You And Me, Always(37)

She was young, pretty, clearly interested. There was a fuchsia-pink  streak in her hair. Out of sheer habit, Dan flashed a brief smile in  return. ‘You should see the other guy.'                       
       
           



       

‘I can imagine. Wow, that's what I call a black eye. Is it really painful?'

Not nearly as painful as looking at pictures of Lily with Eddie Tessler.

‘I'm managing.' He wondered idly who she was.

‘I'm Shaz. Hi. Saw you looking at that photo just then. If you're from around here, you must know Lily.'

Dan no longer needed to wonder. She was a journalist. ‘Sorry, I can't help you.'

‘Oh that's a shame. It's such a great story, real Cinderella stuff.'  Shaz's eyes were bright as she said playfully, ‘Now you're making me  wonder if she's an ex-girlfriend of yours!'

Dan shook his head. ‘No.' Limping over to the counter with the newspaper  tucked under his arm, he asked Ted Wilson for a packet of paracetamol,  paid for both items and made to leave. As he reached the door, he heard  Ted say to Shaz, ‘If you want to know about Lily, I can tell you  everything you need.'

‘You can?' Shaz perked right up. ‘Well that's fantastic.'

‘I mean, you'll pay, will you?'

‘Depending on the information, we can certainly negotiate a price.' Shaz nodded so vigorously her earrings jangled.

Dan turned in the doorway and raised his eyebrows at Ted, who had only moved into the village a couple of years ago.

‘What?' said Ted defensively. ‘If I don't do it, someone else will.'

‘Exactly,' said Shaz.





Chapter 29



Who knew so much could happen in the space of a week?

Lily was brushing her teeth in the en-suite bathroom of her hotel room.  Not up in London this time, but in the Valentine's best room, occupied  for the past seven days by herself and Eddie Tessler. And if it seemed  weird to others that she was staying in a hotel in her own village  …   well, it felt a bit weird to her too.

Most annoyingly, one of her all-time favourite things about hotels had  been going downstairs to the dining room in the morning and enjoying a  proper cooked full English breakfast.

Except when you knew the chef and the waitresses and could see them  looking at you as if you were a whole different person, it all became  hugely awkward and impossible.

Lunch or dinner at the Star, being served by friends, fine.

Breakfast at the Valentine, too embarrassing for words.

And as for having it delivered to your room, actually carried in on a  silver tray while you stood beside the huge velvet-canopied four-poster  you'd spent the night in with the hotel's current VIP  …  eurgh, no way,  forget it.

Lily grimaced at her reflection in the mirror and spat toothpaste froth  into the sink. The term VIP was something else she wasn't fond of.

‘What are you pulling that face for?' Emerging from the shower behind her, Eddie slicked his wet hair back with his hands.

Lily smiled, because sharing the king-sized hotel bed with Eddie was  something she was enjoying about her stay here. She rinsed her mouth  with water, spat again and said, ‘It should be VFP.'

‘Of course it should.' He wrapped his arms around her. ‘What are you on about?'

‘People say VIP but they don't mean VIP. Some people are important but  most aren't,' she told him. ‘It should be very famous person. That's  what they really mean, isn't it? Or just FP, because most people aren't  even very famous.'

‘So true.' Eddie was looking amused. ‘And what about me? What would I be?'

‘You'd qualify as a QFP,' said Lily.

‘Quintessentially famous person?'

‘Quite famous.'

He pretended to bite her bare shoulder. ‘Thank you for putting me in my place.'

‘That's quintessentially all right. And now I need to go to work.' Well, tea and toast at home, then work.

‘Do you have to?'

‘You know I do. We're busier than ever.' She shook her head. ‘And that's all your fault too.'

‘I'm sorry.'

‘Are you writing your script today?'

‘I'll be trying to write my script.' It was Eddie's turn to pull a face;  never having had trouble getting the words down before, he was  struggling with the current storyline.

‘You'll get back into it,' Lily assured him.

‘It's your fault. I can't concentrate when you're around to distract me.'

She twisted round and planted a kiss on his mouth. ‘Which is why I'm leaving now.'

Downstairs, as she was making her way out through the main doors and  along the driveway, Lily heard a clatter of china and someone loudly  hissing her name.

She turned and saw one of the waitresses hurrying after her clutching a  fully laden breakfast tray. It was Jessica Raven, a sweet girl in her  late teens who lived in the village with her parents and numerous  brothers and sisters.                       
       
           



       

‘Hi, Jess, how are you?'

‘OK thanks.' Jessica glanced furtively from left to right like a cartoon  burglar. ‘Right, so here's the thing. None of us are allowed to ask  Eddie Tessler for his autograph, but I really want one, so I was  wondering  … '

‘You want me to ask Eddie for his autograph?'

‘Well you're having sex with him, so it's not like he's going to say no, is it?'

Lily blinked. ‘I suppose not.'

‘So will you do it?'

Since she couldn't think of a reason not to, Lily said, ‘OK.'

‘Brilliant! Can I have ten, please?'

‘Ten autographs?'

‘I know, but we're a big family. They'll be dead upset if they don't get one each.'

Lily gave in. ‘All right, I'll text Eddie and ask him to do it. You can pick them up from his room later.'

‘Except I don't want to get sacked, so could you take them up to the  yard and one of my brothers will be along to collect them later this  afternoon? That way if anyone from the hotel asks, you can tell them it  was nothing to do with me.'

‘OK,' said Lily.

‘Thanks. You're so lucky.' Jessica sighed. ‘Eddie Tessler's well fit.'

‘Um, yes.'

The younger girl broke into a complicit grin. ‘I bet he's great in bed.'



Arriving at the yard at four o'clock, Eddie handed over an envelope containing the autographed cards. ‘Here you go.'

‘Thanks. Sorry about that,' said Lily, ‘but she's a sweet girl. I didn't have the heart to say no.'

He shrugged, amused. ‘What's the betting they'll be up on eBay by this evening?'

‘Oh no, she wouldn't do that.' Lily shook her head vigorously. ‘Don't worry, Jess isn't like that at all.'

Eddie dropped a kiss on her forehead. ‘If you say so.'

Lifting her chin, Lily found his mouth and kissed him back, briefly but  with great affection. Oh she did enjoy being allowed to do this. After  years of concealing her true feelings for Dan, it was just so lovely to  be able to act on impulse and openly demonstrate how she felt. Eddie  might not be Dan, but he was now her boyfriend and she was enjoying  every minute of their relationship.

She gave him one last kiss for luck. ‘How's the script going?'

‘Badly. Which is why I walked up here to give you these.'

‘And now you can walk back to the hotel and give it another go. I'll see  you at seven thirty,' said Lily. ‘You have another three hours to get  some words down.'

‘Slave-driver,' said Eddie.

‘It's my middle name.'

He smiled. ‘Attractive.'

As he strolled off, Lily noticed a couple of customers surreptitiously  taking photos of him on their phones. She also saw one of Jessica's  younger brothers riding his bike around in tight circles on the section  of pavement beyond the gates. As soon as Eddie had disappeared from  view, the teenager rode into the yard, skidded to a halt in front of her  and nodded at the envelope in her hand.

‘Is that them?'

‘Yes. Here you go.' She handed the autographs over.

‘Cheers.' The boy  –  it was either Tim or Tom, Lily couldn't remember which  –  slid the envelope inside the front of his jacket.

‘Not at school today?'

He looked shocked. ‘Nah, I left school two weeks ago, after my GCSEs.'

‘Oh, right. Any luck finding a job yet?'

‘Yeah.' The boy had a cheeky lopsided grin. ‘Buying and selling stuff,  you know? Wheeling and dealing. I'm like a freelance entrepreneur.'

Watching him ride off in a scatter of gravel, Lily had to admire his  chutzpah. He was definitely going to sell those autographs on eBay.





Chapter 30



Talk about mixed emotions. From the safety of the kitchen, Coral could  hear the buzz of voices outside, the chink of glasses, the bursts of  laughter. Hosting informal get-togethers at Goldstone House had always  been one of her and Nick's favourite things. Following Nick's death,  she'd no longer had the heart for it.