Tracy Corbett - Secret Things and Highland Flings

The set-up had worked perfectly. As twins, they’d always been close, despite their differing personalities. In fact, most people didn’t even register they were identical. It was amazing how changing your hair colour and throwing in a few tattoos could mask the obvious. Lexi’s preference for lightening her hair and wearing colourful retro clothing contrasted with Tasha’s ebony hair and penchant for body art and metal piercings. But underneath the camouflage, they shared the same DNA. More than that, they were best friends. There was no one on the planet Lexi felt closer to than Tasha.

When she’d married Marcus and moved out of their shared flat, it had been a wrench leaving Tasha, but at least working next door had ensured their close bond remained. And when her marriage had broken down, it was Tasha who’d been there for her, insisting she move back into the flat. It was just like old times, the pair of them living together and being the emotional support they both needed.

Lexi watched her sister wipe chocolate from her black nail-polished fingers. ‘Thanks again for letting me move back in, Tash. I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

‘Luckily, you’ll never have to find out. Besides, you were having a meltdown. It was my duty as your loving sister to rescue you.’

‘And I appreciate it, really I do. But you didn’t have to let me loose with a paintbrush.’

‘Actually, I did. Even I could see this pad needed your style input.’

Another white lie. The flat had looked fine. The real reason Tasha wanted a change of décor was because of Harriette.

Tasha had only had one serious relationship before Harriette, a woman called Sara, whom she’d dated for two years. But the relationship had soured when Sara became clingy and jealous of Tasha and Lexi’s close bond. In the end, Sara left, claiming Tasha never put her first. Tasha was heartbroken.

Tasha had steered away from relationships for a few years, but then she’d met Harriette, who seemed like the real deal. She was funny, kind and brought a lightness to the relationship that balanced out Tasha’s tendency for melancholy. They made a great couple and Tasha adored her. So much so, Harriette moved into the flat and they spent months doing up the place and making a home together.

But then Harriette fell pregnant and returned to her ex-boyfriend, whom Tasha had no idea she was still seeing. Tasha was devastated. More than that, she felt betrayed, which manifested into rage, resulting in her smashing up the flat, destroying furniture and ripping up curtains and soft furnishings. Hence the need for a makeover.

Tasha had recovered, but there was a hardness to her now, as Marcus had discovered when Tasha had slashed his tyres. Not that she felt sorry for Marcus. But Tasha wasn’t someone you wanted to get on the wrong side of.

Tasha leant against the worktop. ‘Besides, this place is a damned sight better than that monstrosity of a mansion in Notting Hill. You never looked right there. This place is more you. Retro-chic.’ She inspected a chipped nail. ‘Marcus would hate it.’

Lexi grinned. ‘That’s part of the appeal.’

Tasha laughed, something she rarely did. ‘Talking of Dickwit, have you heard from him lately?’ She reached over for the bottle of orange liqueur Lexi had used for baking. ‘Christ, paint stripper’s more palatable than this stuff. We need something decent to drink.’

‘I meant to restock, but I ran out of cash. I’ll pop to the wholesalers on Friday. I’m planning a big shop.’ She untied her blue chequered apron.

Tasha looked appalled. ‘What have you got planned for Saturday, sorting through your sock drawer?’

Lexi threw the apron at her. ‘Make yourself useful, there’s a sink full of washing-up.’

Tasha grunted something unintelligible. ‘Fine, but then I’m heading to the off-licence.’

Lexi checked the progress of her cupcakes. ‘In answer to your question, my beloved ex is—’

‘Hang on.’ Tasha held up her hand. ‘If we’re going to discuss Scumbag, we need suitable background music.’ She went over to the jukebox. A few seconds later The Platters started up with ‘The Great Pretender’.

Lexi glared at her sister. ‘Are you trying to be funny?’

‘Hell, no.’ Tasha came back into the kitchen. ‘If I’d wanted to be funny, I’d have chosen ‘I Could Have Told You’. Ole blue-eyes says it much better than I ever could.’

‘And with slightly less sarcasm.’

Tasha picked up the pink rubber gloves draped over the sink. With her kohl-black eyes and asymmetric bob, she looked the most unlikely of domestic staff. But then, she’d always been a contradiction, a cocktail of sweet and sour … only these days it was more sour than sweet. Heartbreak tended to do that to a person.

‘So, news on Scumbag? Please tell me he’s been kidnapped by guerrilla terrorists and is being held at gunpoint somewhere deep in the Amazonian jungle.’

The timer on the oven pinged. Lexi opened the oven door and removed her cakes. ‘You have a warped mind.’

‘Naturally.’

Lexi rested the baking tray on top of the oven. ‘Until today, I’d assumed Marcus was still in Spain with Cindy.’

‘And he’s not?’

‘He showed up at the gallery this morning.’

Tasha spun away from the sink, dripping foamy suds over the kitchen floor. ‘You’re kidding me? What did he want?’

Lexi refused to meet her sister’s inquisitive gaze. ‘Usual stuff. He’s sorry, he didn’t mean to hurt me … where’s his money. You know the pattern.’ She spoke quickly, hoping her sister wouldn’t catch on.

‘Where’s his money? What money?’

There was no point hiding anything from Tasha, she was too astute … which was why not telling her about taking the twenty-seven grand from the house was so stressful. ‘It turns out he surrendered a life insurance policy, which I knew nothing about. He forged my signature so he could cash it in. The official receiver’s got wind of it and wants the money returned. Twenty-seven thousand pounds.’

‘The little shit!’ Tasha threw the saucepan in the sink. ‘And Marcus thinks you have it? After everything he did, the guy’s lucky I don’t put a contract out on him.’

Lexi wondered if her sister was being serious. Some of Tasha’s customers at the tattoo parlour certainly looked capable of inflicting a knee-capping.

‘And even if you did have his filthy ill-gained money, as if you’d give it back after what he did. He virtually bankrupted you, jeopardised your business and hooked up with a woman who could’ve auditioned for the starring role in Barbie Does Dagenham !’

Lexi sighed. Tasha losing her rag wasn’t a surprise, but it was slightly puzzling as to why her sister was still so angry after all this time. Lexi had moved past wanting to dismember Marcus a long time ago. Well, mostly anyway. She still loathed what he’d done, the way he’d done it, but there were no active emotions left, just an overwhelming sense of sadness that settled over her when she dwelt on things too much.

Like the day they’d first met.

It was Valentine’s Day 2014 and she’d gone to London for an exhibition. She’d stopped off for a coffee on the South Bank and became aware of a man staring at her. The next thing she knew, he was sitting next to her, making her laugh and persuading her to join him for dinner. By the end of the evening, she was smitten. When he’d kissed her goodnight and told her she was the woman he’d been waiting for all of his life, her fate was sealed. A six-month whirlwind romance followed, filled with love, laughter and excitement. He lavished her with expensive gifts and took every opportunity to ‘flash the cash’, keen to demonstrate his wealth and back up his promises of a financially secure life. She never doubted his honesty or sincerity and ignored her sister’s concerns that he was ‘too good to be true’. They married in a registry office and for the first year everything was fine. But then he started disappearing for days on end, stressing over his used-car business and behaving strangely. He became secretive, moody and defensive when questioned. But it wasn’t until he cleaned out their savings account and ran off to Spain with his PA that she’d discovered the depth of his deception.