Young Wives' Tales by Adele Parks Read Free Book Online Page B

Peter’s since their schooldays. Luke then introduced Simon into our group and he married my sis. We were a tightly knit gang. Very close. Too close as it turned out. Lucy and Peter were too close.
    Some women say they didn’t see it coming. When their husbands stand up and announce their intention to bugger off with whoever it may be that has caught their eye, wives are often stunned. I never had that arrogance. I saw it coming.
    It wasn’t just the numerous late nights at the office and the increasingly frequent business trips that dominated our last year together. It wasn’t simply his escalating neglect and the distance between us which was notable in the last six months. I saw it coming before I stepped down the aisle. I knew that Peter would leave me almost the moment I started dating him. Peter didn’t belong to me. He was always on loan. Peter belonged with a more startling, more beautiful, funnier, wittier, posher, stronger, firmer, blonder someone. He was always out of my league.
    Truthfully, no one could have been more surprised than me when he asked me for a date. God, the man wasstunning. So, so handsome, charming and determined. Everyone liked him. Every girl wanted to be noticed by him, every guy wanted to be his best buddy. Even his bosses sucked up to him. Some people simply gleam and Peter was one of those gleaming types.
    When he first asked me out I thought it was a joke or a bet. I wasn’t a complete monster by any stretch. I’d always had my fair share of dates. But largely I dated nice boys – ones that were a little bit gauche or spotty but earnest and kind.
    I met Peter through work. My degree is in accountancy and I’d landed a great job working in the accounts department of a merchant bank. Peter, who is a year older than me, had a far more glamorous position; he was a trader. In fact, if the office gossip was to be believed, he was
the
trader. He’d already been identified as having something special, he was already making heads and money spin. I guess it was because he was so busy and in demand that he was often late with his expenses. But one day he was so late with the paperwork it looked like he’d have to forgo a reimbursement, so he came directly to the accounts department to sort it out. He was very smiley and chatty with me but I assumed that he was turning on the charm because he needed me to get him out of a hole. He’d be nearly a grand out of pocket otherwise.
    After we’d managed to get his cash signed off and the expenses form back into the process, he asked me if I knew a good place to buy a sandwich for lunch. I hadn’t a clue why he was asking me – after all he’dbeen working there longer than I had – and I assumed it was because I looked like the kind of girl who enjoyed her food. I gave him directions to the nearest deli, which he carefully listened to, and then I thought he’d get on his way. I started to blush when he dawdled at my desk and I mumbled about there being a decent sushi bar near by if sandwiches weren’t his thing.
    ‘I’m really more interested in persuading you to join me than I am interested in the menu,’he said, smiling.
    I stared at him. Gormless. Anxious not to misunderstand. My suit must have been flattering, there’s no other explanation. I still have that suit, although not the occasion to wear it. So we had a sandwich and then after work we had a drink, then supper. We didn’t stop eating and drinking for another eleven years. Eating, drinking and making love. Because yes, of course, back then in the early days, there was a lot of sex.
    I could not believe my luck. I would pinch myself. Literally. I had tiny bruises on my arms. Peter, Greek god, handsome stud muffin and all-round good guy, had chosen me. Me! He could have dated anyone and he chose to date
me
. I considered every day a gift and made the most of having this fab boyfriend. I couldn’t wait to show him off. I dragged him home, filed him past all my pals, and I took