Life Swap Read Online Free PDF Page B

call from Amber Winslow, though, they just had to take. ‘Do you think it’s that Winslow?’ Aidan had said to Julian, who, although born in Ireland, had taken to America and all things American like a duck to water.
    They made a few calls, found out that indeed Amber Winslow was married to Richard Winslow of the known Winslow family, and so she was one of the lucky few they called back. They had heard that she had come from nothing, that no one knew what her background was; the rumour said the mother was – gasp – a cleaner from Long Island.
    Whatever the truth, Julian and Aidan loved nothing more than a good story, and so Amber Winslow was one of the few people they set up a meeting with.
    ‘We like to interview potential clients first,’ said Aidan during that initial phone call, as Amber’s heart fluttered with fear and all her inadequacies rose to the surface.
    ‘Good Lord, that sounds scary,’ she managed. ‘What if I fail?’
    Aidan had laughed. ‘Oh we’re not scary at all. It’s just that we only tend to work with people that we really like, and this is just to make sure we get on. But don’t worry, I can tell already that we’re going to like you.’
    Amber relaxed. But only a little.
    She has bought beautiful flower arrangements andplaced them in every room. Has hidden the TV guides under piles of Architectural Digest , and has hidden the odd vase that she suspects will not pass muster.
    Her clothes have been planned two weeks in advance. In fact the minute she put down the phone to Aidan she sat in her wardrobe and planned what she would wear to make the very best impression. She didn’t want to wear her daily uniform of Gap pants and sneakers, nor her smart little Chanel suits she wears for Richard’s work do’s or the rare occasions they go up to Brookline for family get-togethers.
    In the end she decided on a pair of chocolate-brown pants with a soft pink cashmere sweater, and flat brown suede Prada pumps. Classic, elegant, with a slightly trendy twist thanks to the shoes, she’d team it with a huge chunky diamond and rose quartz ring that had cost several thousand dollars but that she hadn’t been able to resist.
    The very fact that she was able to go into a store and walk out less than five minutes later with a diamond ring, without having to think about it, still managed to amaze her. She knew by now she ought to be used to it, and in many ways she was, but this not having to think about how much she spent, nor about what she spent it on, still, even after all these years, felt slightly odd.
    And Richard had always encouraged her. ‘You deserve it,’ he’d say as she showed him the fur scarf she’d just bought, or the Balenciaga bag, or the Loro Piana shawl. ‘I know you never had any of this before,and what’s money for if not to spend?’ His generosity was one of the things she loved most about him. She couldn’t bear to be married to one of those men who questioned everything, who gave their wives a strict budget and expected to be consulted on everything outside the budget.
    Recently Richard had been slightly less generous, slightly more questioning about the amounts she spent, but he had a point. The market wasn’t as good as it had been, and wouldn’t it be better to set aside savings for a rainy day, and really, didn’t she already have everything she needed?
    Still, she hadn’t shown him the ring yet. She’d bought it just last month when she’d been in the city for the day. She’d walked past a jeweller on Madison and had stopped when she’d seen this ring in the window.
    ‘It’s a fun piece,’ the sales assistant had said as she fetched it. Fun for the women on the Upper East Side. Fun if you consider several thousand dollars on a semi-precious stone to be fun.
    ‘It’s gorgeous.’ Amber had held her breath as she slipped the ring on her finger. It was gorgeous. And it fitted her. Perfectly.
    ‘I think this must be fate.’ The sales assistant had smiled,