Page Title

Synopsis

Kate, a 28 year old City solicitor, has just split from her boyfriend of five years. She resigns from her unfulfilling job, deciding to live on savings for a while, while she re-evaluates her direction in life.

She plans to spend a month in Brazil, somewhere she has always wanted to visit. Hoping to combine this with her love of writing, she attends a travel journalism workshop, where she meets Dominic, a thirty year old architect who is shortly going travelling.

They quickly become friends, but she is still raw from her break-up, and invents an imaginary boyfriend - Edward - to prevent any unwanted advances. However, they end up kissing one night after going out, and subsequently embark on a fling, agreeing to keep things casual. Kate maintains her pretence of having a boyfriend, thinking this will stop her getting emotionally attached.

They develop strong feelings for each other, but both conceal them, thinking the other is just having fun as they agreed. Dominic, whose previous relationship broke down when he discovered his girlfriend cheating on him, is surprised at his feelings for Kate who is, so far as he knows, doing the same to her boyfriend.

One day, Dominic asks Kate to a barbecue at his house, and she refuses to come. He is shortly due to be leaving, and she fears that meeting his friends will only upset her. She invents an unconvincing excuse, and they argue for the first time.

Extract from Chapter 7

She sat on the side of the bath with a tissue pressed against her face, taking deep breaths and trying to regain her composure. When she went back, he was sitting on the side of the bed, staring at his hands.

He looked up, "Look, I don't mind if you don't want to come - it's up to you. But why are you making up excuses? Why can't you just tell me the real reason?"

He had guessed, thought Kate. She felt the tears well up again, and this time they ran down her face. How could she have been stupid enough to fall for him?

"Well, seeing as you obviously know my reason, I don't need to spell it out, do I?" she said, angrily, grabbing her bag, and heading for the door.

Dominic followed her downstairs, helplessly.

"Kate, I have no idea why you don't want to go. That's why I asked. Why are we arguing about this?"

The front door slammed.

Dominic went upstairs slowly. He was truly puzzled. It had all been going so well until Monday, when Kate had turned up in her smart dress and talked non-stop about Edward's client dinner. She had been uncharacteristically snappy on Wednesday when he had asked about it, and today had reacted unexpectedly violently when he suggested her coming to his barbecue for a couple of hours.

He had begun to suspect that she wanted to end things, but not wanting to face that possibility, he had tried to put recent events out of his mind. However, the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that what Kate really wanted was to stop seeing him. It was just a fling to her, after all - she had made that clear from the start. And why else would she make up such a lame excuse not to meet his friends? She was just looking for a way out.

He was suddenly struck by a wave of anger. How had he let himself become so emotionally attached to someone he could never really be with? And why did he want to become involved with a girl like Kate anyway, who would deceive the future father of their children in the name of fun? While she went home to her cosy relationship, he had been denying himself any chance of meeting someone new, someone who would not cheat, and who he could build a proper future with. Why had he wasted his time with Kate?

Even as he asked himself these questions, he knew the answer. He loved her. He didn't know why - she was unavailable, and deceitful - but emotions were not logical.

He realised that he should start preparing for the barbecue, and went downstairs. He chopped lettuce and tomatoes robotically, still lost in anger at himself for his weakness. By the time his sister, Mary, and her friend, Laura, arrived, he had started on his second beer, grimly determined to have some fun.

"Hi," said Mary, kissing him on the cheek, and going through to the kitchen, "where's the alcohol?"

They sat in the garden, sipping drinks and talking. Dominic was aware that Laura was looking at him from under her eyelashes. She had always liked him, and had even, on a couple of occasions, after a little too much to drink, tried to kiss him. He had always shied away. She was quite attractive, although her blond hair was clearly not natural and her lipstick was always a little too bright for his taste. But he didn't want to become involved with one of his sister's friends, in case things turned sour and awkward.

As the evening wore on, and more friends arrived, Dominic forgot about the time, and it was only as he was starting on his fifth beer that it occurred to him that he should get the barbecue going. As he started taking sausages and burgers out of their packets, Laura appeared at his side.

"Hi, do you need any help?" she asked, swaying slightly, fiddling with her long earrings and looking at him from under her stiff fringe.

"No, thanks, I'm fine," said Dominic. He was aware of her strong perfume, and looked at her, his eyes drawn to her bright pink lips. Why did some girls have to wear so much make up, he wondered? Kate didn't need any - she was stunning without.

He shook himself. Why was he thinking about Kate? She wasn't so perfect. Yes, she was beautiful, and didn't need to plaster herself with cosmetics, but she was acting unforgivably towards Edward, thoughtlessly having a fling without any consideration of the possible consequences. He remembered how he had felt when he discovered Anna's affair, the almost physical pain of knowing she had been with someone else. He wouldn't wish that on anyone, even Edward, who he hated without even knowing him.

Laura was still standing next to him, and he looked at her again. She was pretty, there was no denying that. She had nice blue eyes, and her voluptuous figure was clearly visible through the flimsy material of her dress.

"Mary says you've got a new painting in your room," she said, "I'd love to see it."

It was a clear come-on - there was no new painting - and normally Dominic would have dismissed it out of hand, making some light-hearted comment to let them both forget it without embarrassment. But suddenly he hesitated. He was single, wasn't he? He owed nothing to Kate. He was entitled to do exactly what he wanted.

He looked at Laura. "Ok, come on, I'll show you."

********************

By the time Kate arrived home, she was crying uncontrollably. She lay on the sofa, and tried to get her sobbing under control. She did not know how long she lay there, but eventually she stopped crying, trying to work out what to do for the best. One thing was for sure - she had to resolve things. Not seeing Dominic again was out of the question.

But she couldn't keep up her pretence. She was the most unconvincing liar in the world, and all the recent tension had been caused by her defensive reactions to Dominic's questions about the fictional Edward.

As she became calmer, she resolved that she would admit to Dominic that Edward did not exist. She could not possibly reveal her real feelings - that would put him off seeing her altogether. No, she would simply say that she had lied to prevent them from getting too attached to each other because he was going away. That was the truth, she reflected, even if it was no longer the whole truth, but it would at least put a stop to any more awkward questions about Edward.

She decided to go back and tell him immediately, and went to the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water. Her eyes looked puffy - he would know that she had been crying, but given what she was about to tell him he would hopefully understand.

By the time she reached his house, the party was in full swing. The front door was ajar, and she pushed it gently. Dominic wasn't in the lounge, so she made her way through the kitchen to the garden. A sea of unfamiliar faces greeted her, and she scanned the group to try and find him.

He wasn't there, so she went back inside and up the stairs, rehearsing words in her head. He wasn't in the bathroom, but she heard sounds coming from his bedroom and pushed the door open quietly...