes up. True to form, Juliet simply smiled her dazzling, enigmatic smile.

‘Oh, he was definitely my type. But he was married.’

‘Enemy on the move, enemy on the move,’ Jake murmured in Maddy’s ear. ‘Approaching at three o’clock ... draw your weapons ..

Flushing, Maddy saw that Kate and Estelle had finished their meal and were heading back through the bar. ‘She isn’t my enemy.’

‘She may not be your enemy,’ Jake whispered wickedly, ‘but I think you could be hers.’

As first Estelle then Kate made their way past them, Kate shot Maddy a look of disdain.

Oh great. Maddy turned away.

‘Blimey,’ Nuala exclaimed as they swept out, ‘did you see her face?’

The door hadn’t completely closed. It swung back open, Kate glared ferociously at Nuala, spat, ‘At least I’m not fat,’ and slammed out again.

Visibly shaken, Nuala clutched the Guinness pump for support.

‘That’s not fair! She took it completely the wrong way. I didn’t mean did you see the ugly scars on her face, I meant did you see the look on her face! And now she’s called me fat,’ wailed Nuala, who was ultra-sensitive about her weight.

Feeling both guilty and relieved that it had happened to Nuala too, Maddy said, ‘Welcome to the club.’

Chapter 7

I didn’t know whether we’d see you again,’ said Kerr. ‘Come on through to my office.’

‘But—’

‘Seriously.’ He took the cool-boxes from her and put them on the floor next to the reception desk.

‘We need to talk.’

Heart in her mouth, Maddy followed him down the corridor and into his office. The desk, she noticed, was strewn with papers and three empty coffee cups. Not naturally tidy herself, Maddy was heartened by the sight of another person’s chaos. Over-organised people automatically made her feel nervous and defensive.

‘Coffee?’

‘Um, no thanks.’

‘OK.’ He paused, sat down opposite her in his swivel chair, picked up a Biro and began to tap it against the edge of the desk, probably because there wasn’t any space to tap it on the surface. Maddy was further reassured by the pen, so few people seemed to own them these days. Computer-only offices gave her the heebie-jeebies.