Second Chances Read Free Page B

going to be the “other woman”, but at the same time, he’s so cute and it’s really nice to have all that attention from him,’ Perdita replied.
    ‘Honey, he sounds like bad news to me,’ Jackson Flye said. ‘Take it all with a pinch of salt, that’s my honest opinion. I don’t think he means to hurt you, but nothing is going to come of this. If he was really into you, you’d know it for sure by now.’
    ‘But we’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks, Jackson,’ Perdita said, her voice imploring, clearly hoping Jackson Flye would conclude that this mystery flirt of hers was madly in love with her and prepared to dump his loving girlfriend in order to be with her, that all he was waiting for was a sign from her. ‘Maybe he’s just trying to work out how he feels before he does anything… you know, like ask me out… or leave her…’
    ‘Perdita, listen to me. Guys are driven by one thing and one thing only, and that’s sex. He might fancy you, but as long as he’s in a relationship, you’re screwed. Or not, as the case may be… If he really wanted to be with you, he’d move heaven and earth in order to be with you. But I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on your behalf, on the off-chance that he is the one bloke on the planet who is the exception to the rule, then you’re just going to have to relax and let him sort himself out. Believe me, if a guy likes you, he’s not going to forget he likes you. It might take days, weeks, months, even years before he’s finally ready for you… and who knows, you may hopefully have moved on and found a guy who’s emotionally available to you in the meantime. Don’t waste your time, sweetheart, life’s too short for this kind of crap.’
    ‘I know you’re right, Jackson,’ Perdita said, sounding sad. ‘Thanks… thanks for listening.’ She hung up.
    ‘Ladies, you are all beautiful, intelligent, gorgeous women, and you deserve to be treated like goddesses,’ Jackson Flye told his listeners. ‘Don’t accept anything less. If a guy isn’t prepared to treat you with respect and honesty, move on. There are a million other blokes out there waiting for you… Speaking of which, here’s a song on just that subject, and it goes out especially to Allegra…’
    Allegra sat up with a start and stared at Liz, who was snuffling into a cushion, trying to keep a straight face. ‘Bitch, you called him!’ she hissed, mortified. Although she did get a shiver from hearing Jackson Flye say her name. That would fuel her fantasies for a few nights at least.
    ‘It’s an oldie but a goodie, just like Allegra herself, I’ve been told,’ Jackson Flye continued. ‘Elton John’s Are You Ready For Love…’ The opening bars of the song began playing. ‘I hope you’re ready for love, Allegra, because I’m sure you deserve it.’
    Both girls burst into a fit of giggles. Allegra thanked her lucky stars again for Liz. She’d never have made it this far without her friend, even though sometimes it did seem like Liz was out to publicly humiliate Allegra as much as she could for her own personal amusement. When Jackson Flye signed off at 1am and Allegra finally switched off the radio, Liz went home.
    Carefully shutting the door behind her, Allegra sat on the sofa and listened to the sounds of the city at night, thinking about Jackson Flye’s words. Was she ready for love? She didn’t know, but it would be nice to be in love again. To have someone who was in love with her. She couldn’t even remember what it was like.
    Slowly, she got up, tidied the room, washed out the wine glasses, switched off the lights and got ready for bed. Pausing at the doorway of her own room, she turned and went instead into the children’s empty bedroom, climbed into Daisy’s bed and, breathing in the beautiful baby smell of her youngest daughter on the pillow, closed her eyes and missed her children.

 
    Chapter Two
     
    LIZ WAS SEETHING. What was she going to do now? The