‘Stop it, stop it, Adam!’ she hissed, pushing him away from her. As she sat up, the table flipped forward, sending Madam Zorba’s tarot cards fluttering to the ground like butterflies.
‘Hey! What the fuck has got in to you?’ said Adam, pulling away from her sharply.
‘This is wrong, Adam. It’s all wrong.’
‘Too right it’s bloody wrong,’ he complained. ‘What are you stopping for?’
She pushed herself away from him and bent down to pick up the tarot cards. They were all face down on the grass and she quickly scooped them up and put them back on the table.
‘Come on. We’d better go back outside,’ she mumbled, smoothing down her dress. Adam tutted loudly and headed out into the fresh air, Summer following him. Neither of them saw the only two tarot cards upturned on the red baize. The first was the card of two lovers entwined. The second was the image of the hanged man.
From her vantage point on the terrace, Erin watched the activity of the fête panning out around her, feeling a uneasy sense of loneliness. She’d been grateful and excited when Marcus had invited her along earlier that week but, now she was here, she realized how socially unimportant she was. The people she knew best here – Molly, Karin and Adam – were too busy or uninterested to speak to her, and she found herself wishing that she was spending the afternoon with Chris, as she was increasingly spending her weekends.
Why didn’t I invite him along? she cursed herself, taking a swig of lemonade. I could have flirted with him in front of Adam.
She stopped the thought in her trac
ks, knowing she was being ridiculous. Her crush on Adam was ridiculous. It was unprofessional, wrong and unfair that he was so sexy, unavailable and out of her league, she thought, catching sight of his sexy, handsome physique coming out of the fortune-teller’s tent.
Something made her do a double take. As she looked more closely, she caught the thunderous expression on Adam’s face and saw another figure coming out of Madame Zorba’s tent: Summer.
Erin had been wondering where Molly’s daughter had got to. Only twenty minutes ago they’d been having a giggle together on the terrace, catching up on all the gossip since the last time they’d met in Monte Carlo. Summer had proved to be the only friendly person at the fête, and Erin had welcomed her being around. But the sight of her now made Erin feel chilly, especially when she could now see Madam Zorba five hundred yards away at the Portaloos.
What were Adam and Summer doing alone together in the tent? Erin had felt a sickening, thumping realization of what she had just seen. For the past few weeks she had noticed Adam take phone calls with his office door shut. She had always assumed it was top secret business or just personal calls to Karin, but his uneasiness after such calls had recently made Erin wonder if there was another woman on the scene. Now she felt sure of it.
‘There you are, Erin,’ said Karin, striding out of the main house, fanning herself with a fête programme. ‘I didn’t know you were coming this afternoon. I don’t suppose you’ve seen Adam, have you?’
Erin felt herself panic, glancing nervously down to Madam Zorba’s tent. ‘Karin. How great to see you,’ she stuttered.
Karin stood at the edge of the terrace, surveying the grounds, her hand shielding her eyes from the sun.
Seeing Summer and Adam still shiftily standing together, Erin grabbed Karin by the arm and spun her around to face the house.
‘Drink?’ Erin smiled nervously, grabbing two glasses of punch from a passing waiter.
‘Has this got red wine in it?’ Karin asked the waiter, pointing at the tumbler.
The waiter nodded. ‘Well, take it away. It’ll give me a terrible headache. Get me an Evian, will you?’
The waiter mumbled apologetically and ran off in the direction of the house.
Erin was glad of the distraction, noticing over Karin’s shoulder that Adam and Summer had now walked off in separate directions.
‘So, Adam? You were looking for him.’
Karin nodded cautiously, examining Erin, whose cheeks appeared to have flushed slightly.
‘We’ve got a dinner party tonight at the Rothschilds, and if we don’t leave in an hour I’ll never fit in a blow-dry.’ The older woman narrowed her eyes, looking for a reaction from Erin. She had been on red alert all afternoon after seeing Claudia Falcon at the raffle, and Erin’s behaviour was setting off more alarm bells.
‘Erin, is anything the matter?’
‘No, no, I’m just feeling a bit sick, that’s all. Too much candyfloss and sitting in the sun, I expect.’ She gave a wan smile.
Karin wasn’t convinced, but she had little doubt that Adam’s PA would be doggedly loyal to him even if she did know something, so she merely nodded.
‘Ah, there’s Adam,’ Erin said, pointing in the direction of the raffle. ‘Do you want me to run down and tell him you want to go?’
‘That would be kind of you,’ said Karin quickly. She put her hand on Erin’s shoulder and smiled more warmly. ‘It’s so nice having you as Adam’s assistant, you being my old PA and me basically getting you the job with Adam. I really feel as if I can trust you. Rely on you.’