A Walk In The Park

by Jill Mansell

  ‘And I’m the last one you’re going to call Dad.’

  ‘Anyway,’ Lara hastily chimed in. ‘Like I said, no harm done. Harry’s been like an uncle to her.’

  Gigi said fondly, ‘The kind of uncle you can tease because he doesn’t know who Ashton Kutcher is or he’s never heard of N-Dubz. But if you’re stuck on some really stinky history homework he’ll spend ages helping you out.’

  ‘I’d have helped you too,’ said Flynn.

  ‘I know you would.’ Gigi gave his arm a squeeze. ‘It’s OK, you don’t have to get competitive. I’m just saying.’

  Lara’s phone rang and Harry’s name flashed up. ‘Speak of the devil. We were just talking about you.’

  ‘Hi, yes, it’s me.’ Harry never failed to be amazed by caller ID. ‘Um, you’re at home, right?’

  ‘Yes! Where are you? What’s going on?’

  ‘I’m in Bath. Is it all right if I come round?’

  ‘Of course it’s all right, but I still don’t know what you’re doing down here!’

  ‘I’ll tell you in a minute.’ Music was playing in the background; Harry sounded weirdly as if he were in a nightclub. ‘Look, you can say no if you want, that’s perfectly fine.’ He sounded tentative. ‘But is it OK if I bring a friend?’

  Gigi peered out of the window, saw the enormous car draw up outside and realised she was right. Oh wow, oh seriously wow.

  ‘Mum, they’re here. And it isn’t a girlfriend. Oh my God, this is the maddest thing ever!’ She flung open the front door, about to race across the gravel, then abruptly braked because racing would make her look like a groupie.

  So Gigi sauntered instead, although it was hard to saunter with insouciance when you were walking barefoot over gravel. Too late she made the discovery that shoes might have been an idea.

  Then people began jumping out of the huge car and there was Harry, dwarfed by the size of his companions and looking very conservative in comparison.

  ‘Harry! My feet hurt!’ Gigi waved both her arms and he hurried over to her, enveloping her in a hug.

  ‘Hello, Pud. Look, sorry about this, I’ve got Enjay and the boys with me, are you sure Lara won’t mind?’

  Harry had called her Pudding for as long as she could remember. Gigi hugged him back. ‘Of course she won’t mind. It’s brilliant to see you again.’

  ‘There’s going to be a bit of filming too, I’m afraid. It’s for his TV show. If it gets too much, just say and I’ll make them stop.’ Lara had joined them and Harry included her in the apologetic explanation whilst behind him the video camera was already whirring away.

  ‘We saw the stuff on YouTube,’ Gigi told him. ‘You’re so funny together.’

  ‘I know, even though I don’t mean to be.’ Harry gave her a bemused look. ‘Everyone’s calling us the Odd Couple. It’s been the most surreal couple of weeks you can imagine.’

  Lara said, ‘Why are you doing it then?’

  ‘Because they’re paying me a ludicrous amount of money.’ He shrugged then said good-naturedly, ‘And it’s also quite good fun. We’re staying in all the best hotels. I have my own suite, can you believe it? Right, let me introduce you now. He’s as mad as a box of frogs but just pretend you haven’t noticed. The trick is not to put up with any silly nonsense.’

  Enjay approached them and the introductions were made. Gigi found it hard not to stare at him, simply because she’d never been this close to a properly famous person before. Until now her biggest claim to fame was once colliding with Keith Chegwin on a pavement because she’d been fiddling with her iPod.

  And this was EnjaySeven. He smelled wonderful and his T-shirt was eyeblindingly white to match his pointy teeth. His skin was sheeny and poreless, the exact same colour as her favourite River Island handbag. He had cheekbones to die for and short curly eyelashes framing intelligent, almond-shaped eyes. As for the way he was looking at her . . . well, that was bordering on intimate. Gigi felt her heart do a bit of a skip. Crikey, she was in the presence of some serious charisma.

  ‘Gigi. That’s a beautiful name.’ His gaze lingered on her face as he said it. If he added ‘for a beautiful girl’ it would be nauseating and such a let-down; Gigi held her breath and waited for him to spoil everything.

  But he didn’t. He shook her hand and flashed her a charming smile before moving on to Lara.

  Wow again, EnjaySeven just said she had a beautiful name. Talk about cool. He had a pretty fit body too; with pecs like that he must spend hours in the gym.

  Shame he was so old.

  Only Harry, Enjay and Maz the cameraman came into the house. The others, reassured that their boss was in safe hands, headed back to the hotel for dinner. Gigi proudly introduced Flynn to Harry and experienced a rush of sheer joy when Harry said, ‘She’s a lovely girl,’ and Flynn replied, ‘Couldn’t ask for more.’ It was one of those moments. And then they had to update Harry on the whole James Agnew story. There was so much to catch up on. Back in Keswick Harry had needed to employ more machinists to keep up with the demand for shirts.

  ‘It’s bizarre,’ said Harry. ‘People keep wanting to interview me for magazines. I’ve told them there’s no point, I’m too boring to be interviewed, but they won’t give up.’

  ‘So he’s refusing to speak to them,’ Enjay added with amusement. ‘It’s driving them wild. PR genius, man. The more he says no, the more desperate they are to get hold of him. But for the moment Harry’s all ours.’

  Lara said, ‘How long are you here for?’

  ‘A week, maybe more. Who knows? The tour starts next month, so we’re doing this for the TV series . . . Enjay in the UK, being shown around by Harry, introduced to different people and places. And Bath’s a picturesque city, right? Lots of tourists visit here. We’re gonna do some filming at the thermal spa tomorrow, gonna get our man Harry into some cool swimming trunks.’

  ‘You most certainly are not,’ Harry retorted.

  Gigi said, ‘Oh, Harry, you should. Those spa pools are amazing.’

  ‘Maybe you could come with me instead.’ Enjay eyed her with a lazy smile. ‘Harry’s too chicken. I guess he’s just afraid of the water or something.’

  ‘I’m not afraid of the water, I just don’t want to appear on TV in a bathing costume.’ Harry shook his head with an air of finality. ‘It’s not dignified and it’s not going to happen.’

  ‘He means he’s scared people will laugh at his little white legs. Whereas you,’ Enjay returned his attention to Gigi, ‘wouldn’t have to worry about that. Nobody would laugh at your legs. So how about it? Would you like to come for a swim in the spa with me, Gigi?’

  He was saying it softly, like lyrics, as if it were a line in a song. Gigi said, ‘Yes, if you want. I don’t mind!’ Oh dear, did that sound too eager? ‘But I’ve got work tomorrow, so it’ll have to be after that. Unless . . . ?’ She glanced across at Flynn, who had been keeping out of the way.

  He shook his head fractionally. ‘You’re working tomorrow.’

  ‘OK.’ Tuh, he didn’t want her to go. Gigi brightened and said, ‘But we could do it tomorrow evening. There’s a twilight package, you can go up and swim in the pools on the roof while the sun’s setting and all the lights start going on in the city. That’ll be even better!’

  ‘Cool.’ Enjay nodded to Maz, behind the camera, and said, ‘Fix that up, man. Give them a call.’

  Excitement bubbled up. Gigi said, ‘I’ll have to find my swimsuit!’

  ‘What d’you mean, a swimsuit? Like an all-in-one thing?’ Enjay looked taken aback.

  ‘It’s a nice one. Navy blue.’

  ‘Can’t you wear a bikini?’

  ‘I haven’t got a bikini. I had one last year but the chlorine made the material go all weird.’

  ‘No problem.’ Reaching into his back pocket, Enjay took out a wallet and peeled off several fifties. ‘Get yourself one tomorrow.’

  Oh good grief, three hundred pounds? For a bikini?

  ‘That won’t be necessary.�
�� Flynn was shaking his head again. ‘You don’t have to pay for a bikini.’

  Was he cross? Gigi chimed in hurriedly, ‘It’s fine, I can buy my own anyway, they’re only a fiver in New Look.’

  ‘Hey, let me do this. I don’t want you appearing on my show in something that cost a fiver.’

  Gigi looked across at the camera, then down at her short yellow and white striped vest-style dress. ‘Well, I’m sorry, but I think it’s far too late to say that.’

  Last night had been eventful in more ways than one. Lara had fallen asleep at midnight, thinking of Flynn and that Interrupted Kiss. She’d been hoping to dream about it in more detail but the inside of her head was never that obliging; instead she’d dreamed that the shop had been crammed with angry customers shouting at her because they’d wanted to buy jewellery and she’d sold them giant pork pies instead.

  Neither Flynn nor the Interrupted Kiss had put in an appearance, but the memory of it had continued to occupy her thoughts on and off all day. Basically because it had been like being presented with the most sensational dessert in a top restaurant but only being allowed to taste the tiniest morsel before it was whisked away . . .

  And now he was back again, ostensibly to drop Gigi home from work and to give her a lift to the spa but in reality with plans to spend the evening being her chaperone.

  Which was amusing in its own way, but not what a twenty-first-century eighteen year old was likely to tolerate. Still, it was up to Gigi now to handle the situation. Lara had already had her say and been rebuffed.

  Having Flynn here wasn’t doing a great deal for her equilibrium, to be honest.

  ‘Right, I’m ready!’ Gigi came skipping downstairs in her black cotton sundress and silver ballet pumps, swinging a cream holdall. Unzipping the bag, she produced a lime-green and orange sequinned bikini with a flourish and waggled it at them. ‘Look, I got it at lunchtime, isn’t it fantastic? Super sparkly!’

  ‘It’s beautiful,’ said Lara, because it was.

  ‘It’s . . . small.’ Flynn’s tone was disapproving.

  ‘It was six pounds fifty.’ Gigi was delighted with her sale bargain. ‘I pushed the boat out. And yes, it is quite small. I tried to find a bikini bigger than a king-sized duvet but they didn’t have any left in the shop. Ooh.’ Her face lit up as a throaty roar reached their ears. ‘That’s them now.’

  Lara glanced out of the window and saw the Maybach pull up at the gate. She also saw Flynn’s jaw tighten.

  ‘I said I’d take you down there.’ He watched Gigi stuff the tiny bikini back into her bag.

  ‘I know, but now you don’t need to. Enjay said it was no trouble to pick me up. And he’ll drop me home later too.’

  ‘But I was going to come along with you. I think I should.’

  ‘Dad, stop it! Mum, tell him I don’t need a chaperon. We’re not in Jane Austen’s world now.’

  ‘Enjay’s certainly no Mr Darcy,’ Flynn retorted.

  ‘Hey, don’t worry, she’ll be fine.’ Lara rested her hand in the small of Gigi’s back and said, ‘Have a good time, sweetheart. Got your front-door key?’

  ‘Yep. Bye, Mum, see you later. Bye, Dad.’

  ‘Just let me have a word with him first.’

  ‘Oh God,’ Gigi groaned as Flynn opened the front door and headed over to the car. ‘How embarrassing.’

  ‘He’s your father,’ said Lara, ‘and he’s new to the job. It’s nice that he cares.’

  Gigi grimaced. ‘He really needs to be wearing L-plates.’

  The Maybach purred off down the road with Gigi inside it and Lara watched from the front door as Flynn made his way back to her.

  God, she loved the way he walked.

  ‘What did you say to him?’

  ‘What do you think I said? I told him to watch himself or he’d have me to answer to.’

  ‘And what did he say?’

  ‘He gave me the kind of look you’d expect. Which made me want to wring his neck. Then he said it was cool, she’d be OK. Which means nothing at all.’ Flynn shook his head. ‘Then Gigi jumped into the car and said she’d email me a photo of the spa.’ With visible frustration he said, ‘She also called me Mr Bennet.’

  Lara did her best not to smile.

  ‘It isn’t funny.’ Flynn’s voice rose. ‘He’s booked one of the private pools.’

  ‘Calm down. She’ll be fine.’

  ‘Are you mad? He’s a rapper who gets everything he wants. I can’t believe you’re just letting this happen.’ He followed her through to the kitchen. ‘You should have told her she couldn’t go.’

  ‘Of course. Why didn’t I think of that? Silly me,’ said Lara.

  ‘Are you really not bothered?’

  ‘Flynn, she’s eighteen. For one thing, I can’t tell her not to go. For another thing, Gigi’s my daughter and all I can do is trust her. She knows how I’d like her to behave. There’s no point going on and on about it.’

  ‘Even after what happened to you?’

  OK, this was starting to get irritating now. Lara said, ‘Especially after that. Because all my father ever did was lay down the law and threaten me, and look how well that worked out.’

  ‘So now you let your daughter do whatever she wants.’

  ‘Can we stop this now?’ She held up her hands. ‘You can double-check with the police if you like, but I’m fairly sure handcuffing children and locking them in a cupboard isn’t actually legal.’

  ‘I’m just saying you don’t seem to be taking the situation seriously. This isn’t some teenage boy we’re talking about,’ said Flynn. ‘He’s a grown man with a reputation.’

  Pot. Kettle.

  ‘If you’re worried about him seducing her, don’t,’ said Lara. ‘It won’t happen.’

  ‘You don’t know that.’

  ‘Gigi doesn’t approve of people having sex on the first night. Says it’s stupid and a waste of anticipation. She tells her friends off when they do it.’

  ‘You can’t be sure.’

  ‘I know that too. And sometimes I don’t want to know. But she’s an adult and whatever she decides to do, you still can’t stop her.’ Lara checked her watch; it was six thirty and she was meeting up with Harry in an hour. ‘Plus, I brought her up and I don’t enjoy having my parenting skills criticised.’

  ‘You don’t say. I’d never have noticed.’

  ‘Especially by people with far less experience than me.’

  ‘Thanks to you,’ Flynn pointed out. ‘That was your decision, not mine.’

  OK, blood pressure. Time to relax. Lara exhaled and said, ‘Can we change the subject before we get into another argument?’

  He was looking at her mouth, which wasn’t helping. For a couple of seconds the only sound in the kitchen was that of a fly buzzing furiously as it flung itself against the glass, desperate to escape.

  Flynn reached over, opened the window and let the fly out. Then he turned and said, ‘What would you rather talk about?’

  Had he been thinking about yesterday’s Interrupted Kiss too? From the glint in his dark eyes it seemed like a distinct possibility. Lara swallowed; all the feelings were back in her stomach and now she couldn’t stop looking at his mouth . . . right, that was it, just go for it . . .

  ‘To be honest, I’m not that bothered about talking.’ She closed the distance between them. ‘There’s something else I’d rather be doing. Any idea what that might be?’

  A flicker of a smile. God, he just had one of those faces capable of melting you with a look. All kinds of havoc were going on inside her.

  ‘I think I might have an inkling,’ said Flynn and she was near enough to feel his warm breath on her cheek. OK, she was really going to do it now. Reaching up, Lara wound her arms around his neck and drew his mouth down to meet hers. He didn’t object; she’d guessed he wouldn’t. And here were all the magical sensations back again, those hopelessly addictive chemicals flooding her bloodstream. When it came to kissing, Flynn was in a class of his own . . . it was
a kiss you could lose yourself in. Almost two decades on from the first ones they’d shared, this had stood the test of time.

  And . . . finish, over, done. Lara ended the kiss and drew back. She smiled at him. ‘God, you’re good.’

  ‘Not so bad yourself.’ He broke into a slow smile of his own. ‘So what happens now?’

  ‘Nothing happens now. That was it.’

  His breath audibly caught in his throat. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because we were interrupted yesterday. I hate it when something’s interrupted and you don’t get a chance to finish. You know, like when you just need to find out what the rest of it would have been like,’ said Lara. ‘The not-knowing just kills me. You must be the same.’

  ‘And now I’ve satisfied your curiosity, is that what you’re saying? This is as far as you want to go?’

  ‘Yes it is.’ She stood her ground.

  ‘You know what?’ Finn raised an eyebrow. ‘I don’t believe you.’

  ‘Fine then, but it’s as far as I’m going to go.’ He was gazing at her intently and it was very off-putting. ‘I told you before, nothing can happen that might make things awkward for Gigi. You and I have to stay on good terms, we can’t hate each other.’

  ‘I don’t hate you. You don’t hate me.’

  ‘We don’t now, because we’re not together. That’s why we’re never going to start anything. As long as we aren’t involved, we’ll be OK.’

  ‘And what you did just now.’ Flynn waved his index finger between her chest and his own. ‘That’s not what you’d call starting anything?’

  ‘It wasn’t a start. It was a finish. We’ve done it now. And we’re still friends.’ Lara willed him to understand. ‘For Gigi’s sake it has to stay that way. We’re not going to do anything to spoil it.’

  ‘What, never?’

  He really didn’t understand. She shook her head. ‘Never.’

  ‘Not even if you were completely crazy about me?’

  ‘I’m not completely crazy about you.’

  ‘I know,’ said Flynn. ‘I’m just saying. Hypothetically. If you realised you’d fallen madly in love with me and I felt the same way about you, if we were in love with each other . . . would you change your mind then?’