Maddie glanced down at herself and was appalled to find she was sprawled all over the sofa in Natalii’s designer outfit. “Oh! Oh God!” She sat up. “I should get changed. I’m so sorry.”

Lifting a stilling hand, Natalii shook her head. “It is okay. It is yours to wear as you please. But get changed anyway, for I plan to make you merry enough to forget your woman.”

Maddie stood. “Oh, that reminds me. Perry Marks? At Style New York? He wants to feature your line in a spread.”

“Does he now?” Natalii’s eyes sharpened. “And what did you tell him?”

“I said I’d ask you.”

Natalii’s face broke into slow smile that Maddie was sure did not bode well for someone. “Thank you for passing this detail to me. I will talk to your Perry myself tomorrow. Now go…find a garment that says ‘drunk and carefree with my stylish friend Natalii’.”

Maddie laughed and headed to her bedroom to change.

* * *

Maddie woke with a throbbing head, unable to believe she was still alive given the hangover she was experiencing. She rolled over and cracked an eyelid. A glass of water and an aspirin came into view with a note. She picked it up and tried to focus.

Thank you for the excellent night, dear Madeleine. I’m gone now. A meeting, it is now set up with your Perry. Drink up, and call me later. We will do dinner, oui? Natalii.

Maddie groaned. The thought of food was excruciating. Her gaze fell to her cell phone beside her bed. God, the time! It was almost eleven.

There was a sharp rap at her door.

She struggled to her feet and made her way there on autopilot. She was already opening the door when she realised she hadn’t brushed her hair or changed out of her sleeping shorts and tank top.

Elena Bartell stood there, face like thunder.

Maddie blinked at the furious woman, unsure whether she was dreaming. No, she was fairly sure that if she was dreaming; Elena would not be looking at her like this.

“Ele…” she began.

“What is this?” Elena said with a hiss, barging past her and slamming the door behind her.

Maddie winced and held her head. “Not so loud. And please, come in,” she added sarcastically.

Elena waved a piece of paper at her as though it explained everything.

Maddie tried to read the words, but Elena was flapping it too hard. “I thought I had made my position clear. And then you run off with her?”

“I…what! Who?” Maddie blinked.

Elena glanced around the room, pausing on the two wine glasses and pizza boxes. “She loves greasy food, I take it? Hunter?”

“How the hell would I know? I didn’t take anyone home, least of all that arrogant woman.”

Elena’s nostrils flared. “Two glasses, Madeleine. Were you merely drinking for two?”

“Natalii was here. She wanted to see how her outfit went.”

That gave Elena pause. But then she straightened, and her expression took on a whole new type of wrath. “Ah, yes. Natalii. Which brings me to this.”

She flapped the paper under Maddie’s nose again. “Her conditions for agreeing to be featured in a Style spread are that I must present myself to you, alone, and talk for ‘no less than one hour about matters that do not relate to work or fashion’. What nonsense is this? Why did you demand this? Well?”

“I didn’t.” Maddie sighed and rubbed her face. She was in no condition for this meeting. “I just woke up. This is the first I’ve heard of it. Natalii probably thinks she’s being helpful.”

Elena stopped and stared at her properly, her gaze raking Maddie’s sleepwear and then settling on her hair. It was an odd expression.

Maddie reddened. “On that note, I should probably get some clothes on. Um…make yourself at home. Or leave. Whatever. I won’t force you to stay. I’ll tell Natalii you did what she demanded.”

After shuffling into her bedroom, Maddie closed the door and slid on jeans and a white T-shirt. As she pulled on her socks, she wondered if Elena had gone, storming out in a state of high dudgeon. Probably while laughing at her for looking like a half-dead cat. She glanced at the mirror and groaned. Her hair looked as if it had been brushed with a balloon, it was sticking up so high. Awesome.

Maddie ran a brush through the bird’s nest and put on a little make-up to hide the darkness under her eyes. She took one last look in the mirror. Okay, casual and relatively acceptable. For most people who weren’t Elena Bartell. Curator of beauty.

Listening through the door, Maddie could hear no sign of movement. Elena had probably gone. Great. She’d have to kill Natalii later for her meddling. She stepped out of the bedroom to find Elena perched with her usual regal grace on a sofa that looked far neater than Maddie had left it. In fact the wine glasses and pizza boxes were also gone.

Had Elena actually cleaned up for her? She tried to picture the media boss stacking her dirty dishes. Oh God, oh God.

Maddie was working herself up to a full-on self-flagellation, when Elena cut her off at the pass.

“Don’t,” she said. “It needed doing, and I had nothing else to do.” Elena fiddled with one of her rings. At least the enraged expression was gone.

“Thanks. Can I get you a coffee or something?”

“No.” Elena glanced at her watch. “We have an hour. I’m an honourable woman, despite what the various gossip rags think of me. What would you like to discuss?”

Maddie stared at. “You’re still going to do this thing? Talk to me for an hour?”

Elena gave the faintest of shrugs. “A deal’s a deal. And I won’t have Emmanuelle Lecoq getting a Natalii exclusive.”

“Oh.” Of course. This was business.

Elena cocked her head. “Well? You wish, perhaps, to explain to me why that Hunter creature thinks you two are an item? I was informed today that, after I left the event, she spread the word that you and she planned to do considerably more than look at her photo collection last night.”

“She’s full of crap. I didn’t speak to her again for the rest of the night.”

Elena studied her. Then nodded. “I see.”

“It’s a stupid lie. Why would I want to be with her when all I want is to be with you?” She couldn’t go on like this, with so much left unspoken. It was time to lay their cards down. “But if you want that too, even if it’s not now but later, I need you to say it, because I’m really not good at guessing. Not with this. Not with all the hints in the world. I need it spelt out.”

“I thought you could read my mind,” Elena said, eyes half-lidded. “Isn’t that what you said?”

“On many things. Work things.” Maddie folded her hands in her lap to hide their tremble. “On this, it’s different. I need to know. Have I misunderstood? Do you want more from me?”

“I am getting a divorce,” Elena said, her tone flat. “It will be messy. There will be press…and now, accusations levelled…” She faded out with a look of dissatisfaction. “I really don’t want to muddy things.”

“Oh.” Maddie suddenly felt ridiculous. So Elena had just been flirting with her, nothing more. She was a little bit of fun to tease. And, occasionally, Elena got a little territorial, but she wasn’t about to risk anything for Maddie. She wouldn’t dare jeopardise her standing. Actually, Maddie knew this already. In her heart, she knew. She’d been fooling herself. Nothing like hearing that out loud to punch a person in the gut.

“So,” Maddie said, praying her voice would stay steady, “all of this was, what, a bit of fun for you? Do you even like women that way?” The trembling increased, and she balled her hands into tight fists.