‘I know, I’m so sorry, but I was getting calls all day and night on that old number so …’
‘I bet you were!’
I stalled, suddenly aware of how noisy it was at Rosie’s end. She was in a pub or a café or something by the sound of it.
‘Sorry, are you OK to talk now? Are you busy?’
‘Oh, fine,’ she said. ‘Just having a coffee with friends.’
‘Ah, London life,’ I said wistfully.
‘Yeah, it’s brilliant, you’ll have to come up.’
‘I’d love to. Or you could come down here.’
There was another pause.
‘To … Jasper Jay’s place?’ she asked, as if in disbelief.
‘Sure. I mean it’s my place too. Oh, God, we have too much to talk about. Let’s meet up soon.’
‘I couldn’t believe it when that story came out,’ she said eagerly. ‘I’d been wondering where
you were – all I’d had from you was a text about starting your new job back in September – and then, last month, bam! All over the papers, up close and personal with a famous film director. How did you swing that one?’
‘It turned out that house I was employed to work in over the summer was his,’ I explained. ‘And he came back early from filming and we … got to know each other.’
She snorted. ‘Just a bit,’ she said. ‘Anyway, you’re not the only one who’s been making new friends.’
‘You’re seeing someone?’
‘Oh, yes.’
‘Rosie! That’s excellent news! Tell me all about him.’
‘I would have put him on to speak to you, but he’s just been called away to talk about something in the office.’
‘Office? I thought you were having coffee with friends?’
‘Yeah, some of the friends kind of own the place. That’s who he’s talking to. Anyway, he’s called Dimitri and he’s dreamy as fuck.’
‘Dimitri?’
‘He’s Russian. A moustachioed Muscovite.’
‘Oh, wow, that sounds …’ Actually, I wasn’t sure how it sounded. ‘Amazing,’ I finished.
‘He is, take my word for it.’ Her voice tailed off into a sigh and then I heard something that sounded oddly like a whipcrack.
‘What was that?’
‘What?’
‘That noise? Was that you?’
‘Oh, no, somebody at another table,’ she said vaguely.
‘Where are you?’