Love Me Till Wednesday (Sapphire Stars #1)

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Lisa didn’t wake up until 11 am. The lack of sleep yesterday had finally caught up with her. She had a shower, pulled on her running gear, and went downstairs to the kitchen.

There was a note from Elise attached to the fridge with a magnet. ‘Used the last of the milk. Sorry! At Jordan’s. Back for Sunday dinner. Xx’

Lisa wasn’t going to get through the day without tea. She grabbed her phone and headed out the back door, down the garden and into the alley. It would only take a few minutes to get to the supermarket if she ran.

As she turned into the next street she felt like someone was looking at her. She spun round to see a middle-aged man on the opposite pavement, staring at her oddly. Had she accidentally ventured out in Greg’s Crocs again? She checked. No. She was definitely wearing her trainers. She looked normal. She was a little rough around the edges, maybe, with no makeup and her hair tied up in a messy bun but fully clothed. The man was holding his phone up now. Was he videoing her? Cheeky bastard. ‘Oi! What’s your problem?’ she yelled.

‘It’s a free country,’ he yelled back. ‘I can do what I like.’

Technically, he was right, but it was still intrusive. Sod that. Lisa darted down the back alley of the houses on the next street to get out of sight of Mr Amateur Paparazzo. After a few seconds, she risked a glance behind her. There was no sign of him. She ran along the rest of the alley until she emerged onto the high street.

She checked behind her again. He hadn’t followed her, thank God. The pavement was filled with Saturday morning shoppers. It was too busy to run, so Lisa settled into a walk, enjoying the feel of the summer sunshine on her face.

As she paused to cross a side street, she noticed two women walking towards her. One nudged the other. They began whispering and staring at her. She gave them a fixed smile and waved. They quickly looked away and scurried past. At least, they hadn’t been as brazen as the first guy.

What a weird morning. The downside of being on television last night, she supposed.

Her phone started ringing as she walked into the supermarket. Jim’s name appeared on the screen.

‘Hi, darling’ she said.

‘Just checking you’re ok?’

‘Apart from being stared at by all and sundry,’ she said loudly for the benefit of another woman who kept surreptitiously glancing up at her over the top of the fruit and veg section.

‘You’ve gone out?’ He sounded shocked.

‘Yeah. I needed some stuff from the shop.’

‘Why didn’t you send Pete?’

‘Because he’s not my servant. And he’s spending the weekend at Andy’s.’

‘Today’s not the best day for you to go shopping. You better get back home.’

‘I get there’s been some social media noise about your parentage,’ she whispered as she grabbed a bottle of milk from the fridge and headed for the checkout. ‘But I don’t see why that makes everyone so interested in me. ’

Then she caught sight of the headline on one of the tabloids on the newsstand by the tills.

MY NIXON NIGHTMARE

It was accompanied by a small photo of Nick and Adrienne looking loved up at a red carpet do. There was nothing unusual in that, but what was concerning was a larger image of Lisa and Nick taken at the Mr Friday Night Show recording. Someone had caught the brief moment when they were holding hands. The subheading read

Exclusive! Star cheats on pregnant fiancée with old flame.

Marvellous. She was being billed as some sort of femme fatale. No wonder people were staring.

‘I see what you mean now,’ she said to Jim as she stood in the queue for the self-checkouts. ‘Have you read it? How bad is it?’

‘Pretty bad. Looks like Adrienne’s sold her story. You’ve been screwing around with Dad for years, according to her.’

‘Bloody liar.’

‘Is it a lie? The online version has a photo of you leaving his hotel at one this morning.’ Jim sounded less than impressed.

‘Yes, it is a lie,’ she said. She wasn’t going into details with half the supermarket in earshot.

The man behind her tapped her shoulder and pointed to a free checkout. ‘Sorry,’ she said to him. ‘Jim, I can’t talk now. I’ll phone you back when I’m at home. ’

Lisa got a text from Jules as she walked back into the house.

Come over for a chat if you need a shoulder to cry on. Martin’s away with the boys at the footie X

She so needed to talk this through with someone she could trust, but first she needed to read Adrienne’s version of events.

She replied to Jules:

Thank you! Just got to sort something. I’ll be over in 10 x

Time to face the music. Lisa googled the headline and found the article.

She skim-read it initially and then went back to the beginning to read it properly, trying to let it all sink in.

Adrienne claimed to be deeply in love with Nick. She talked about how awful she’d felt when he’d confessed that Lisa was his soulmate, but she’d stuck with him because she wanted to make his life better and knew they were meant for each other. They both wanted a family so she’d been delighted when the pregnancy test had turned positive a few days ago, just weeks before their wedding. Then she described the horror of finding out only a few hours later that Lisa and Nick were having an affair and they had a secret love child.

The images that accompanied the article had been carefully chosen to back up Adrienne’s version of events.

What a mess. No wonder people had been glaring at her. Lisa would hate Lisa if she read that article without knowing the real story.

What did Nick think about it all? She was surprised he hadn’t been in touch already. She texted him .

What a mess! Xx

He phoned back straightaway. ‘What’s up?’ He sounded half asleep.

‘Are you ok?’

‘Yes, I’ve only just woken up. We’re not a mess, are we?’

‘No, but Adrienne is. Well, I’ve got a lot more colourful words to describe her, to be honest.’

‘What’s she done?’ He sounded wide awake now.

Lisa gave him a précis of the article.

‘Seriously?! Shit! Ok. I need to get hold of Suki. Sit tight. I’m so sorry you’ve been dragged into this. We’ll sort it.’

It was a bit late for that, but it wasn’t his fault. ‘I’m going to phone Jim. He didn’t sound impressed when he called earlier.’

‘I can understand that. I’ll phone you back. And Lisa?’

‘Yes.’

‘Adrienne got one thing right. I think you are my soulmate.’

Nick lay back on the pillow and groaned. Why had he mentioned the soulmate thing? He should’ve done that face-to-face when he could gauge Lisa’s mood better. He was sure he’d heard her take a sharp intake of breath, and she’d definitely been in a hurry to end the call. He didn’t want it to be awkward between them, but after last night’s kiss, he’d been so convinced this wasn’t a one-way thing that he thought it was safe to say it. Wishful thinking, Nixon.

He checked his phone. There were several texts from Suki. She’d been asked to comment by the newspaper, and she’d been trying to contact him all morning. He gave her a call.

Suki got straight down to business. ‘Have you seen Adrienne’s story? ’

‘No, but Lisa’s told me all about it.’

‘Oh. Where is she?’

‘At home. Why?’

‘I’ve written a draft response, but it does assume that you weren’t shagging Lisa last night or before.’

‘I was thirty years ago.’

‘I realised that! I meant more recently.’

‘No, I can assure you Thursday evening was the first time we’d met since 1992. And we were just talking last night.’

‘But it sounds like you’ve got plans to take it further at some point?’

Nick laughed. He would have told anybody else to mind their own business, but Suki always insisted on the truth so she could make sure he didn’t get caught out in a lie.

‘I’d like to, but I have a feeling she doesn’t feel the same way.’

‘OK. I’ll reword that part just in case you win her over. I assume you don’t want to be interviewed about it.’

‘Absolutely not.’ He’d learnt early on in his Hollywood career that the more you refuted a lie, the more people assumed it must be true.

‘Good. The email will be with you in a few minutes. Let me know if you’re happy, and I’ll get it over to them.’

‘Thanks. You’re a star as always.’

Jules put a large mug of tea on her kitchen table in front of Lisa. ‘So, my lovely, tell your auntie Jules how the hell you managed to get off with a film star.’

‘That’s just it. I didn’t get off with him. Adrienne’s got it all wrong. Nick and I are just friends now.’

Jules looked sceptical. ‘So what kept you at his hotel till 1 am? I assume that part was true? ’

‘We spent ages catching up. Then we watched a film and we nodded off.’

Jules chuckled. ‘Oh yeah!’

‘On the sofa!’ Lisa emphasised. ‘We lost track of time, that’s all. He’s so easy to talk to.’ Like a soulmate. No, don’t think like that!

‘But there’s no spark any more?’

Lisa hesitated, remembering their parting kiss. ‘There is. And I think he feels the same way.’

‘But that’s fantastic. What’s the problem?’

‘He’s worked his way through so many women, I don’t want to risk getting hurt.’

Jules looked thoughtful. ‘Sometimes you have to take the risk, or you spend the rest of your life wondering what might have been.’

‘That sounds like you’re speaking from personal experience.’

Jules stared into her tea and started slowly turning her mug around. ‘There was someone once. I thought he was a risk, so I settled for dependable Martin.’

‘But you and Martin are ok, aren’t you?’

‘I love Martin. We’re good together. And I’m grateful for all this and the boys, but sometimes I wonder what might have been. Anyway, we’re here to sort out your love life, not mine. What have you got to lose if you and Nick get together?’

That was easy to answer. ‘My independence.’

‘Is he the controlling type then?’

‘He never used to be, and I don’t think he is now. But I’ve got used to being on my own.’

‘And you’ll be happy being alone for the rest of your life?’

A good question. ‘No. I’d love somebody by my side, fighting in my corner, someone to enjoy life with. It’s just the whole dating thing that’s been putting me off. ’

‘But you already know Nick. It wouldn’t be like dating a stranger. Are you saying he wouldn’t look out for you?’

‘No. He used to be really good at that. That’s how we got together originally.’

‘So you’re attracted to him. He’s attracted to you. You can talk to one another for hours. He’s got your back. He’s loaded, so he won’t be leeching off you, and, let’s face it, he’s still drop-dead gorgeous. Where are you going to find someone better?’

Jules had a point. ‘I’m not, am I? But what if I’m imagining it all?’

‘When are you seeing him next?’

‘Tomorrow. He’s coming round for Sunday lunch.’

‘Perfect. You’ll see how he behaves with the rest of your family. You’ll soon work out where you stand.’