‘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 and 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 before on a cinema 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. She 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 whilst 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 backwards 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 paps 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 and stay in her house?'
‘Not quite. My PA was having her hair done yesterday by her sister when I called to tell her I'd arrived at my dad's and the paps 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 and 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,' said Lily, irritated. ‘It's actually not very helpful, you know, the way you keep coming out with things 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 towards her, and said, ‘It must be annoying. Especially if there's stuff you don't want them to find out.' Like having an affair with your married co-star.
‘Shall we talk about you instead?' Pointedly changing the subject, Eddie Tessler sat down and said, ‘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 and Treasure, on the high street. It's a reclamation company.'
‘I haven't seen the high 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 also sell online and ship worldwide.' Lily took a gulp of coffee and checked her watch. ‘Coral's 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, she said, ‘I pretended I needed the key so I could borrow her shoes for tonight. Why don't I take them with me, then you can tell her we met?'
He nodded in agreement. ‘It'd be easier. Where are the shoes?'
‘In Patsy's wardrobe. 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 rumbled, 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.