Love Me Till Wednesday (Sapphire Stars #1)

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37

Brad parked the Range Rover outside No 39.

‘You seem on edge,’ he said as Nick undid the seatbelt.

‘I’m just about to play the most important part in my life,’ Nick replied. This felt worse than waiting to go on stage to a packed Broadway theatre on an opening night. He’d been worrying about it ever since he’d made the soulmate gaffe with Lisa yesterday.

Come on, Nixon. You usually charm everyone you meet. But today, the stakes were high. Screwing up this encounter would be a disaster. He might have won Jim over, but now he was about to meet the rest of Lisa’s family, including Jim’s fiancée and their children. His grandchildren. He let that sink in. And then there was working out where he stood with Lisa.

Nick walked up the steps to the dark blue front door and pressed the doorbell. He heard light footsteps quickly running on the wooden floor, followed by slower, more purposeful ones. Jim opened the door with a curly-haired child clinging to his leg. The little girl grinned at Nick, half hiding behind Jim’s leg.

‘Hi Jim,’ Nick said. ‘And who might you be?’ he added, crouching down to get to the girl’s level .

‘I’m Sophie. Pleased to meet you.’ She let go of Jim and held out her right hand for Nick to shake. He helpfully obliged. ‘Can I call you Grandpa?’ she asked.

He nodded, trying not to tear up. ‘I’d love that.’

‘Come and say hello to Nanny.’ She held his hand as he stood up. She led him into the house while Jim followed.

Lisa was standing by the sink, drying her hands. ‘Hiya,’ she said, smiling. God, how he loved that smile. Every time he saw it, he felt young again. She was happy to see him, which was a relief.

‘Nanny, this is my Grandpa,’ Sophie said proudly.

‘Yes, darling, I know.’

It all felt surreal.

‘I hope you like venison,’ Lisa said. ‘As it’s our last Sunday lunch here, I thought I’d push the boat out.’

‘Our last one?’ Sophie looked horrified.

‘We’ll still have Sunday lunches. Just not in this house.’

‘When do you move?’ Nick asked.

‘A week on Friday. Don’t worry. I’ll give you my new address.’

Was that a dig? He couldn’t blame her if it was.

‘I brought a contribution.’ Nick handed over a bottle of his favourite claret.

Lisa raised her eyebrows as she read the label. ‘I won’t be putting this in the gravy. ‘

‘It might be a waste,’ Nick said as she put it on the table.

‘Let me introduce you to the rest of the gang,’ Lisa said as a young woman who looked a lot like her walked into the kitchen.

‘You must be Elise,’ Nick said.

‘Yep.’ She was weighing him up. ‘And you’re obviously the famous Mr Nick Nixon.’

‘According to some people. I’m happy with Nick.’

‘And this is Ally, Jim’s fiancée. And the gorgeous Grace. ’

Nick recognised Ally from the photo album. She gave him a welcoming smile. Grace glared at him suspiciously while sucking her thumb.

‘I’d give you a hug,’ Ally said, ‘but someone’s being a bit clingy today. Would you like to hold her so I can help Lisa?’

‘Yes, of course.’ Nick held out his arms. Grace looked unsure about the idea as Ally passed her over. Please don’t let her cry.

‘Hi, sweetheart,’ he said as he settled Grace on his hip. She continued to stare at him for a moment, then took her thumb out of her mouth and blew a raspberry at him.

‘Sorry, it’s her new thing,’ Jim said.

Nick chuckled. ‘Two can play at that game.’ He blew a raspberry back at her. She giggled. He blew another one but against her cheek this time, which elicited more adorable giggles.

‘Looks like you’ve made a new friend,’ Lisa said, smiling at them both.

They were all finishing their main course when Lisa heard her phone buzz. A text from Mel.

Have you seen this?

She’d included a link to one of the tabloids. Lisa was tempted to ignore it but it would only play on her mind if she did. She clicked the link and began to read.

‘Tired housewife, 56! They haven’t even got my age right.’ Lisa said, outraged.

‘What is it?’ Elise asked.

‘One of the tabloids has run an article about how the pressure of being Nick’s …’ Lisa stopped herself from saying ’mistress’. Sophie was bound to ask what that was. ‘Friend is taking its toll on my health.’ They’d accompanied it wi th what looked like a still from the video the man on the street had taken yesterday. The combination of no makeup, her old jogging bottoms and the scowl on her face as she yelled at him had made her look awful.

‘This is beyond a joke now. It’s giving me indigestion,’ she added as she got up from the table and headed out of the kitchen towards the downstairs loo as an excuse to get some time on her own.

She heard footsteps. Nick had followed her into the corridor. He shut the door to the kitchen. ‘It will stop soon. As long as you ignore them, they’ll lose interest.’

‘I know you’re right, but it’s hard not to want to defend yourself. How do you cope?’

‘You have to tell yourself it’s about them, not you. The papers and their readers don’t know you. Tabloid journalists exaggerate stories to soap opera-worthy levels to sell more papers. And their readers lap it up because it’s an escape from their routine lives. Making out we’re having some torrid affair is far more interesting than the truth.’

‘And what is the truth?’

He looked thoughtful. ‘That we’re old friends who like spending time together.’

Not former lovers who want to be a couple again. He must have changed his mind. She shouldn’t be surprised. Why would someone with all Nick’s wealth and fame want to hang around with a tired housewife?

Jim was collecting the used dessert bowls. Nick was about to offer to help when Sophie piped up. ‘Grandpa. Will you take me to the zoo tomorrow?’

Jim looked at his daughter. ‘Nanny’s already taking you. You’re having a sleepover here. ’

‘Yes, I know.’ Sophie looked at her dad impatiently. ‘But I want Grandpa to come too.’

Nick wanted to say yes, but he wasn’t sure how Lisa would take it. She’d seemed distant ever since she’d read that wretched newspaper article. ‘It depends what Nanny wants.’

‘It’s fine with me,’ Lisa said. ‘Soph and I usually head to the zoo after an early lunch. If you turn up here at about 12.30, that would be perfect.’

‘It’s a date then,’ he said to Sophie. He was sure he saw Lisa flinch. At least he was going to see her again tomorrow. He’d have another chance to win her over then.

His phone buzzed. He checked the message. ‘Brad’s outside. I’ve got another online interview to do. Suki won’t be happy with me if I miss that. It’s been lovely meeting you all.’

As he stood up, Grace blew another raspberry at him from her highchair.

‘I’m glad you’re not a film critic,’ he joked, bending down to kiss her.

Lisa followed him up the steps and into the hallway. ‘I see I’ve got some competition for favourite grandparent.’

‘Sorry. I’m sure the novelty of having me around will wear off soon,’ he said.

‘Will you be around much?’

‘I’d like to be. I’ll be back to look for somewhere to live when filming’s over. It’s time I came home.’

She nodded. She didn’t look very happy at the prospect. Not the reaction he was hoping for. He was going to have to pull out all the stops tomorrow.

He didn’t think a kiss like the one on Friday night would go down too well today. He settled for a goodbye hug.

‘See you tomorrow,’ she said.

‘Yeah, see you.’ He walked to the car. When he looked back as he got into the passenger seat, she was still standing on the doorstep watching him. She waved as Brad drove off. He waved back, wishing he didn’t have to go.