Perfect Strangers Read Online Free PDF

had been scaled back, but she’d always had too much of that anyway – too much of everything really. Sophie knew she had always led a privileged life, a safe life. She had always stayed well within the bounds of what was expected of a pretty girl of her class. Her default setting was shy, and for many years she did not have the confidence to do anything but conform. There was never any teenage rebellious phase; she had never done anything unexpected. If everyone was wearing pearls, she would wear pearls. If everyone was learning to ride horses, she signed up. She applied to one of the Sloaney universities, and when everyone started dating men from the City, she found herself a banker boyfriend too. Sophie couldn’t remember a time in her life when she had done anything daring, or even out of the ordinary. She had always just been a leaf bobbing along on the stream.
    Leaning forward into the mirror, she stared at her reflection. Well, now it was time to take her own path. The past few days had gone by in slow motion, and her grief still felt raw. But Daddy was gone and one thing was clear. Not only was she going to have to look after herself; in a reversal of the parent–child dynamic she had grown up with, she now felt completely responsible for her mother. For a start, it meant that she had to make some money. For the last few months she’d got by on what a Burlington Arcade jeweller had given her for her diamond stud earrings and Cartier watch – a present from Will two Christmases before – but that money was dwindling and she’d have to start paying more rent soon.
    She dabbed her lips and forced a smile, then grabbed her gym bag. She picked up her iPod and phone, zipping them up inside her make-up bag, a hard-won habit she’d developed to keep them safe from wet towels and puddles in the changing room.
    Glancing at her bookshelf, she saw the faded spine of I Capture the Castle , the book her father had given her for her last birthday. Smiling sadly, she opened it up to read the inscription Peter had scribbled on the title page.
    To my dearest S, read this and think of our castle. Happy birthday. All my love always, Daddy .
    It wasn’t a first edition or collectable; just a rather dog-eared second-hand copy with the name of the previous owner scribbled inside. Sophie had loved its faded green cover with its line drawing of a peacock peering down at a creepy castle, because it showed her Dad had been thinking of her. He could have bought her some fancy perfume or something – not that they had any money for luxuries, as her mother was constantly reminding her – but instead he had remembered that I Capture the Castle was her favourite book, and had written a message only they would understand.
    Sophie and her father had talked of their castle since she was a little girl and he had told her bedtime stories of sailing off to exotic shores. ‘One day,’ he had said, ‘we will all live in a pink castle on a desert island where no one will ever find us.’ That was never going to happen now she thought grimly, throwing the book in her bag and heading for the bus.
    There were closer gyms to Sophie’s flat, but the Red Heart was owned by Sharif Khan, an old friend from the Chelsea nightclub scene, who had offered her free membership in return for helping out behind the reception desk once a week. Sharif was a serial entrepreneur who had gone bankrupt many times before, and he knew more than most that she needed a lifeline.
    ‘Hi, Mike,’ she said, grabbing a plastic cup of water as she grinned at the short-haired man behind the desk.
    ‘How are you, Soph?’
    She guessed his concern was genuine; Mike had filled in for her last week, so no doubt Sharif had told him why she was away.
    ‘Glad to be back,’ she smiled.
    ‘I’m so sorry about your dad.’
    She nodded. Mike was a nice guy, but she still didn’t feel comfortable discussing it.
    ‘Thanks,’ she said, then lowered her voice. ‘Listen, Mike, do