Playing for Keeps: A fun, flirty romantic comedy perfect for summer reading

Good – I know communication is vital in a relationship, but the moment we landed in London our feet never quite touched the ground and all of our good intentions (well, most of them) fell by the wayside. Anthony was taking great strides towards building on his budding career as an artist and I was capitalising on my success as a business owner by opening a flagship shop for my leather bags for men and women.

So you see, we still had a few creases to iron out, made harder by the fact we were so busy we were leading separate lives. Sounds bad, I know. We hadn’t talked about trying for another baby; it just hadn’t come up since we’d flown back from the Caribbean.

So, instead of discussing having another baby with Anthony, I had thrown all my mothering instincts into helping Anya get through a very challenging time in her life. And I don’t mean giving birth and raising a baby with an absent father. Pregnancy problems for Anya meant having to wear clothes that were larger than a size ten. That in itself was a lot for her to deal with.

‘Hello, bitch,’ Anya said as she opened the door to me.

I’d left the Ferrari on the front drive in the space Henry used to park his Jaguar and stepped up to the shiny red front door. There were two large pillars either side of the porch of the double-fronted house. The tall Georgian windows were now being dressed with silk moire nets – yet another precaution Anya had probably taken to block out the world. She was becoming more reclusive with every passing month.

‘Hello, bitch?’ I replied as I went in and shut the heavy door behind me. ‘Is that our thing now? Is that what we’re calling each other?’ I followed her into the lounge. The sofa in the middle of the room was Anya-shaped. She’d probably sat there all morning. The Vogue magazines in a pile on the floor beside the sofa were dog-eared.

‘It is now,’ said Anya, signalling to a chair for me to sit. ‘Since you can still carry off Gucci in a size twelve.’

‘We don’t do jealousy, Anya. We never have,’ I said, flopping into a leather armchair. ‘Besides, I’ve been so busy trying to open a shop for the first time in my life I’ve had to comfort eat. The stress of running Shearman Bright and getting a flagship shop off the ground means extra pounds – all on my tummy.’

‘And your hips by the looks of things,’ Anya said. She raised the June issue of Vogue to her face as she slid back into her Anya groove on the sofa.

‘Thanks a lot.’ I tried to suck my stomach in. We couldn’t all have thigh gaps.

Anya knew only too well I’d been feeling the pressure of maintaining the buzz my new range of handbags had caused in the fashion-buying world. Add to that launching a flagship shop, having a refurb of said shop and wondering how to staff it, and everything was proving to be a nightmare.

I tried never to complain to her, though, just fill her in on the ups and downs. Otherwise I was totally devoted to Anya and trying to keep her finger off the self-destruct button.

‘Wait, Anya,’ I said just as I’d settled into my chair. ‘What is that sound?’

She took the magazine away from her face. ‘Vot sound?’

‘That sound. That growling noise. Can’t you hear it?’ My eyes darted around every corner of the room. ‘And come to think of it, I think I hear scratching. Do you have rats?’

‘Don’t be silly. That’s just Storm.’

‘Who the hell is Storm?’ I lifted my feet off the floor, tucking my legs underneath me, expecting to see a tiger leap out from behind the curtains.

‘I bought a cat,’ she said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. For most people, perhaps, but not Anya. ‘I realised I’ve never looked after anything in my life before. I buy plants, they die – even that cactus. I vonce had a fish as a child but ven I came home from school I found it floating on its side in the bowl. My baby could end up the same if I’m not careful, Madge.’

‘Er… I’m just guessing here but I think if you don’t leave your baby in a bowl of water all day you shouldn’t have to worry.’

‘Don’t patronise me. I’m not sure I’m the mothering type, Madge.’ She sat up properly. ‘I mean it. I’m beginning to think that maybe I shouldn’t have kept the baby after all.’ She got up and started looking under the chair I was sitting on. I hooked my arms around my knees. ‘I thought I could practise on the cat.’ She looked under the other sofa. ‘But the cat hates me. Look.’ She raised the bottoms of her wide-legged sweat pants. There were long, pink scratches on her lily-white legs. I shuffled as far back into the chair as I could.

‘Not one to put a negative spin on things, Anya, but I don’t think a wild pussy is going to help you become a good mother.’

‘That cat only turned crazy since I brought it home. It was cute as anything at the shop. You see, the cat hates me. It threw up the Purina I bought and runs to the other end of the house if it sees me.’

‘Oh, Anya.’ I got up and walked her out of the lounge, closing the door firmly behind us. We went into the dining room and sat on the chaise longue by the French windows.

The gardener was out pruning roses at the far end of the garden. Anya slumped forward, her hair falling over her face. I pulled the long, dark strands away and leaned towards her.

‘I think it’s great you left the house to buy a cat, Anya. That’s progress. I was beginning to think you were becoming a recluse.’

‘Actually,’ she sighed, turning just her big eyes to me. ‘I didn’t go out to buy the cat. That vos Heather, my manager. She turned up at the front door vith it, holding it in her arms. The cat took von look at me, screeched and legged it into the boot room. I’m a horrible person. All the things people say about me: cold, icy, aloof. It’s all true. The cat sees it and the baby… I can’t do it, Madge. I’m going to call an adoption agency.’

‘No, you’re not.’ I sprang to my feet and pulled Anya to standing. ‘Don’t flake out on me. I need you, Anya. I’ve got so much I need to organise to get this new shop up and running and you’re a vital part of all of it.’

She looked down at her feet, pouting like a hormonal teen.

‘You’re just saying that to make me feel better.’

‘Don’t flatter yourself. I need someone to help me interview staff for the shop and… and I’m starting a new range of really trendy mum bags for carrying baby things around and you’re going to model them.’

‘Really? You’d be happy for me to model your new bags?’

I shook Anya.

‘Darling. You’re a top international model, have been for over a decade. You think there is one person left in this world who hasn’t heard of you? Now stop it. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. So you’re pregnant. Big deal. You look slimmer than me! You’re five months gone and your tummy is flatter than mine. You, my dear, are glowing. That’s what you are. You’re glowing and you’ve never looked more beautiful. Now get on the phone to your agent and tell them you’ll take all the baby-bump shoots they can throw at you. Then I want you to call the hospital and tell them you’re ready to arrange the eighteen-week scan you missed. Let’s find out if we’re painting this nursery pink or blue.’

I let go of Anya’s hands with gusto, making her hop back and almost fall into the chaise longue.

‘You really think I can do this, Madge? Be a proper mother?’

‘You already are a proper mother. For one thing you actually eat food these days, every day; no more starving yourself for photo shoots. You see? That’s how it starts. It’s called motherhood and you’re nailing it already. You and I are going to see this thing through together and in four months’ time you’ll have mother of the year awards coming out of your ears.’

She pinched her lips in, nodded sternly and crossed her arms.

‘I can do this,’ she said and marched out of the dining room and into the kitchen where she picked up her mobile from the breakfast bar and started tapping the keys.

‘Who are you calling?’ I asked.

‘My manager. First I’m going to tell her to get that mad cat out of my house and then I’ll let her know about your new mum bags. I can see myself as the face, and bump, for them. Thank you, Madge. I love you. You know that, don’t you?’ She put her finger up before I could answer and began busily chatting away to her manager, making plans for a comeback.

I gestured that I’d see myself out. I moved stealthily out into the hallway and darted for the front door before the cat, who was either throwing himself at the closed living-room door or hurling ornaments at it, could get out.

Outside in the sweltering late morning I got back into the car and turned on the engine. As I pulled out of the drive I made a mental note to myself. Well, two actually. First: arrange some advertising for shop staff so there would be actual candidates available for me and Anya to interview. Second: rush back to the office and start designing these so-called ‘mum’ bags I’ve asked Anya to model. They didn’t exist ten minutes ago and now I’d have to make them happen. Damn.

Chapter 2 (#ulink_3725264f-3490-591e-83a4-84726d27c07b)

Shearman Bright is hiring!

Do you have what it takes to manage and run London’s next fashion extravaganza?

Are you a sales assistant with an eye for detail and a lover of accessories?

If so, we need you.

Applications are open for a manager to deal with the day-to-day running of the Shearman Bright flagship shop.

We are also looking for a talented sales assistant.

Experience is essential.