‘He hit her,’ replied Suze. ‘Petrovsky slapped Carrie.’
‘Yes, but she was in love with Big anyway. It would never have worked,’ pointed out Abby, remembering every moment of her favourite show. ‘And then Big came to Paris to rescue her.’
‘Now that was a grand gesture,’ nodded Suze sagely.
The waitress brought over some bar snacks, and Abby nibbled at a chicken wing.
‘I don’t know about grand gestures,’ said Anna, directing her attention at Suze. ‘I think they can be hollow. It’s easy to spend money, or shout loud. I think it’s the little things that mean a lot. I love it when Matt goes out of his way to help me without me even asking. Or buys me a book I mentioned in passing ages ago.’
Ginny pulled a buzzing mobile from her handbag.
‘Bloody hell. New York,’ she muttered before excusing herself and exiting the bar to take the call. Abby felt her shoulders slump in relief.
‘She’s Nick’s sister, but she wants the best for you,’ said Anna intuitively.
Abby looked at her friend. ‘Which is what?’
There was an awkward silence.
‘What are you going to do, Abs?’ said Anna finally.
‘Get a solicitor. Fill out a few forms. Boom. File for divorce. I think that’s how it goes, isn’t it?’ Her voice cracked, and she tried to steady herself with a long swig of Pimm’s.
‘Are you sure that’s what you want?’
‘What’s the alternative? That I forgive him? I can’t. I’ve gone over and over it in my mind, but he slept with someone else, and I can’t get past that. The betrayal, the lies . . . the trust has gone. And once it’s gone, you can’t get it back. Things could never be the same between us again.’
‘But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you,’ said Anna thoughtfully. ‘Men are weak. If it’s put in front of them, they’ll take it. Look at Tiger Woods.’
‘Let’s not,’ said Suze, rolling her eyes. ‘He had more than one mistress come out of the woodwork.’
‘She wasn’t Nick’s mistress,’ replied Abby sharply. Suze gave her a cynical look.
‘Don’t go getting all protective over him.’
‘I’m not protecting him. I’m protecting myself,’ said Abby.
‘You never know what you can forgive until it happens. I see it all the time at work,’ said Anna. She was a media lawyer, and the bulk of her time was spent securing press injunctions to protect her clients’ indiscretions. ‘All these people doing stupid, selfish things – making sex tapes, having affairs with co-stars – and time and again the wives or husbands forgive them.’
‘Maybe it’s different with celebrities,’ replied Abby.
‘It’s just easier to forgive, easier to put up with it,’ said Suze, shrugging her shoulders. ‘Terry was an absolute dog. The amount of times I turned a blind eye to lipstick on his collar because the alternative meant moving out, looking for a new flat, being on my own and going through the whole rigmarole of finding someone else. Sometimes it’s easier to just keep quiet, even though each time I forgave him, I lost another piece of self-respect.’
‘Don’t look now,’ said Anna, dropping her voice to a whisper, ‘but I think that blond guy at the bar is checking y
ou out, Abs.’
Abby hadn’t felt sexy or attractive for a very long time, and the thought of someone eyeing her up made her jumpy. She shot a discreet glance in the direction of where her friend was looking. A handsome twenty-something man was indeed looking her way, an amused half-smile on his lips.
‘Damn, Abs, he’s gorgeous,’ hissed Suze.
Abby grabbed her drink, wondering if everyone in the bar could see her blushing. Hell, you could probably see it from space.
‘Not interested,’ she said firmly. ‘I’m no longer interested in men. It’s all about cats and cupcakes from now on.’
Suze grabbed the jug of Pimm’s and upended it into her glass.
‘Are you sure you don’t want a crack at him?’