You and Me, Always

by Jill Mansell

  Before long, he began to find the endless attention wildly irritating.

  Then last week it had all hit the fan. Word got out that he had allegedly been having a torrid secret affair with the costar of his just-wrapped third movie. The costar happened to be married to a major A-list actor/director, who wasn’t at all happy to discover that his lissome young wife appeared to have been fooling around behind his back. The press had gone wild, the paparazzi had followed everyone concerned in ever-more-excitable packs, and one of them had ended up being knocked off his motorcycle and given a black eye.

  Then yesterday Eddie had given them the slip. He’d disappeared and no one knew where he was. There’d even been rumors that the furious A-list actor/director might have used some of his dodgy Italian Mafia connections and arranged to have Eddie taken care of.

  Except that clearly hadn’t happened, because Eddie was here.

  Of all the bizarre hideouts in the world, he’d chosen Patsy’s cottage in Stanton Langley in the Cotswolds.

  Wow.

  Chapter 7

  “OK, do me a favor,” said Eddie Tessler. “Could you just turn your phone off and put it down somewhere I can see it?”

  “Without you even saying please?” said Lily. “I don’t think so.”

  Manners were manners, after all.

  He was watching her intently. “Sorry. Please.”

  “Why should I?”

  “Because I don’t want you taking a picture of me. These days, it’s all people ever seem to do.” He paused, raking his fingers through his overlong light-brown hair, then said it again. “Please.”

  Lily switched off her phone and placed it on the table between them. “OK, what are you doing here?”

  “Keeping myself hidden, obviously. What about you?” He looked pointedly at the lockpicking case in her hand. “Why were you breaking in?”

  To be fair, it was a reasonable question. They were facing each other now, both wary, not trusting each other an inch.

  “Patsy’s my friend. I’ve just this minute been to see her. She didn’t want to lend me her key, and I couldn’t understand why, but I needed to get in here.”

  “Why were you so desperate to get in?”

  If he could be blunt, so could she. “To stop her from finding something her brother accidentally left out.”

  “Drugs, you mean?”

  “No!” Lily shot him a look of disbelief.

  “Gun?”

  “Are you crazy?” This time she did a worried double take. “Why, have you found a gun?”

  He shook his head. “Just wondering what he left out that he doesn’t want his sister to see.”

  “Well, stop jumping to conclusions. It’s up in his room. If you give me two minutes, I’ll go get it.”

  “It’s my room at the moment,” said Eddie Tessler. “I’ll come with you.”

  “Why? Do you think I’m going to steal your underpants?”

  Another look; he clearly still didn’t trust her an inch. “I don’t know anything about you. I don’t know what you might try to do.”

  He walked behind her up the staircase and across the landing, and Lily caught a hint of his aftershave. It really was the weirdest sensation, being this close to someone you’d only seen on a movie screen. He might only be three years older than her, but their lives were worlds apart.

  In Dan’s bedroom, there was a single holdall on the floor beneath the window. The curtains were closed, the bed had been slept in, and the duvet was still rumpled. Lily knelt down, lifted the valance around the edge of the bed, and saw the envelope at once, just out of reach.

  It was another weird feeling, spread-eagling yourself on the carpet and stretching your arm under the bed all the way up to your shoulder while a Very Famous Person stood and watched you do it.

  Her fingers touched the end of the envelope, and she managed to retrieve it, wriggling backward away from the bed like a sniper in reverse and aware that she’d tried to do it without sticking her bottom in the air.

  Then she was out and back on her feet, showing the opened envelope to Eddie Tessler.

  “There you go. And just so you know, I wouldn’t have stolen your underpants.”

  “What is it?”

  “Tickets to see Beyoncé at the O2. They’re a surprise for Patsy’s birthday. Happy now?”

  “Why would I be happy?”

  “No reason at all.” God, he was tense. “Anyway, just don’t tell Patsy, or you’ll spoil the surprise. Promise me.”

  He gave her a look, then shook his head. “Fine. I promise.”

  “There, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?”

  “And you have to promise not to tell anyone I’m here.”

  Lily shrugged. “OK.”

  “No one at all.”

  “I heard you the first time.”

  “What are you doing now?” He followed her down the staircase.

  “Going back to work.”

  “Not yet. Stay for a bit longer.”

  “Why?”

  “I want us to talk.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Because you don’t trust me.”

  “Yes.”

  “I just gave you my word.”

  “Put it this way. People quite often say things they don’t mean, make promises they’re not going to keep.”

  “Not me, though.”

  Eddie Tessler paused, then said, “Can you just stay anyway? For a coffee or something? I don’t even know your name yet.”

  He definitely wasn’t saying it in a flirty way.

  “Lily. Lily Harper.”

  “Right.” A nod, then a brief smile to acknowledge the oddness of the situation. “I’m Eddie.”

  Which was a bit like the Queen saying, “Hello, I’m the Queen.” Lily said, “I still don’t understand what you’re doing here.” She indicated the cottage. “How do you know Patsy?”

  He made his way through to the kitchen, put two mugs under the coffee machine, and switched it on. “I don’t. I went to stay with my father yesterday, and the paparazzi got there before I did. So we thought I might have more luck staying somewhere with absolutely no connection to me. That worked out well,” he added drily.

  “I still don’t get it. Did you just stick a pin in the phone book, call Patsy’s number, and ask if you could come stay in her house?”

  “Not quite. My personal assistant was having her hair done yesterday by her sister when I called to tell her I’d arrived at my dad’s and the paparazzi were there. Her sister’s name is Rose… No, Rosa…”

  “Oh, I know Rosa! She used to live here… She worked for Patsy!”

  “That’s right. So my PA was telling me she’d try to find somewhere I could stay and keep out of the way, and Rosa thought of this place. She knew it had complete privacy and that Patsy could be trusted not to say anything.”

  “Well, that’s true. She didn’t even tell me.” Which was both impressive and slightly frustrating.

  “Good. Let’s hope you’re as trustworthy as she is.”

  “See, there you go again,” Lily said, irritated. “It’s actually not very helpful, you know, the way you keep coming out with comments like that. I’m more likely to be on your side if you tell me you do trust me.”

  “I know. Sorry again.” He exhaled. “But if you’d lived the kind of life I have for the last couple of years, you’d understand why I’m the way I am.”

  “Poor you.” Lily half smiled and made sure she only sounded a tad sarcastic.

  “Yeah, OK. But it’s not as fantastic as people think, everyone knowing who you are and having an opinion on every damn thing you do.”

  She took the coffee cup he was holding toward her and said, “It must be annoying. Especially if there’s stuff you don’t want them to find out about.” Like having an a
ffair with your married costar.

  “Shall we talk about you instead?” Pointedly changing the subject, Eddie Tessler sat down and asked, “So, how do you know Patsy?”

  “Well, for a start, this is Stanton Langley. Which means everyone knows everyone. But Patsy used to babysit me when I was little. She’s been like a big sister ever since.”

  “Does she perm your hair to get it like that?” He made spirally gestures with his free hand.

  “No. My hair does it all by itself.”

  “And where do you work?”

  “Goldstone Salvage & Treasure, on the main street. It’s an architectural salvage company.”

  “I haven’t seen the main street. My PA drove me down here late last night. What do you do there?”

  “Anything that needs doing. Order, deliver, source items for clients, buy at auction, run the website… We sell online and ship worldwide.” Lily took a gulp of coffee and checked her watch. “Coral is going to be wondering where I am. I really should get back.”

  “Right.” Eddie Tessler looked as if he wanted to say something else but was thinking better of it. “Well, you got what you came for.” He indicated the envelope in her pocket. “I suppose I’d better not mention meeting you to Patsy.”

  Oh dear, that could be tricky. Now that Lily knew he was here, she wanted to be able to talk to Patsy about her secret tenant. Putting down her cup, Lily said, “I pretended I needed the key so I could borrow her shoes for tonight. Why don’t I take them with me, and then you can tell her we met?”

  He nodded in agreement. “It’d be easier. Where are the shoes?”

  “In Patsy’s closet. I’ll get them.” As he half rose from his chair, Lily said, “It’s OK, you don’t have to follow me.”

  She found the shoes—midnight blue, high-heeled, and fabulous—and brought them back down. Eddie Tessler’s gaze flickered over her as if checking she wasn’t making off with anything else.

  Lily patted the pockets of her shorts, held up the shoes, and did jazz hands. “See? No underpants.”

  Words she’d never expected to hear herself saying to a real-life movie star.

  Eddie Tessler lifted an eyebrow. “Unless you’re wearing them.”

  “Ah, well. You’ll never know.”

  A glimmer of a smile. “Until I go upstairs and count how many are still in my case.”

  Lily couldn’t help it; she burst out laughing. “Anyway, nice to meet you. I’ve never spoken to a famous person before.”

  “It’s been nice meeting you too.” He indicated the shoes dangling by their narrow straps from her left hand. “Where are you off to tonight? Somewhere special?”

  “Very special. Out to dinner in Cheltenham with Coral and Patsy. Then we’ll probably come back for a few drinks at the Star.” It must sound unbelievably parochial to someone used to leading his kind of lifestyle.

  He nodded, remembering. “Patsy said she’d be out celebrating someone’s birthday this evening.”

  “She will be.” Lily waved a tiny imaginary flag. “Happy birthday to me!”

  Miracle of miracles, another brief smile. “Happy birthday.”

  “Thanks. Right, I’m off. Good luck with hiding from everyone. How long do you think you’ll be staying here?”

  “No idea. Until I get found out, I guess.” He was giving her that infuriating look again, letting her know that if he were to be discovered, it would be her fault. “And if that happens, I might have to tell Patsy about the Beyoncé tickets.”

  It was Lily’s turn to give him one of her looks. She opened the front door. “You’re all heart,” she said.

  * * *

  There hadn’t been time earlier, but upstairs in her bedroom after work, Lily sat on the bed and typed Declan Madison’s name into Google.

  She’d mentally prepared herself in case of disappointment. He could be dead, or a serial killer, or he simply might not merit a mention on the Internet. She took a deep breath and clicked on Search…

  And there, like magic, were the details on the screen. Lily’s heart began to clatter inside her chest and her fingers tingled, because he was still alive and she’d been so afraid he might not be. There was no photograph, but she just knew instinctively that this was the right Declan Madison.

  It was him.

  Chapter 8

  Gosh, keeping secrets was hard. Lily kept finding herself glancing across the table at Patsy, and Patsy was doing the same to her.

  Because Patsy knew about Eddie Tessler, and she knew about Eddie Tessler, and she knew that Patsy knew she knew…

  In the meantime, Coral was blissfully unaware and rattling on about something else entirely.

  Plus, of course, they had a birthday to celebrate.

  Coming to this restaurant in the Montpellier area of Cheltenham was another tradition that had begun the year her mother had died. Having been brought to Maria’s months earlier and been enthralled by both the atmosphere and the fettuccine Alfredo, Lily had asked to come here again for her birthday. And Maria, the owner, had made a wonderful fuss over Lily, bringing out the bowl of fettuccine with colored candles stuck into it and persuading everyone in the restaurant, staff and customers alike, to sing “Happy Birthday.” Maria, a mother of seven herself, had succeeded in making what could have been a difficult evening a triumph instead. It might not be the most upmarket and glamorous place to eat, but it was without question the most welcoming. Nine-year-old Lily had hugged Maria and declared, “I’m always, always going to come here for my birthday.”

  And they had, every year since. Always the four of them when Nick had been alive, now they were down to three, but the welcome was just as warm. And Maria, like a proud and adoring grandma, still insisted on sticking candles into Lily’s food.

  This evening they’d had another brilliant time. The food had been delicious, and wine had been drunk.

  Which wasn’t helping at all.

  “Who is it?” asked Coral when Patsy’s phone signaled the arrival of a message.

  Patsy, who had glanced at the screen, gone a bit wide-eyed, and hurriedly put the phone down, said, “Sorry? No one!” Then her gaze had flickered in Lily’s direction, and she’d taken another glug of wine.

  “Is it Tandem Man?” Lily made a sympathetic face. “Just ignore him, and delete the messages. Listen, I think I might have found my mum’s boyfriend.” She hadn’t meant to blurt it out quite like that, but a change of subject was clearly called for. “If it does turn out to be him, do you think he’d think it was weird if I got in touch?”

  That did the trick.

  “I was thinking about that too,” Coral exclaimed. “I wondered if you’d want to do it. We never knew his surname before. I only heard Jo call him Declan.”

  “It’s an uncommon name,” Lily said. “There’s only one Declan Madison in the UK. Living in London.”

  “I think you should do it!” Patsy was enthusiastic, relieved to have the attention shift away from her mystery text. “You can tell him about the bangle. And if he’s only in London, that’s not far away. Would you like to meet him?”

  Would she like to meet the man her mother had loved? Of course she would, more than anything. The idea of hearing about her mum from someone who’d loved her in return was thrilling in a way Lily couldn’t begin to describe.

  “I would.” She nodded and scraped the last of Maria’s legendary tiramisu from the plate with the back of her fork. “But what if he says he can hardly remember her? What if Mum loved him but he was never really that bothered?” The idea had been niggling away at her all day. She held up the wrist with the bangle on it. “What if this was Mum’s most treasured possession but he’s forgotten he even bought it?”

  Like Dan, with his endless stream of girlfriends.

  “Oh, Lily, I’m sure—”

  “What if he’s not interested in meeting me
because I’m just…nobody to him?”

  “Then he’s a complete pig,” said Patsy, “and it’s his loss. Do you have an email address for him?”

  Lily shook her head. “No, home address. He’s in Notting Hill.”

  “Well, send him a letter, and see what happens. You never know,” Coral said. “He might be thrilled to hear from you.”

  “We could go back now,” Patsy exclaimed, “and help you write it!”

  Lily frowned at her. “I thought we were going to the Star.”

  “I know, but wouldn’t you rather get the letter done? We can do it at my place!”

  OK, Patsy had really lost the plot now. Her voice loaded with meaning, Lily said, “Or we could go back to our house.”

  “What’s going on?” Coral was eyeing them with suspicion. “And don’t say nothing, because something is.”

  Patsy looked as if she was about to explode. “Fine then,” she blurted out, as if Lily were being the world’s biggest spoilsport. “We’ll go back to your empty house.” Pause. “Instead of the one with the movie star hiding in it.”

  Lily exhaled.

  “And don’t look at me like that,” Patsy wailed. “I couldn’t help it. It’s been killing me all night!”

  “Hang on, am I missing something here?” Coral was bemused. “Is it a joke? Was that the punch line?”

  Lily shook her head at Patsy. “The whole reason they chose you was because they thought you could keep secrets.”

  “I can keep secrets! Just not from Coral! I mean, it isn’t fair!”

  “Um, hello? You two?” Coral pointed to herself. “I am still here, you know.”

  Leaning across the table and almost knocking over the candle, Patsy whispered like a pantomime spy, “I’ve got a movie star in my house!”

  “No!” Coral clapped a hand over her mouth. “You stole that cardboard cutout from the movie theater? Oh, Pats, what if they have CCTV? You’re terrible; you really are. Honestly, you should be ashamed of yourself.”