The Single Wife : 'Liane Moriarty meets Elin Hilderbrand in an addictive summer read'

by Ella Grey

  Olivia’s mind raced as she slumped into the chair across from him. “But – before, in the garden – Adam said he wanted his mummy …”

  He sighed. “His mum’s still a part of his life, I’ve made sure of that. She died when he was two but yet he seems to remember her. Of course, the apartment is full of photographs and we watch a lot of home movies …” His voice trailed off, his green eyes full of emotion. “I’m sorry, it’s still hard sometimes.”

  “I can imagine.”

  “Better than most, I believe,” Matt said gently. “The woman in the corner shop, she told me all about your … situation.”

  “Did she now?”

  “I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking to pry or anything but –”

  “It’s fine,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “I know Molly has a bit of a mouth on her.”

  “So, I know what it’s like – I know it isn’t easy.”

  “No, it isn’t.” She didn’t want to talk about this, not here, not now, not with him. “But I’m fine now, I’m over it.”

  “It isn’t easy on your own. Parenting, I mean.”

  Olivia shook her head. “It was difficult in the early days, certainly, but my friends and family were great – I don’t know what I would have done without them.”

  “I don’t know about you, but in a way I think having Adam to worry about helped me a little. I couldn’t be selfish; I couldn’t retreat into myself because I had him to think about.”

  “I know what you mean.” She looked away sadly.

  “Listen,” Matt said, standing up and moving towards her. “I didn’t come here so that we could stir up painful memories of our respective spouses.”

  She nodded and was about to say something, but before she could open her mouth, he had taken her hand in his.

  “As I was saying earlier, I’ve been on my own for over two years now, and in all that time I haven’t even looked at another woman. Yet, since I first met you …”

  Olivia looked into his beautiful, earnest eyes and knew that this was something special. Everything she had wished for, had hoped for this last while was happening, and yet despite her exhilaration she felt – frightened.

  But Matt seemed to understand. “I could be making a fool of myself here. Maybe I’ve been misreading the signs, maybe you don’t feel like I think you feel. But, Olivia, I think you do, and with all you’ve been through – with all we’ve both been through – I think that you’re also a little afraid. But that’s perfectly normal, because I feel that way too.” With that, he reached upwards and tenderly tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear. “What do you think?”

  That simple gesture, the faint touch on her skin, had at that moment the effect of removing all reason, all thought from Olivia’s mind.

  “I think,” she said, putting her arms around Matt’s neck and reaching forward for a much-longed-for kiss. “I think we might be on to something ….”

  31

  “I’m so pleased,” Leah grinned. “He seems really, really nice.”

  The following Saturday, Leah drove down to Lakeview for lunch and Matt had been there when she arrived. She very quickly gave him the once-over, before deciding that he was perfect for Olivia.

  All that week, Olivia had been walking on air and she couldn’t keep the smile from her face. That first night, she and Matt had talked well into the night and it was almost dawn by the time he’d left the house.

  From her doorway, she watched him sneak like a schoolboy back across the green to Catherine’s house.

  An odd scenario, that was for sure, she thought, closing the door behind her and heading upstairs, hoping for an hour or two’s sleep before Ellie woke.

  Matt had told her that he, Catherine, and his wife had known one another for years, having all grown up in the same area of Dublin together. Catherine wasn’t married.

  “She enjoys single life way too much,” he said with a laugh. “But she’s been great – great to me, great to Adam. I really don’t know what I would have done without her. I suppose she’s the only one who understands what it’s like. She loved Tash as much as I did. She was bridesmaid at our wedding, godmother at Adam’s christening, you know the way.”

  “So she looks after Adam while you’re at work?” Olivia asked.

  “Yes, she’s great with kids, really great.”

  “She must be,” Olivia said, impressed. “By the way, I never asked, what is it exactly that you do? I remember that day after the text fiasco,” she rolled her yes, “that day we first met, you had just clinched a major deal?”

  “Ah yes, that must have been the Big One,” he said, smiling at the memory.

  “Big One?”

  “Yeah, a new apartment complex – in Bulgaria this time. I’m a property consultant, an overseas property consultant. Not an estate agent as such, rather our agency finds investment property for Irish clients overseas. We used to do a lot of stuff in Spain and Portugal but the market’s saturated now and there’s no value to be had there any more. These days we concentrate only on emerging markets.” He smiled. “The Bulgarian developer had just given us sole agency in Ireland, which was a huge boost and …sorry, I’m probably boring you.”

  Olivia smiled. “Not at all. It’s very interesting actually, although I always pictured you overseas property guys as small, heavy, and sporting a nice tangerine glow from all that time spent in the sun.”

  Now, Leah wrinkled her nose when Olivia told her this. “He seems nothing like those Costa del Dosh types.”

  “He’s not. As you said yourself, he is really, really nice,” Olivia beamed at her friend. Then she threw a short glance over her shoulder checking to see if Ellie was within earshot. “Although I still don’t like saying too much in front of – ”

  “Mommy where’s Matt gone?” Ellie piped up from behind. She had run downstairs and was holding a still-wet colourful painting, the paint splattered all over her hands and cheeks.

  “He had to go home,” Olivia said, filling the kettle with water. “And he said to say goodbye, but he didn’t want to interrupt you while you were painting.”

  “But I wanted to show him my picture,” she cried mournfully.

  Leah raised an eyebrow. “Matt seems very popular.”

  “Don’t worry – he’ll be back later,” Olivia told her.

  “Goodie! Is Adam coming too?”

  “Yes, Adam’s coming too. Now go and wash all that paint off your hands – we’re having lunch soon, and then we’ll go and put your picture on the grave, OK?”

  “OK, Mommy,” Ellie dutifully rushed back upstairs to the bathroom.

  Leah sat down at the kitchen table. “She seems to have taken to Matt in a big way. And judging by that silly grin on your face, her mum seems to have taken to him in a big way too.”

  “He’s great,” Olivia said with a smile. “And yes, Ellie is crazy about him.”

  Leah paused slightly. “And have you told him … about Peter and everything?”

  Olivia’s expression clouded. “Not everything. He’s told me all about his wife and how she died, but I just can’t bring myself to tell him my sorry stories.”

  Leah shook her head. “I suppose it’s a bit early all the same. Still, Matt seems lovely and I really hope you’re not stalling because you still blame yourself. ”

  “Who else is responsible for the fact that Ellie doesn’t have a father?” Olivia stood up and looked out the window and into the back garden, her eyes tired and sad.

  Leah gritted her teeth. “Olivia, you’re the best parent I know. You’ve done a fantastic job in raising Ellie without Peter and, unlike Matt, you don’t have someone helping you out like he does with his friend Catherine – quite the opposite. Speaking of which, have you heard from Peter’s folks lately?”

  “Not for a little while, but in a way, I’m glad. It only confuses Ellie. She goes up to Galway for weekends and when she comes back it’s all Daddy this and Daddy that. She doesn’t really understand.”


  “Still as you said yourself, you can’t pretend he never existed.”

  “I know that, but I’m the one that has to make all the excuses and explanations …” Tears sprang to her eyes. “They’ve always blamed me too, you know.”

  “I’m sure that’s not true.”

  “Still, they loved him and now he’s gone.”

  Leah looked sideways at her. “I haven’t seen you like this in a long time.”

  “I haven’t felt like this in a long time, to be honest,” Olivia replied sadly. “Am I doing the right thing?” she asked, panicking now, wondering if she was being silly thinking she could have a relationship with Matt.

  “I think you’re doing the right thing,” Leah said, standing up and putting a comforting arm around her friend’s shoulder. “And I also think it’s time you moved on. What you had with Peter is long gone, Olivia, you know that, and you’ve suffered enough. Now, you have to make the most of what you do have, and look to the future.”

  Olivia thought about it, she had thought about it many times over. Leah was right; she did have to move on, and finally come to terms with the fact that Peter wasn’t coming back.

  32

  Olivia was sure she was being watched.

  It was a strange sensation really, and something she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but she was almost positive of it. She’d felt it the other day when she and Ellie were heading out to visit Kate and her new baby at the hospital, and she’d had the really weird feeling that someone was watching her every move.

  She didn’t like it, not when the estate was normally so quiet, and people in the village generally left her alone. She gave a slight glance towards Catherine’s house, suddenly feeling guilty and understanding what it must have felt like when she was peeping out her window at them.

  “She’ll be mad about you,” Matt had enthused one evening when Olivia made cautious enquiries about Catherine.

  “You two must be very close,” Olivia ventured carefully, wondering why on earth an attractive young woman who by all accounts had the world at her feet had stepped into the role vacated by Matt’s wife.

  He seemed adamant that they were just childhood friends, and their relationship became galvanised even more by their bereavment. But Olivia couldn’t help wondering if there was, or ever had been, anything else between them?

  “She’s great,” Matt said, interrupting her thoughts. “She adores Adam, would do anything for him.”

  “And did you two ever …?” She felt like a heel for even suggesting it when she saw his expression cloud over.

  “She was Natasha’s best friend.”

  “Of course.” Olivia wasn’t sure what that meant, but she suspected that he and Catherine had loved Natasha too much to betray her memory like that.

  Still, she had to admit that she found it all very strange, and she wouldn’t mind meeting this Catherine, who seemed to have sacrificed quite a lot of her own life to accommodate a simple friendship. Then, she all of a sudden remembered the young guy sneaking – well, in retrospect she had only imagined he was sneaking – out of Catherine’s house that morning a while back. She was making too much of this – Catherine might be a very good-looking girl who was being supportive to her friend, but she obviously wasn’t living like a nun either.

  And of course, if she was such a good friend and as lovely and obliging as Matt was saying, then Olivia was sure that the two of them would get on like a house on fire.

  Catherine was banging pots and pans around as if she was rehearsing for a kitchen-utensil recital. What was Matt playing at, inviting her over here for dinner?

  How dare he flaunt the trollop in front of her. Was he toying with her now – was that it?

  Well, he could go sing – Catherine wasn’t going to lie down without a fight – not this time. After all those nights he’d spent crying on her shoulder, telling her that he loved her and didn’t know what he would do without her, and then, at the first opportunity, he goes and takes up with some dizzy wagon from across the road.

  She couldn’t comprehend the hurt she’d felt when Matt didn’t seem at all bothered that she was seeing a guy from the village.

  “I’m so pleased for you,” he’d said. “It’s not easy to find someone these days.” He went on to say that he had always been concerned that their close friendship might prevent Catherine from finding a partner, that their heavy involvement in one another’s lives might be a stumbling block to her independence.

  She couldn’t believe it – it was as though he was happy she’d found someone, almost as though he was now free to go off pursuing other women – like dumpy Olivia.

  How could she have got it so wrong? She’d been so sure that seeing her all dressed up and ready for a night out with some man, someone that wasn’t him, would make him realise what he was missing.

  But no he didn’t seem at all bothered about it – in fact, he had collected Adam and without a care in the world had simply toddled off across the road to her house. Yes, Conor was a nice guy, very charming and very flash with the cash, not to mention owned one of those gorgeous heritage cottages down by the lake, but really he had nothing on Matt.

  How could he not see it? How could Matt not realise that they were perfect for one another – that she could give him all the love he needed and more?

  She didn’t presume to replace Natasha, she would never dream of that, but since Tash died she had dedicated her life to helping Matt cope with his grief, helping him and Adam to move on.

  She’d even moved to this godforsaken hell-hole to lay the foundations for settling down to a quieter pace of life together away from Dublin.

  Granted, this Olivia seemed to have a lot in common with him – she had also lost her husband and was raising a child on her own.

  Was this what attracted him? Was it the fact that he felt some kind of empathy for her situation?

  Catherine didn’t know. All she knew was that she was not going to let some desperate widow from across the road come between her and her happiness.

  Olivia would soon find out that the course of her and Matt’s apparent ‘true love’ was not going to run smooth.

  At all.

  33

  “Your house is gorgeous,” Olivia gushed, looking around the living-room. “You have a much better grasp of interior design than I have, I can tell you.”

  She gave a weak laugh, feeling more nervous about meeting this woman than she cared to admit. She took another gulp from the glass of white wine Matt had put into her hand when she had first arrived, only then realising that, in her nervousness, she was drinking it too fast.

  Matt had invited her to dinner at Catherine’s, insisting that she loved every opportunity to show off her culinary skills.

  Catherine’s taste in clothes wasn’t too bad either, she thought, feeling rather self-conscious in her plain attire of jeans and ordinary black woollen jumper compared to Catherine’s colourful off-the-shoulder top and flirty leather skirt.

  Judging by her slim figure and flawlessly applied make-up, she obviously looked after herself, and because of this Olivia couldn’t quite put an age on her. Mid-thirties, maybe?

  “Thanks,” Catherine replied to her compliments, although there was little warmth in her tone.

  She walked immediately into the kitchen and, although she hadn’t been asked, Olivia followed, hoping that Matt would soon return from settling the kids. Catherine didn’t seem to mind their playing in another room while the adults had dinner.

  “Matt has been telling me all about you, and how great you are with Adam,” Olivia ventured again.

  Catherine continued busying herself with the dinner preparations as if she wasn’t even there.

  “To be perfectly honest, I do feel bad about your having to entertain tonight.” Olivia knew she was babbling but still felt she had to fill the silence. “We could have gone out somewhere in the village to save you all the effort, but Matt insisted …” She trailed off, wondering what was wrong. The way
Matt went on, Olivia had thought that the woman wouldn’t hear of them having dinner anywhere else.

  “Not at all – I enjoy cooking for Matt,” Catherine said, with a hint of a smile.

  “Well, do you need any help at all?”

  “I have everything under control, thanks.” She continued opening cupboards and drawers, leaving Olivia standing in the middle of the kitchen like some kind of spare tool.

  Again, she wondered what to say next, but luckily didn’t have to for much longer as just then Matt reappeared.

  “How’s everything going? Anything I can do?”

  Catherine exhaled deeply and wiped her brow with the back of her hand. “If you could finish setting the table, and look after the drinks, it would be a huge help,” she said with a grateful sigh.

  Great, Olivia thought, piqued that the woman had rejected her offer to help. Now, it looked as though she was some ingrate, expecting to be waited on hand and foot.

  “I’ll set the table if you like,” she offered and Matt gave her a warm smile.

  “No, no, you go and sit down,” Catherine swatted her away like a fly. “Matt and I will take care of everything. Matt, why don’t you fill up Olivia’s glass for her? It’s almost empty.”

  Olivia flushed mortified that Catherine had somehow managed to make her look like Lady Muck.

  Soon after, dinner was served and the others joined her at the table.

  “Is Adam OK?” Catherine asked, letting her long blonde hair fall loose from its clip and taking a dainty sip from her wineglass. She was gorgeous, Olivia thought, feeling downright dowdy sitting alongside her.

  “He and Ellie are entranced by some DVD,” Matt answered, his mouth full.

  “Well, as long as they stay entranced until we’ve finished eating, I’ll be happy,” Olivia laughed, eager to relax the obvious tension.

  Catherine frowned slightly. “Do you let Ellie watch television a lot then, Olivia?”