The Summer of Us: A Romance Anthology

by AJ Matthews

  Like my dress, my heels were both sexy and sophisticated, adding to the image I wanted to convey to clients. I'd learnt early on that there was a fine line between being taken seriously by clients, and being laughed out of the room. Didn't seem to matter if the recruiter was a man or a woman either, but appearance mattered. A lot.

  I approached the maitre'd, who didn't hesitate to welcome me; yet another example of appearance making a difference. He'd never have let me in if I'd been dressed like I had over the weekend.

  "Name please?" He asked politely, the vague hint of a forced smile on his face.

  "Jillian Fenton, should be a table for two," I told him, trying to subtly look around the room to try and work out who I was meeting. To say it was so early still, Pierre's seemed busy, which made spotting the unknown Mr Harper virtually impossible.

  "Ah yes, your companion is waiting at the bar for you," he said.

  "Thanks."

  Slowly, I walked over to the bar, inexplicably nervous for some reason. I scanned the people surrounding it, but wasn't sure which of the smartly dressed man was the one I was meeting. The only thing I did know was that it wasn't the dark-haired man with a beautiful bunch of flowers on the bar beside him. And yet, my eyes kept straying back to him.

  My heels clicked against the floor, and the man who'd caught my eye turned around slowly. My jaw dropped, and I imagined that I looked pretty gormless to anyone that was watching.

  "Hi, Jill," Logan said, in his rich smooth voice, a soft smile creeping over his face. It was the same one that I'd seen several times over the weekend; the one that felt like it was just for me.

  "Logan," I said, excitement filling me. "What are you doing here?" I asked, confused about what was happening, even if I was pleased to see him. At least if my quickly beating heart was anything to go by I was.

  "Having dinner with you," he said, giving me a lopsided boyish grin. "These are for you," he said, handing me the beautiful bunch of flowers, and I took them automatically, taking in a deep breath and enjoying the smell. It was safe to say that these weren't cheap flowers, though if Logan's suit was anything to go by; money wasn't an issue for him. It had never come up while we'd been together over the weekend, so this was a little bit of a surprise.

  "Thank you, they're beautiful. But I can't have dinner; I'm meeting a client," I told him, feeling more disappointed than I had earlier. Spending an evening with Logan was preferable in my book; we didn't even need to stay here. A takeaway at home would do me perfectly fine. In fact, it'd probably be better. That way we could actually relax.

  "Mr Harper?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and a mischievous look in his eyes, making me think he'd done something he shouldn't.

  "Yes..." I drew out the word, hoping that he'd take the hint and explain.

  "I'm the client you're meeting," he said. I started to reply, but he cut me off before I could actually say anything. "I didn't know until about an hour ago. It was only when my assistant told me the name of the booking that it fell into place."

  "Your assistant?" I asked, not quite having been able to process what he was saying.

  "Yes, you spoke to her yesterday."

  "Oh," I said, not quite knowing whether to broach the subject of how rude she was.

  "That doesn't sound good," he joked.

  "She was a little abrupt," I replied. I wouldn't normally say anything to a client; but this was Logan. It was different with him. Which made me finally realise that Logan was the screenwriter that I was supposed to be meeting. While he’d said that’s who he was, it hadn’t actually sunk in until now. Which, in turn, made me realise that not only was he the person I was meeting, but that made Logan my client. As in, one of the one group of people that I was expressively forbidden to date.

  "I'm sorry, she can be like that. Unfortunately, she's too good at what she does for me to let her go." He didn't seem to have noticed that my realisation had occurred.

  "Mmm," I responded. To my surprise, Logan frowned, and handed me a drink that he must have signalled for the bar tender to make.

  "Jill?"

  "Sorry, it's just, you're my client," I said dumbly.

  "Is that a problem?" He asked, an adorably confused look on his face.

  "I'm not allowed to date clients," I said quietly. I wasn't even sure if it was really an issue. Sure, we'd spent a great weekend together, and had decided to spend more time together before discovering this, but what if finding out I was his recruitment consultant was enough to change his mind? People put business first all the time, this could be one of those moments.

  "Would you like me to use a different firm?"

  "Yes," I answered instantly, before feeling guilty for being disloyal to the firm I worked for. "No. I don't know." I sighed.

  Logan stepped a little bit closer, and cupped my cheek in his hand, the look on his face saying that business wasn't at the forefront of his thoughts.

  "If you want me to withdraw my offer I can do, but I've heard you’re the best." Pride welled up in me. I knew I was good at my job, there were plenty of numbers to back that up, but knowing that I was becoming known in the industry was exciting for me; and making me feel like I was actually starting to make it career wise.

  "Maybe not quite that good."

  Logan smiled at me knowingly, and I suspect that he knew I was being a little overly modest.

  "Look, I'm not going to ask you to choose between me and your job, Jill. But I do want you. For both me, and my business. It's greedy I know, but sometimes the risk is worth it."

  I stayed quiet, thinking about what he’d said. At the end of the day, no matter what he was saying, or how good it sounded, the risk was completely on me and not on him. I was the one whose job was on the line after all.

  "I'm not sure..."

  "We'll be careful. We can still see each other in the evenings, and we can go on weekends away. How do you feel about going to Paris?" My heart leapt. I'd loved Paris ever since my parents had first taken me there, and had been desperate to go back for years.

  "And if it does all come out?"

  "Then I'll transfer to another recruiter and deny that anything was going on so that you could keep your job. Or, I'd be selfish and poach you for my own company. I'd do that anyway, but somehow I doubt you'd be happy just being handed a job." The earnestness in his voice was what convinced me the most. There was no doubt in my mind that he was telling the truth. Which was making the decision that bit harder for me to make.

  "Okay," I said finally, and a massive grin spread over Logan's face.

  "Want to get out of here so I can actually kiss you?" He looked positively giddy with excitement.

  "Yes," I whispered back, wondering if I knew quite what I'd let myself in for.

  Chapter Nine

  Six Months Later...

  I hurried towards the coffee shop, annoyed at myself for getting too caught up in Logan and forgetting that I was meeting Jack's girlfriend for coffee. We'd met a couple of months ago, and had hit it off almost straight away. Plus, she was a talented set designer, and she want to find employment as a concept designer for films. So, out came Godmother-Jill. Between my connection, and Belle’s talent, there was no way she couldn’t make it.

  I wasn't putting her forward for Logan's company, simply because I felt like we were living on borrowed time now. It was only a matter of when our secret came out, and I thought that it'd be sooner rather than later. Belle was too talented for me to risk having anyone think that she'd only got the job because I was sleeping with the boss.

  "So sorry Belle, had a client that just would not stop talking," I said as I dumped my bag on the chair opposite her and reached for my purse. Not a lie, so long as the word talking was replaced by kissing. "One sec," I added, hurrying over to the coffee bar, and the bored teenager that seemed to be tending it.

  "What can I get you?" The teenager said, in a voice that made her sound even more bored than she looked; which I hadn't actually thought was possible.

>   "An americano please." Logan had brought me round to coffee. Mostly because his place had lacked tea bags the first couple of times I'd stayed over. Thankfully, I’d managed to rectify that situation, and he now stocked a wide range of teas. Despite that, I'd found myself quite enjoying coffee on the odd occasion. It was just one of the smaller ways that meeting Logan had changed my life.

  "Two seventy, please." I handed the teenager the money, and thanked her, before taking my coffee and making my way back to where Belle was sitting.

  One look at her told me exactly why my brother had been attracted to her to begin with. She had a pretty face, with big innocent green eyes and bouncy copper ringlets that glinted in the light. The only strange thing I'd noticed about her, was the odd moment when the innocence fled, and a scared almost desperate look entered her eyes. It didn't happen often, but did enough for me to think that there was something more to it. Jack had told me that she had a past, but I didn't want to pry until the two of them were ready to tell me; especially as it was obviously a big deal for them.

  "Right, I'm all yours," I said cheerfully, blowing on my coffee.

  "Was everything alright with your client?" She asked, sounding genuinely interested. Most people would fake it, but with Belle, I felt like true interest.

  "Oh yes," I beamed at her. "It was the one I told you about. I showed him the portfolio and the photos you gave me, and he's very interested." Technically not a lie. I'd had two meetings this morning, and while I'd told Logan that Belle was strictly off limits until I wasn't the lead on his contract, he was interested in her work. Though maybe not quite as interested as the studio manager I'd met beforehand.

  "Oh, I didn't realise you'd shown him already." She sounded nervous, and I wondered whether it was a work thing, or an artist thing, that was making her that way. I knew that Jack was particularly funny about who saw his artwork and when, maybe Belle was the same.

  "You've nothing to worry about, Belle. You have real talent, and if this guy doesn't see it, then it's only a matter of time before someone will." Of that I had very little doubt. Though I was also sure that the studio manager would make her an offer; and I was barely ever wrong when it came to judging when my clients would offer contracts.

  "Thanks," she muttered.

  "But let's put a pin in that," I said, trying to put her more at ease. "We'll know more about it when he gets back to me. So, tomorrow's the big night?" I asked.

  "Yep." So much for putting her at ease. I'd have thought that opening night of the amateur production she’d been working on with Jack, for months I might add, would be a safe topic. I guess I was wrong.

  "Nervous?"

  "Majorly. There's just so much that could go wrong." Ah, Jack had mentioned that she was more or less in charge of making sure the entire thing went to plan. Which seemed like a lot of pressure for someone who was younger than I was.

  "Not from what Jack says," I said. In fact, he'd raved about her and said she was a miracle worker. Along with her friend, Hayley, who was the show's costume designer. At least, according to Jack. I had very little to do with it, though I'd met Hayley briefly, but only to discuss potential career paths after she finished college.

  "Oh, so he's talking to you?" Belle blurted out. Before I could stop myself, I laughed.

  "He's being silent then?”

  "How do you know?" Belle asked, looking confused.

  "He used to do this all the time as a teenager. If he had a big show coming up, he wouldn't speak the entire day before. Used to drive Mum wild." I smiled at the memories. We'd eventually learnt just to ignore him when he got like that, so it didn't surprise me that he'd forgotten to tell Belle that he did it. She giggled slightly, her face softening. It'd be sweet if I didn't know she was thinking about my twin.

  "Any other strange habits I should know about?" She asked, and I was relieved that we seemed to have moved towards a more relaxing conversation for her.

  "Hmm, I take it you know that he doesn't like people to see his art until it's finished?" I asked after a moment, and Belle nodded, making me suspect that I was right about her feeling the same way. "Well, there's the fact that he hates to watch films that don't have happy endings." I used to tease him silly about that one.

  "The romantic in him?"

  "I've no idea. As far as I know, he hasn't actually had a girlfriend before you. And you're the certainly the only one that he's introduced to us," I said, only belatedly remembering that there was such a thing as too much truth.

  "He was a player?" She asked, shocked, and I felt terrible for making her think that. Sure, I liked to make fun of my brother, but he was a good guy, and I didn't want anyone thinking badly of him.

  "Good grief, no. There's been girls, obviously, but he's always told me that he hadn't found the right one, and so there was no point faking it with someone." There's a chance that I may have gone a little overboard on the honesty again. But this was Jack, a guy whose favourite song from The Phantom of the Opera, the musical they were performing, was All I Ask of You. Otherwise known as the love song. And the song he used to sing in the shower when he thought no one was listening. Luckily for us, he had a decent voice. Hence the leading role he’d managed to bag himself.

  Belle stayed quiet for a long moment, probably still processing what I'd just said. I imagined that it was a lot to take in. I know that if Logan's sister said something similar to me, I'd probably have a similar freak out. I'd only met Clara once, and it had been a flying visit. But I had discovered that she knew Saffron, so I’d been able to get the important information I needed about her. Which made me sound kind of creepy, but really, it was just me wanting to know as much as I could about Logan’s family.

  "Are you dating anyone?" Belle's question took me by surprise, but it probably shouldn't have. We'd been texting backwards and forwards a lot, and growing closer as the weeks went by. I’d even say that Belle was becoming the girl friend that I needed around here.

  "I'm seeing one of my clients," I whispered, but only after glancing around to make sure no one was looking. If I wanted to build a proper relationship with Belle, then I was going to have to be honest. And not just about my brother’s past. Though saying I was seeing Logan was a little bit of an understatement. We practically lived together now.

  "For how long?" She whispered back, clearly taking her cue from me.

  "A couple of months," I said, a bit louder this time. Though it was actually more like six months, but that sounded a bit too serious for the time being. Not that we weren't serious; we were. Logan had formally requested a transfer of agents after our meeting earlier. And while it would be obvious we'd been dating a while once that had happened, there was nothing they could do about it once I'd stopped working directly with him. Logan had asked a lawyer friend to go over my employment contract just in case, and without proof, they couldn’t do anything. Even in retrospect.

  "But you haven't told anyone?" Belle asked, and I shook my head.

  "If anyone found out, then I could be out of a job." At least I could for another twelve hours or so. After that, we'd be home and dry.

  "Your secret's safe with me," she said with a smile.

  "Even from Jack?" I asked good-naturedly.

  "Especially from Jack," she replied, and we both laughed.

  "I was right about you Belle," I said. She cocked her head to the side, not understanding my meaning at all. "We're going to be good friends for a long time." It was a feeling that I had, and given the way my brother was head over heels for her, it also seemed likely.

  "I hope so."

  "And one day, I hope we'll be sisters," I added. There was a chance that she could freak out about that, but I didn't think she would.

  "I hope so too," she whispered.

  Seeing Belle, and bonding with her, was great. But it wasn't even the best thing that happened that day. It turned out that Logan's transfer to a different recruiter took less time than we anticipated, and when Logan took me out to celebrate, he asked
me the one question that every girl secretly wants to hear. Even if she says she doesn't. And I got to say the one answer that every man wants to hear in response.

  THE END

  Thank you for reading! If you’d like to read more from the Curtain Call series, including Belle and Jack’s story, you can check the other books out via my website:

  http://www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk/p/curtain-call.html

  A Summer Thing

  Copyright Stella Wilkinson 2016 stellawilkinson.com

  All characters herein are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher or author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book was written, produced and edited in the UK, where some spelling, grammar and word usage will vary from US English.

  Also by Stella Wilkinson

  The Flirting Games (Book One)

  More Flirting Games (Book Two)

  Further Flirting Games (Book Three)

  The Flirting Games Trilogy, (Books 1 - 3)

  Good @ Games (Book Four)

  Flirting with Friends (Book Five)

  Best Frenemies (Book Six)

  Boy Girl Games (Book Seven)

  A Compass Court Christmas (Book Eight)

  The Flirting Games Box Set (Books 1 - 8)

  Magic & Mayhem Box Set (Books 1 - 3)

  Halloween Magic & Mayhem (Book One)

  Werewolf Magic & Mayhem (Book Two)

  Solstice Magic & Mayhem (Book Three)

  Demon Magic & Mayhem (Book Four)

  Notice Me

  A Christmas Gift