That Friday Feeling

kate, a city lawyer with just the right credentials for career and domestic success, finds herself at nearly thirty, becoming disillusioned with her marriage to self - centred, arrogant tim, embroiled as he is in an unfulfilling affair with his pa, the striking but vacuous willow. when ed, kate’s young assistant at work, stumbles across the affair, he conceives a puppy like adoration for his boss and meanwhile, partner elect, self-effacing marcus is struggling to come to terms with his recent divorce from the elusive lucinda and its implications for their bright bubbly three year old daughter, millie.
if kate’s world is thrown into confusion when she nearly kisses tim’s hopeless but lovable brother, duncan, over the washing up at a dinner party, it is thrown into turmoil as she struggles to make sense of her feelings in the light of their subsequent affair. but it is the revelation of their relationship, at a family gathering when siouxse, duncan’s girlfriend, decides it is time to spill the beans, which is the pivotal point in the book and which, in one way or another, causes all of the other characters to re evaluate themselves and their lives.
kate and duncan are thrown together. tim moves in with willow after a brief fling with siouxse. And tim’s father, mike, leaves his wife for long term mistress lucinda.
however the fate of kate and duncan’s relationship is probably sealed (even before kate’s drunken and entirely accidental one night stand with, ed) as it becomes clear that kate and duncan’s feelings for each other are intimately bound up with those they hold for tim. And when tim is summoned home by his mother, in the wake of mike’s departure, he is offered a reprieve from willow, and an excuse to talk to kate whom he coerces and confuses into taking him back. but tim wants to have his cake and eat it, pleasing neither kate nor willow who are struggling to believe his promises.
at christmas, lucinda goes away with mike leaving marcus ” holding the baby” but for kate the revelation of siouxse’s pregnancy is overshadowed by her discovery, that despite all he has said, tim has continued his affair with willow.
the story reaches its climax on new year’s eve when kate finally finds the strength to walk away from tim and is unexpectedly rescued by marcus. willow ends it with tim and enlists ed’s help to get even causing tim to change the way his life is going. And siouxse and duncan get drunk.
there is a final snapshot four months later when a not quite chance encounter brings the characters together and answers some questions.