Nowhere Girl by Ruth Dugdall Read Free Book Online

now.
    Her leaving party had been just six weeks before, at her manager Paul’s house. The party had been in full swing, the house crowded with people she had worked with over the years, when she found her old police pal Stephen Flynn in the kitchen. He looked comical, clutching a colourful cocktail, and gave her a hug to congratulate her on escaping. He’d been flirting with the diligent office manager, Dot. They seemed to be getting on famously so Cate made her excuses and went to find Amelia and her half-sister, Chloe.
    Paul had shepherded the girls into the front room in front of a massive screen, and played the box set of
Miranda
on a loop, so they were happily watching and squealing at the TV.
    “You okay, Amelia? Having a good time?”
    “Yeah, this is so funny. Stay and watch, Mum.”
    Cate was glad to see Amelia that way, had been worried that this leaving party would upset her. After all, Amelia was saying goodbye to Chloe as well as her father, and that was a huge thing for a twelve-year-old. Tim had been opposed to the idea from the start, and tension was running high between them, but Luxembourg was only a fifty-minute flight from London and Cate had promised to bring Amelia back to Suffolk every school holiday. Cate would have to stay with her mother while Amelia was with Tim, which wouldn’t be a bed of roses, but that was the deal she had struck and what she had gained was a chance of a new life. And for now, at least, Amelia was enthusiastic about the plan.
    Elsewhere in the house, adults chatted, disinhibited by drink and the assurance of being surrounded by friends. Paul waved Cate over to his chair, pointed to where Olivier was fighting the throng to get to the bar that was actually a wallpaper table with a white cloth over it. “He’s getting himself a beer and something with soda for you. So we have a moment.”
    “Thanks for organising this, Paul.”
    She smiled at him but Paul’s face remained serious.
    “I think you could be making a mistake, sweetheart.” He touched her earlobe, where a diamond earring sparkled under the lights, a gift from Olivier. “This is very pretty, but it may not have much depth.”
    Cate had known Paul for years and she trusted him, but that didn’t mean he had a right to rain on her parade. “Don’t, Paul. Please, not when everyone is having such a great time.”
    “You not want to hear it?” He cocked his head to one side, but his eyes were steely and she recognised his stiff posture from when he was broaching difficult news at the team meeting, or taking on a mouthy member of staff.
    And she didn’t. She knew what he’d say; that she hadn’t known Olivier long enough to move in with him, that she was giving up her career. Add to that Tim’s fury that she was taking Amelia to live in another country and pretty much no-one thought it was a good idea.
    “I feel responsible,” he continued. “I encouraged you to give that sexist Frog a chance, and now he’s stealing you away to Luxem-bloody-bourg. The only time I’ve heard about the place is in the Eurovision,
douze
bloody points. Where even is it anyway?”
    “It’s in the middle of Europe. A great chance to travel.”
    “The middle of nowhere,” retorted Paul. “And you can travel anywhere you like from Stansted, you don’t need to go abroad to do it.”
    Cate felt Paul scrutinising her and knew he was peering beneath the recent auburn highlights, the glossy make-up, to the real woman she was. She dreaded what he would say and looked over his shoulder, longing for Olivier’s return.
    “I think you’ll be bored, sweetheart. You hate the Eurovision.”
    This broke her resolve to keep a dignified silence. “You know what, Paul, I’d love to be bored. I’d love to have nothing to think about except what cleaning product or pasta to buy. I’m sick to death with the probation service. Sick of violence and crime and poverty and abuse.”
    Paul looked uncomfortable. “Oh come on, Cate, you love