by Jill Mansell
Just to be sure, a quick check of Theo’s left hand confirmed the presence of a matching gold band.
When she moved the angle of the lens to take another look at his face, she got the shock of her life.
He was gazing straight at her.
Sophie almost dropped the camera in her haste to look away. ‘Shit, he knows I’m here!’
‘Of course he does,’ said Tula. ‘How else would Josh have managed to set this whole thing up?’
‘Josh?’ But the idea that Josh had been behind this was oddly inevitable. Sophie’s heart was racing; of course it had been him. She might not know how, but she knew why. Aloud, she said, ‘How did he find him?’ Because she knew where Theo had been living, but it was beyond her how Josh could have tracked him down.
‘Um, not sure.’ Tula shrugged. ‘But he did. Because it matters to him too, in case you hadn’t noticed. You matter to him. And don’t worry,’ she added, ‘everything’s fine. Theo wants you to know how sorry he is. Will you speak to him?’
He’s sorry.
Sophie swallowed, her mouth dry. ‘Is he OK?’
‘Look at him. Of course he’s OK. If you don’t want to do it, you can just leave the beach.’ Tula’s voice softened. ‘But you really should meet him. Have a talk.’
Of course she had to. In a daze, Sophie passed over the camera. In return Tula handed her the navy cotton kaftan she’d taken off before diving into the sea. Yes, that was a good idea. She pulled it on over her head.
‘If you’d rather not do it in front of his wife, just go for a walk along the water’s edge and he’ll join you,’ said Tula.
Everything had been worked out, each eventuality planned for. God, this was so surreal.
‘It’s all right, I’d like to meet her too.’ Sophie took a deep breath and brushed dry sand off her legs. ‘OK, wish me luck. Here goes.’
Josh had never watched anything so intently in his life. At his feet, Griff was wagging his tail and gazing adoringly up at him in the hope that a bit of stick-throwing might be about to happen. Then he jumped up and rested his paws on Josh’s knee, as if this might spur him into action.
Not a chance, not at the moment. Don’t even think about it.
Sophie was making her way over to Theo and his family. She looked so effortlessly beautiful, with her tousled sun-bleached hair and slim tanned limbs. It was probably a good thing that Tula had given her the kaftan to put on over her swimsuit.
‘You know, if I was writing this in a book,’ Riley said cheerfully, ‘they’d take one look at each other and fall madly in love all over again. Which would leave you looking like a right idiot and it’d be all your own fault.’
‘Great. Thanks for that. I feel so much better now.’ Josh nodded. As if the exact same thought hadn’t already crossed his mind.
‘No problem.’ Grinning, Riley finished the last mouthful of his chicken sandwich. ‘But it’s the obvious twist.’
Josh said drily, ‘I think I liked you better when you were just a lazy beach bum.’
‘Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it,’ said Riley playfully. ‘They were married, after all.’
‘If that happens, it happens.’ Josh reached down to ruffle Griff’s ears. ‘It’s a risk I have to take. OK, there’s a chance I might lose her, but up until now she hasn’t been mine to lose anyway. I still won’t have her.’ Shaking his head, he said, ‘But thanks for reminding me.’
‘Hey, that’s just the worst-case scenario. You never know, it could all work out fine. Are you hungry?’ Riley reached for his wallet on the table in front of them. ‘I could do with another sandwich.’
As if he could eat a thing. Josh’s chest tightened as he saw Sophie approaching Theo. ‘No thanks. Not right now.’
‘Sure?’ Riley turned his attention to Griff and said, ‘Sandwich?’
‘WoofwoofWOOF!’ His tail going into metronome mode, Griff promptly bounced over, abandoning Josh in favour of Riley.
‘See? As fickle as a girl.’ Riley’s white teeth flashed as his grin broadened. ‘One minute he liked you best, and now he prefers me.’
Chapter 56
‘Hi,’ said Theo.
‘Hi.’ Sophie wondered if anyone was watching her knees, because they definitely felt as if they were knocking together like castanets.
‘I’m so sorry,’ said Theo.
She nodded, and managed a wobbly smile.
‘BUGGER,’ yelled the nearer of the two small girls playing on the picnic rug between them.
Which was unexpected.
‘Hello,’ Theo’s wife chimed in. ‘It’s so lovely to meet you. I’m Lorna. That one’s Emmy,’ she pointed to the other twin, ‘and this is Kate. She’s trying to say bucket, by the way, but it’s not coming out terribly well.’ Reaching for the yellow bucket and passing it over to Kate, she said, ‘Bucket, sweetheart.’
‘BUGGER,’ Kate screamed happily.
‘They’re beautiful,’ said Sophie. ‘How old are they?’
Listen to me, I’m talking as if we’re strangers. Which we are … except also kind of not …
‘Sixteen months. They keep us busy. Poor you,’ added Lorna sympathetically. ‘You’re looking a bit stunned. Are you still in shock?’
‘I think so.’ Sophie smiled, instinctively liking her.
‘Anyway, thank goodness you came over. We were worried you wouldn’t. Now, I’m going to stay here with the twins and I think you and Theo need to go for a walk and have a bit of time together. Talk things through. But let me just say, he never meant for any of this to happen. He was completely mortified when Josh told us about you. Am I talking too much? Sorry, I’ll shut up now. You two head off. Take as long as you like. We’ll be here waiting for you when you get back.’
‘She’s lovely,’ said Sophie, once Lorna and the twins were out of earshot. ‘You have great taste in wives.’
‘I do.’ The tension in Theo’s face dissipated. ‘Lorna’s amazing. It was her idea that we should come down here, you know. Once Josh had explained the situation. I thought I should email you or maybe call, but she said that something this important needed to be done properly, face to face.’
‘That’s really good of her.’
‘It’s the kind of person she is. Lorna means the world to me. Well, her and the girls. Can you believe how much my life has changed? How much I’ve changed?’
They’d reached the water’s edge and were walking along it now, navigating small children and collapsing sandcastles.
‘I can believe it. I can see it with my own eyes.’ Sophie inwardly marvelled at the realisation that there wasn’t the faintest flicker of attraction between her and this man she’d once been married to. All that remained was fondness; it was like bumping into an old, entirely platonic, friend. ‘And now tell me everything,’ she said, stepping over a carefully dug trench decorated with shells. ‘I want to know it all.’
It hadn’t taken that long, really. Together they’d walked and talked and Theo had brought her up to date with everything that mattered. He kept apologising too, until Sophie made him stop. She also discovered that as soon as Lorna had said they must come down here to see her, Josh had insisted they stay at the hotel as his guests.
‘It was really kind of him,’ Theo added. ‘We’ve never been away anywhere before, what with getting the business up and running, then having the twins. We did try, but he refused to take any money.’
‘Josh is kind.’ As Sophie nodded in agreement, she felt her heart give a little squeeze.
‘He’s crazy about you. You do know that?’
She hesitated, then slowly nodded again.
‘He’s done all this because he’s trying to cure you.’ Theo was surveying her closely. ‘Also, because he’s in love with you.’
Oh good grief. Sophie watched her bare toes squish into the wet sand as she stopped walking. ‘Did he tell you that?’
‘Come on. He doesn’t need to say it, does he? It’s so obvious. Are you blushing or hot
?’
‘Both.’ It was a lethal combination.
‘Look, you’ve accepted my apology—’
‘All of your apologies,’ Sophie interjected.
‘And now I need you to promise me something,’ said Theo. ‘I’ve managed to wreck the last four years of your life, but it has to stop now. Don’t make me feel worse about it than I already do.’
A lump the size of a conker expanded in Sophie’s throat. She shook her head.
‘It’s no way to live.’ His voice was gentle but firm.
She knew that too; it really hadn’t been any way to live. Well, it had been OK until Josh had burst into her life. Since then, her tangled emotions had made the last few months a lot harder to bear.
‘Hey, look at me,’ Theo prompted. ‘It’s OK, it’s all over now. You don’t have to worry any more.’
‘Don’t I?’ Sophie felt the old familiar stirrings of anxiety. ‘But what if it happens to me again?’
Theo placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to pay attention. ‘Right, now listen. I may have only just met Josh Strachan, but I can tell you categorically that he’d never do anything like that. And you know it too,’ he went on steadily. ‘You just have to get over the fear, learn to relax and enjoy feeling normal again.’ He smiled and raised his eyebrows. ‘So, do you think you’re going to be able to do that?’
He was OK, he was fine, he was cured. Gazing at his oh-so-familiar face and hearing the sincerity in his voice, Sophie realised she could do it. The time had come to let go of the guilt.
She breathed out and said, ‘Yes, I can.’
‘Promise?’
Sophie nodded; it was as if the anxiety of the last four years had magically released its hold on her body.
Aloud she said, ‘Promise.’
She felt lighter, exorcised, free.
‘Well, good. Glad to hear it.’ There was no need for a hug; Theo gave her shoulders a brief reassuring squeeze, then let her go. ‘That makes me feel better too.’ He paused for a moment. ‘So on a scale of one to ten, how much do you like Josh?’
This was Theo. They’d been through so much together, she could be completely herself with him. Sophie said, ‘Seven. Maybe eight.’
It was a measure of how close they’d once been to each other that Theo didn’t bat an eyelid; the ability to know when she was joking hadn’t been lost. He regarded her with amusement. ‘And the real number is …?’
‘Out of ten?’ Just the thought of Josh made her heart contract with emotion. She smiled at Theo and said, ‘Sixty?’
The problem with other people taking control of your life and making things happen is that it might not actually be the best time for it to happen to you.
As they made their way back along the beach to where Lorna and the twins were waiting, Sophie saw that the party had expanded. Tula had joined them, as had Riley and Josh, along with Griff. Yesterday when Tula had casually asked her if she was free today, she’d said yes, because she had been free. Until a regular client had rung last night asking to be squeezed in for a sitting at four o’clock this afternoon. And it was now twenty past three.
Hardly ideal.
Furthermore, since the client, Gloria, was forty-one weeks pregnant and keen to be photographed in all her voluptuous, about-to-give-birth glory, it wasn’t the kind of appointment you could risk putting off for another day.
Sophie’s pulse began to race as they neared the group. Griff was perched on Tula’s lap, his stumpy tail wagging as one of the twins stroked his back. The other twin was up on Riley’s shoulders, squealing with delight. Josh and Lorna were sitting together, deep in conversation.
‘Yay, you’re back!’ Tula had spotted them.
One of the twins waved at Theo and yelled, ‘Da-da!’
‘So you two didn’t run off together,’ said Riley. ‘Damn, I lost my bet.’
Lorna looked at Sophie. ‘How are you feeling now?’
OK, this was weird. But nice. In fact, nice was an understatement. ‘Better.’ Sophie smiled at her. ‘So much better.’
‘I knew it!’ Jumping to her feet, Lorna gave her a warm hug.
‘And?’ said Tula meaningfully, gesturing in less than subtle fashion at Josh.
‘And I have a client booked at four. Which means I need to leave pretty much now.’ Sophie turned to Josh. ‘Can we meet up later? If you’re not busy?’
He gazed at her for several seconds, then nodded. ‘OK. That’s fine. Just let me know when you’re ready.’
Sophie nodded too; basically she was ready – more than ready – now. All she wanted was to get this whole thing sorted out at last.
But there was no time. It would just have to wait. God, it was going to kill her.
‘I’ll see you in a bit.’ Suddenly unable to look at Josh, she picked up the bag and camera Tula had brought over and gave an awkward teenage wave encompassing everyone. ‘OK, thanks. Bye.’
Chapter 57
When Tula and Riley arrived back at Moor Court, Marguerite came rushing out to greet them.
‘And? Tell me everything! We’re dying to know.’
‘We? Who else is here?’ Riley looked around; there were no other cars on the driveway.
‘Not here here,’ Marguerite said impatiently. ‘I meant Baz. We’re on Skype!’
‘Again? Has he asked you to marry him yet?’
‘Oh shush.’ But Marguerite’s eyes were sparkling as she shook her head at Riley; her Skype calls with Baz were rapidly approaching marathon status. ‘We’ve been talking non-stop since midday.’
Tula marvelled at the change in Marguerite; the last week had been eventful to say the least. Following her shock confession on the EveryDay show, the backlash had been swift and brutal. Her fans had felt cheated and betrayed, and coruscating journalists berated Marguerite for lying to her readers and treating them like gullible fools.
People who’d never read any of her books piled in to condemn her, and the hatred gathered pace to such an extent that she was practically public enemy number one.
This continued for forty-eight hours and could well have carried on had Bertha Mulligan, Marguerite’s deadliest and most vociferous rival in the world of contemporary women’s fiction, not launched her own personal attack. Bertha was singularly self-important, and her latest facelift had left her looking like a bulldog wrapped in cling film. Miraculously, it was the utter viciousness of her comments that caused everyone to take against her and decide they’d far rather be on Marguerite’s side instead.
Sympathy then turned to admiration when Marguerite refused to retaliate and Bertha found herself an object of ridicule and distaste.
The general public, who had always admired and respected Marguerite, now decided to love her instead. An underdog for the first time in her life, she found herself taken to their collective hearts. Her publishers, needless to say, breathed a hurricane-sized sigh of relief.
At the same time, interest in Riley had grown at a rate of knots, book sales rocketed and the publishers had already suggested that if he wanted to divide his time between co-authoring Marguerite’s books and writing something else in a different genre under his own name, they would back him to the hilt. It was an idea Riley had never considered before, but their support – and Marguerite’s – had inspired him to begin plotting out an action thriller with a hero who could feature in future books.
The other exciting development had occurred last week when Marguerite’s agent had been contacted by a US-based film producer keen on turning her life story into a movie.
This wasn’t unusual in itself – options on her books had been snapped up over the years by various TV and film production companies – but the difference this time was the man doing the snapping. Baz Kingsley had emailed Marguerite, then he’d phoned her … and phoned again, swiftly establishing a rapport. In no time at all they’d progressed to video calls, and now Baz was flying over next week to meet her in person. They were as besotted with each other as teenagers, completel
y smitten.
Which was wonderful in one way – Baz was ruggedly good-looking, hugely successful and had his own teeth and private jet. The slight down side was the fact that he had five ex-wives.
Five.
Frankly, it was a miracle he had any money left at all.
Having been updated with the details of Sophie’s meeting with Theo on the beach, Marguerite said, ‘Poor darling, what that girl’s been through.’ She looked at Riley and raised her eyebrows. ‘We could use it in our next book.’
‘No we couldn’t.’ Riley shook his head firmly. ‘That’s not on.’
‘Spoilsport. Oh well, I suppose you’re right. I’ve invited a few people down from the publishers next week, by the way. So they can meet Baz. I’d better get back to him; he’ll be wondering where I’ve got to.’ Taking a crimson Dior lipstick from her skirt pocket, she applied it with a practised flourish, then bared her teeth tigerishly at Tula. ‘Am I OK? Any on my teeth?’
‘No, you’re fine.’ Tula did her best to keep a straight face as Marguerite patted her hair and pinched her cheeks in order to make herself camera-ready once more for Baz.
‘Oh stop it, I know you’re laughing at me. I know how crazy this whole thing probably seems to you. But that’s because you’re young,’ Marguerite chided, ‘and I’m not. And I’ve never felt this way about any man before. Not any of my husbands,’ she announced defiantly. ‘Not even Lawrence. This thing with Baz … OK, I know we haven’t met in person yet, but it just feels so different; it’s like the moment I first saw him …’
‘We know.’ Riley winked at Tula as Marguerite gazed off dreamily into the distance. ‘We can tell. It was love at first Skype.’
Chapter 58
It was six o’clock when Sophie left her flat and walked up the hill towards the hotel. The shoot had gone well. Gloria had been thrilled with the pictures of her with her impressively large bump. In one of the photos Sophie had even managed to capture the moment when the baby had been kicking and flailing, so that pushed-out hand and footprints were clearly visible on the outside.
