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“
I’m cured of my obsession,” she
lied. “Now come inside and I’ll make you some
breakfast.”

* * * *

When Maxine arrived at the party with Greg,
the first person she saw was Madeleine, looking as elegant as
ever.

“
Hello, Mrs. Turner,” she said.
“It’s me, Maxine. How are you?”

“
Maxine!” Madeleine looked her up
and down, her expression openly astonished. “I never would have
known you. You look marvelous.”

“
And you haven’t changed a bit,
Mrs. Turner.”

“
Oh, how I wish that were true,
but I’m just an old grandmother nowadays.”

“
This is my friend, Greg
Toomey.”

Charles materialized, and before she knew it
Maxine was in the midst of a host of people she knew. She was
stared at, cuddled, fussed over, and rudely cross-examined about
her dramatic weight loss. She introduced Greg to all and sundry,
wishing her stomach would stop fluttering with nerves. She was
saved from having to dredge up something interesting to say to a
father of one of the many children present by Josh, Billy, and
Spike, who hurtled toward her en masse.

“
Max, you came!”

She moved away from the circle of adults and
bent to speak to them. “I told you I would.”

“
Dad got me a dog.” Billy’s face
shone with happiness.

“
I know. Isn’t he smart?” Maxine,
recognized by Spike, was subjected to yet another thorough
face-wash. “What’s his name?”

“
Spike,” said the boys
together.

“
Because of his spiky hair,” Josh
explained.

“
Well, I don’t suppose my present
will be quiet as welcome as Spike, but here it is anyway. Happy
birthday, Billy.”

“
Thanks!” Billy ripped
enthusiastically at wrapping paper while Spike ran round him in
circles, tossing the discarded paper in the air with his nose.
“Cor, this is the game I really wanted! Thanks. And a book, too!
Harry Potter.”

“
I know your dad likes to read to
you.” She smiled at both boys. “I don’t know about you, but I love
Harry Potter’s adventures.”

“
So do we,” Josh said.

“
That’s good. And I’ve got
something for you too, Josh.”

“
Oh, but it’s not my
birthday.”

“
Does it have to be a birthday to
get a gift?”

Josh shook his head and eagerly ripped his
present open. “Oh, Max, new swimming goggles. These are tons better
than the ones I lost. Thanks!” He tossed the packaging aside and
placed the goggles on the top of his head,
aviator-style.

“
You spoil them,” said a voice at
her side.

Maxine didn’t need to look round to know who
that voice belonged to anymore than she doubted the ownership of
the hand that had snaked its way round her waist from
behind.

“
Hey, gorgeous,” he whispered,
kissing her cheek and moving his arm from her waist to drape it
casually round her shoulders.

“
Noah,” Madeleine said
acerbically. “Maxine doesn’t have a drink.”

“
She does now.” Rachel
materialized at her side with a tray of brimming champagne
glasses.

“
Hi, Rachel, how’s it
going?”

“
Hectically,” she responded
cheerfully, “I’d better get back to the kitchen before the little
monsters nab all the goodies. I’ll catch you later.”

Cassie approached them, clad in a pink floral
two-piece skirt set, better suited to a wedding reception than a
children’s party. She was over-made-up again, and her voice was
slightly slurred.

“
Hello, Maxine.” She slid her arm
through Noah’s free one. “Who’s your friend?”

Maxine introduced Greg, wondering what Noah
thought about his wife’s overt display of possessiveness. His face
gave nothing away, but his eyes hadn’t wavered from Maxine’s face.
The expression of naked desire in them caused her heart to flip
painfully in her chest, reinforcing her conclusion that it would be
disastrous if she remained in Colebrook.

“
How well do you know Max, Greg?”
Cassie asked.

“
Oh, intimately,” he said with one
of his irrepressible grins.

“
We were at college together,”
Maxine explained.

“
And now you work in the city
together as well?”

“
Something like that.”

“
Well, both being lawyers I
suppose you have plenty to talk about in your down time,” Cassie
said, her words now definitely slurred. Noah frowned at
her.

“
Oh no, we have much better things
to do in our spare time,” Greg said, winking at Cassie. Maxine
kicked his ankle. “Ouch, what was that for?”

“
Amy’s crying,” Rachel said as she
drifted past with a plate of sandwiches.

“
I’ll go,” Noah said, casting his
wife a reproving look when she acted as though Rachel hadn’t
spoken.

“
Isn’t he thoughtful,” Cassie said
to no one in particular. “Oh look, there’s Graham. Graham, over
here.” She stood on her toes to attract his attention and almost
toppled over. Greg caught her arm and steadied her. “Graham, look
who’s back,” she said, flapping her arms in Maxine’s general
direction, slopping her drink over her hand.

“
She’s pissed,” Greg whispered in
Maxine’s ear. “And your Noah knows it. I’ll bet the farm there’s a
healthy slug of vodka in what she keeps telling everyone is only
water.”

Maxine was saved from voicing her surprise
when Graham took her hand.

“
Hello, Maxine,” he said, kissing
her cheek. “Welcome home.”

Madeleine had drifted away from their group,
and Charles was occupied with new arrivals. What seemed like a
thousand unruly children ran riot through the large garden,
apparently unimpressed by the magician’s increasingly frantic
efforts to entertain them.

A constantly changing parade of adults
presented themselves to Maxine, many claiming to have known her
before she left Colebrook. She became separated from Greg and found
herself being introduced by Graham to the senior partner of a
computer company with offices in the industrial estate she’d taken
notice of on her way into town. The man, obviously primed by Graham
in advance, proceeded to discuss his legal requirements with her in
minute detail. He made it apparent that he’d quite like to discuss
his personal ones with her, too. She did her best to listen to the
man and appear interested, aware that she owed it to Graham to tell
him soon that she’d decided against settling back here.

Maxine, eventually managing to escape,
wandered into the house in search of a bathroom. She came across
Noah feeding his baby daughter goo out of a jar. He hadn’t noticed
her yet, so she leaned against the door jamb and watched
him.

“
You’re a natural at that,” she
said softly.

His intimate smile caused Maxine to die a
little more inside. “I’ve had a fair bit of practice over the
years.”

“
Here, let me.” Maxine held out
her arms and took the baby from him. She drifted off to sleep as
Maxine gently rocked her. “She’s a doll.”

“
Yeah, isn’t she just?” But Noah
was no longer looking at his daughter. “Max, I—”

“
There you are, Dad!” Josh burst
into the room like a mini tornado. “Come on, and you, too, Max.
We’re going to have swimming races now.”

“
Must I?” Maxine asked, hopeful of
a last minute reprieve.

“
Yes, you promised!” Josh was
jumping impatiently from foot to foot.

Maxine ruffled his hair with the hand that
wasn’t holding the baby. “So I did. Just give me a minute then.”
She laid the sleeping baby back in her cot. “Where can I
change?”

“
I’ll show you.” Josh took her
hand and led her to a guest room. “We’re going to have two teams.
Dad’s going to be on Billy’s team, so will you be on
mine?”

“
If you like.”

Maxine was surprised when she emerged from the
house to find that the pool was full of kids and only a smattering
of their parents. The hum of a dozen conversations gradually
subsided as people noticed her making her way from the house in her
emerald bikini. She was aware of their eyes upon her, and of
Cassie’s in particular shooting daggers. The last time some of
these people saw her in swimming gear had been on that notorious
holiday in the South of France. She remembered how they’d made her
feel on that occasion, straightened her shoulders, and tilted her
chin upward, damned if she’d be intimidated by them
again.

All the same she was grateful when Greg
appeared at her side, wearing an outrageously tight pair of
Speedos. He took her hand, and they dove in perfect tandem into the
deep end. Surfacing, Maxine pushed her hair away from her face and
swam toward Josh, who was waving frantically at her. But it wasn’t
Josh’s hand that she felt on her thigh. She turned her head, met
Noah’s hungry gaze, and this time made no attempt to tear her eyes
away from his.

“
It’s a bloody good job this
water’s so cold, Max,” he said, grimacing.

* * * *

Cassie watched the games in the pool with a
feeling of increasing despair. Any lingering delusions about
Maxine’s weight loss not being as dramatic as it seemed were dashed
when she appeared in that miniscule bikini. Just about every male
face was riveted, following her every move, causing Cassie to
wonder how long it had been since the male population of Colebrook
had last observed
her
with such lustful
expressions.

But it wasn’t Maxine’s endlessly slim legs
without a trace of cellulite, or her nicely proportioned figure
that plunged Cassie into an introspective, self-pitying frame of
mind. It was the diamond-studded bangle on her wrist that glittered
brighter than the sun every time she raised her arm to hit the
ball.

Was it Cassie’s imagination or was Maxine
deliberately sticking to the side of the pool closest to Cassie’s
chair and making a point of raising her wrist in her direction
whenever she possibly could?

Cassie shook her head, clinging stubbornly to
the conviction that Noah couldn’t possibly have bought the bangle
for Maxine. She hadn’t been wearing it when she called on her two
days ago, but that didn’t mean anything. She fortified herself with
a healthy slug of her vodka-enhanced drink and decided that Greg
must have given her the bangle when he arrived today as a birthday
present.

Cassie took another hefty swig of her drink
and was surprised to discover her glass was empty again. She also
discovered that she was alone. People usually gravitated toward
her, and she couldn’t remember ever going in search of company at a
party before. She watched Josh as he and Maxine celebrated putting
a shot past Noah. He was laughing, but it appeared to Cassie as
though there was no one in the pool for Noah, other than Maxine.
His eyes seldom left her. Even Cassie’s sons appeared besotted with
her, looking to her for praise every time they managed to get the
volley ball over the net. Not once did they look in the direction
of their own mother to brag about their achievements.

“
Who’d have thought that our ugly
duckling would turn out like this?”

Cassie turned toward Rob Simmonds, forcing
herself to dredge up a smile. He’d aged well since that holiday in
the South of France and had married a well-connected woman who
adored him, willingly acting as his doormat and never asking
awkward questions about his activities. Their two children were
partly responsible for the mayhem in the swimming pool.

Rob had taken over his father’s accounting
business in Colebrook. Though he was outwardly a bastion of the
local community, Cassie knew he shagged anything that moved, and he
currently appeared to have Maxine firmly in his sights. Cassie
ought to be relieved. Rob was even more attractive to women than
her husband was, and if he got his claws into Maxine then Noah
wouldn’t get a look in. Perversely, his falling for her rather
obvious charms as well only made her angrier still.

“
You couldn’t stand the sight of
her when we all went on holiday together,” she reminded him
casually. “In fact you were downright mean to her.”

“
I was, wasn’t I?” He chewed his
lower lip and continued to observe Maxine. “But only because you
suggested it. Anyway, I probably owe her an apology.”

“
You’ll be wasting your time. Her
boyfriend’s with her.”

Rob’s eyes drifted toward Greg. “Him?” Rob
laughed. “He’s no competition.”

“
You’re very sure of yourself. I
find him rather attractive myself.”

“
Sorry to disappoint you,
sweetheart, but I think I’m more his type than you are.”

Cassie frowned. Her head ached and she had
trouble keeping up with this conversation. “What do you
mean?”

“
He’s gay, love.”

“
Don’t be silly! He’s Max’s
boyfriend. They practically live together.”

“
Is that what she told
you?”

Cassie tried to remember what Maxine had
actually said about Greg, but her head was too befuddled to think
straight.