Any Way You Want Me Read Online Free PDF

enormous,’ Julia put in. ‘If it gets to court, there’s going to be so much dirt that comes out of the woodwork. Let’s just hope we can get the exclusive on his diaries – he’s bound to try to cash in on this.’
    ‘Let’s hope we DON’T get his diaries,’ Alex argued. ‘I don’t want that toe-rag to make any more money out of this, let alone from our paper. Get him into court and bang him up with the arse-soapers, I say.’
    ‘Innocent until proven guilty, Alex,’ Matthew said through a mouthful of noodles. They sprouted out of his blubbery lips in a rather vile maggoty fashion. ‘Who’s to say it’s all true anyway? We know better than anyone how the hacks twist things to suit their own purposes.’
    Alex snorted. ‘Of course it’s true! His political career has been totally built on lies and bribes and pay-offs.’ His eyes glittered. ‘He’s an out-and-out con-man, I can’t believe he’s been allowed to get away with it all this time.’
    Alex could get very passionate about things like this. I envied him for it. The only thing I had the energy to get worked up about was people beating their children or neglecting them or abandoning them. And, every now and then for light relief, how I was never going to be able to afford a Lulu Guinness handbag. Meanwhile, the political arena was passing me by, like a car accelerating past on the motorway. There I was stuck in the slow lane, trapped between the crawler lorries of domesticity and small children, my brain already stuffed to bursting point with other crucial information, like the entire text of The Gruffalo and the best way to get Ribena stains out.
    I sighed, remembering the political discussions Alex and I had had once upon a time. Him and his Marxist theories, me and my feminist outrage. We’d discuss things that were happening all over the world, not just one small corner of south London where his football socks had vanished and the council tax hadn’t been paid.
    ‘What do you think, Sadie?’ Chloe asked suddenly, and I jumped.
    I hadn’t a clue who they were talking about. Not a clue. There was a moment’s silence while I put my head on one side and pretended to be considering the matter carefully. Really, I was thinking, Shit, shit, what shall I say? Quick! Something clever. Something meaningful. Something . . .
    ‘He’s good-looking, though, isn’t he?’ I blurted out randomly. ‘Bet he’s a bit of a sex-pot.’
    Julia and Alex were staring at me as if I was mad. Mark spluttered with laughter.
    ‘Joke,’ I said quickly. ‘Ha ha. This is delicious, by the way. Is there some ginger in it?’
    ‘Yes,’ Mark said. ‘And lemongrass.’
    ‘Very nice,’ I said.
    ‘How old are your children, Sadie?’ Julia said as she refilled my glass. ‘Two boys, isn’t it?’
    I looked across at her, wondering if that was her way of putting me in my place. Shut up, Mum, you don’t know what you’re on about. The adults are trying to talk .
    Look, sweetheart, I don’t give a toss about this MP, I felt like saying. I’m more concerned about whether my mother has been able to talk Molly into wearing her pyjamas rather than her bridesmaid’s dress for bed tonight. But since you asked . . .
    ‘Girl and a boy,’ I replied. The usual fierce rush of love came the instant I thought of them. ‘Molly’s nearly two and a half, and Nathan’s five months.’ And they’re both heart-achingly beautiful, I managed to stop myself from adding, voice shaking with pride. Blimey, one more glass of this wine and I’d be getting my baby photos out of my handbag and boring them all senseless.
    ‘Banging them out there, Sade,’ Matthew said with a broad wink. ‘Going for the hat-trick, are you, eh?’
    ‘Two of them is enough, thanks,’ said Alex.
    ‘We haven’t decided yet,’ I said simultaneously. ‘Oh.’ I looked across the table at him, feeling rattled. Alex seemed very assured on the subject of No More Children but I wasn’t. I hadn’t