With or Without You by Helen Warner Page A

of dishevelled sexy, I’d say. Not
sure the gold platforms were a good idea though.’
    ‘Well, strangely enough, his trainers would have been too big for me,’ Martha protested.
    ‘So, have you still got his clothes then?’
    ‘Of course I have! But I’ve promised to return them to him when I’ve washed them.’
    ‘I wouldn’t,’ Lindsay said. ‘I’d keep them. They’ll be worth something one day.’
    ‘It’s a good job I’m not you then, isn’t it? Anyway, I need to go and see if I can find the article online. I’ll call you back later.’
    She hung up and jumped out of bed, her heart beating a little faster. She felt disconcerted at the idea of being photographed with Charlie. Even though there was an innocent explanation, she
somehow felt guilty. She didn’t want the children to see the picture either, in case it planted a seed of doubt in their minds.
    She put on her bathrobe, made her way into the study and closed the door behind her. She opened up her laptop and logged onto the MailOnline site. At first she couldn’t see it as she
scrolled through the numerous thumbnail-sized items, and let go of the breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. Perhaps it had only made the first editions and had now dropped off the
listings. But just as she was about to log off, she realised that not only was it there, but it was right at the top, meaning it was one of the stories that had already been ‘most read’
that morning.
    By now, her heart was racing. She clicked on the link. In the colour photograph, she and Charlie were leaving the hotel together, with her obviously wearing his clothes, and both laughing about
something. What had they been laughing at? She thought back to the previous day. After the interview, as she was leaving, Charlie had said he was meeting someone for a late lunch, so he would walk
out with her. As they reached the door of the hotel and walked out into the forecourt, Charlie had suddenly got a fit of the giggles about her travelling home on the tube in his baggy clothes and
her gold platforms, which had started her giggling too. He had offered her a lift in his car, but she had mustered as much dignity as she could and said she would be fine, thank you very much.
    She had waited until Charlie was out of sight before hailing a cab. There was no way she was going to travel on the tube looking the way she did, and anyway, she would be able to claim it on
expenses later.
    Behind her, she heard the door to the study open and she closed the screen guiltily. ‘What’s wrong?’ Jamie asked, coming in and looking at her suspiciously. ‘Why did you
close your computer like that? What are you hiding? Have you been Internet shopping again?’
    ‘Oh God,’ Martha sighed, biting her lip. ‘I wish I had. There’s a bloody photo in the
Mail
that makes it look as if I spent the night at a hotel with Charlie
Simmons! It’s why Lindsay called so early.’
    ‘No way!’ cried Jamie, his mouth dropping open. ‘Show me!’
    Reluctantly, Martha opened up the laptop once more and sat back as Jamie peered at the article. She wasn’t quite sure how he would react. He could be a little possessive sometimes, even
though he knew she would never cheat on him, and she didn’t want it to cause friction between them.
    ‘You look hot, baby!’ he said at last, causing her shoulders to drop with relief.
    ‘You’re not cross?’ she glanced up at him tentatively.
    ‘Well, it’s a bit humiliating, I suppose,’ Jamie rubbed his stubbled chin thoughtfully. ‘But I guess anyone who knows us would know the truth. At least it doesn’t
name you.’
    ‘True,’ Martha agreed. ‘Anyway, it’ll be chip paper tomorrow . . .’
    ‘Sadly that’s not true,’ Jamie reminded her. ‘It’ll actually be there for ever and ever now. The joys of the Internet.’
    Martha let out a long sigh. ‘Shit. How embarrassing. I’m sorry, honey.’
    Jamie bent down and kissed the top of her head, before