Free The Love of Her Life by Harriet Evans Page A

job was flexible. It was perfect – until Steve left them and now she was struggling to make ends meet. But as she said, she’d rather struggle, working in the open air with the flowers and seeds, and pick her children up from school, than work all the hours of the day and be able to afford five-star holidays to Dubai.
    ‘You should come and have lunch with me one day, when I’m at the nursery,’ Zoe said, patting the table flatly with the palm of her hand. ‘What are you going to do for the next week or so?’
    ‘Not sure, really,’ said Kate. ‘I need to sort stuff out in the flat. See Dad. Spend some time with Dani, too, I suppose. And catch up with people, Francesca and all that lot.’
    ‘How’s your work going?’ Zoe emptied the rest of the bottle into her glass.
    ‘OK,’ said Kate. ‘Someone’s covering me while I’m away. They’ve been really good about it.’
    ‘Are you – what’s happening with becoming an agent? Are you handling any stuff of your own yet?’
    She took another swig of wine as Zoe watched her, waiting for her answer.
    ‘Not really, no,’ she said honestly. ‘And I like it that way, Zo. I know it’s terrible, but I loved it. I liked not having to be me any more.’
    Zoe nodded.
    ‘I thought you’d be editor of some huge magazine some day,’ she said. ‘ Devil Wears Prada , that sort of thing. Or writing a bestselling novel.’ She shook her head. ‘That’s all.’
    ‘You sound like Lisa,’ Kate pointed out. ‘I thought you’d be a QC by now.’
    ‘You thought lots of things would happen,’ Zoe said. ‘So did I. Look at us.’
    The cluttered kitchen was silent; the house was quiet.
    Kate tried to imagine what it must be like for Zoe, alone every evening, while the children slept upstairs. Tears pricked her eyes; a painful lump rose in her throat.
    ‘Hey,’ she said, trying to change the mood. ‘Do you remember your housewarming party here, all those years ago?’
    ‘My god,’ said Zoe. ‘I always forget about then. We only had the groundfloor flat then. Isn’t it weird, how different it was then.’
    ‘Sure was,’ Kate nodded. ‘That was a great party though.’
    ‘You wore your blue and gold dress.’
    ‘You stood on a chair and sang “Cabaret”.’
    ‘Oh dear,’ said Zoe ruefully. ‘Didn’t Francesca snog that Finnish gatecrasher from the flat upstairs?’
    ‘Yes, she did!’ Kate hit the table, memory flooding back.
    ‘And – oh my god. Wasn’t that the night you got together with Sean?’
    She cleared her throat, as Kate was silent, drowning in waves of memory. Then Kate said,
    ‘No, it was a few weeks later.’
    ‘But you were flatmates, weren’t you?’
    ‘Yes, we were …’ Kate squashed a piece of bread into her fingers. ‘Yep. That was a weird night. I’d forgotten.’ And she had, strangely. It had been one of those event evenings that mark the beginning of a new time in one’s life and thus the end of another, she realized now. ‘Six years ago,’ she went on. ‘I can’t believe it. It seems – well, it’s weird.’
    ‘So near yet so far,’ said Zoe, and Kate nodded.
    Kate unwrapped an after dinner mint, and carefully smoothed the foil out onto the table. ‘When did you buy the flat upstairs?’ she asked. ‘I can’t remember. Was it after you got married?’
    ‘After,’ said Zoe flatly. ‘Steve flirted totally disgustingly with the estate agent and I didn’t speak to him for two days. But he got the price down by five grand, so I couldn’t hate him anymore.’
    Kate well remembered Steve’s flirting. There was nothing she could say to this.
    ‘Typical of him,’ Zoe went on. ‘Bloody typical.’ She blinked rapidly. ‘Anyway, what was I saying? Yes, Mac. Mac!’ Kate nodded. ‘You see, I always thought he had a bit of a thing for you. That night at our housewarming party, you know. He was mad about you for a while, you know that, don’t you?’
    Kate was silent, and then she said, ‘Well, it’s a long