by Clare Lydon
“You haven’t told me a thing. You haven’t answered one of my calls or texts.” Echo painted on an Oscar-worthy worried and caring expression.
And Saffron noted her hand was still enveloped in the viper’s caress, which undoubtedly to the casual observer would appear to be affectionate. In the poor lighting, no one would notice Echo was crushing the hand she held to keep Saffron where she wanted it. At her mercy.
“Please release my hand,” Saffron said through gritted teeth.
Echo leaned forward. “What, baby? It’s loud in here.”
At least that much was true. It was loud in the bar, but Saffron took note of the surroundings with fresh eyes. Everyone had their attention and phones on the Girl Racer stars as if enjoying a live performance. Exactly what Echo wanted.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe I fell for this!” Saffron whipped her hand from Echo’s clutches and leaned back in the chair, folding her arms over her chest. “This was all a set up. Showing up late so Pearl could lay the groundwork, playing the bitch ordering me back to work and then you swooping in to save me while simultaneously Pearl hears about a client in dire straits.” Anger crashed through Saffron. “Every damn part of this evening was scripted to get us alone so we look like a couple for the whole world to see. The question is, why?” Saffron tapped a finger on her chin. “Knowing you, this is all about building a buzz for the next Girl Racer. That’s why you demanded I do the podcast interviews. Did you plant all the questions that implied we’re a couple and reveal to the hosts behind the scenes that we are indeed an item, but we’re trying to keep it on the down low?” Saffron’s gaze swept the bar. “Is everyone here extras or paps you tipped off?”
Echo inclined her head just right for some of her hair to swish into place, and she batted those long, sensuous eyelashes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” In a much quieter voice, she added, “Do we need to get you mental help?” The word mental had been mouthed.
“I think so because that’s the only explanation as to why I ever found you attractive.”
“Should we take this somewhere more private?”
“You can by all means. I’m going back to Sandy Cove without you and whatever this is.”
“You can’t,” Echo snapped, losing her famous composure.
“Oh, I can and will. Yesterday, I bought the clause in my contract ruse. But I forwarded my contracts to my solicitor and surprise surprise, the clause Pearl mentioned in her text doesn’t exist. It never did. I didn’t have to come here after all.” She’d been such a fool for far too long.
“And, yet, here you sit, still.” Echo waved dramatically, her gotcha smile firmly in place.
“To tell you that I’m done. No more Girl Racer films.” Saffron slapped her palms together. “Never again.”
“If you back out of one of the most successful action-movie franchises, you’ll never get another acting deal. Not even a dog food commercial.”
“Can I get that in writing?” Saffron tapped the table, wanting Echo to fulfil the wish right then and there.
“I’m not following.” Echo cockily folded her arms over her chest, like a parent dealing with a petulant child.
Saffron splayed her hands on the table. “Let me see if I can get through to you. I don’t want to be an actor. I don’t think I ever wanted to be one. I’m done. D. O. N. E.”
Echo shook her head, implying she now knew the game Saffron was playing. “If you want more money, we can talk. Just tell me what you want.”
Saffron threw her hands in the air and leaned over the table, speaking in a hushed, but livid whisper. “Jesus Christ! I have been. Will you listen to me for once in your fucking life? I’m quitting the business. I will never act again. Not on stage. Not in movies. Not in local theatres. I can’t stand it. I can’t stand the people involved. I can’t stand Pearl. And, I unquestionably can’t stand you.”
“Will you keep your voice down? You’re making a scene. That’s what happens when you grow up with drunks as parents.” Echo tapered her eyes, grinding her teeth.
“You can be such a fucking bitch.”
“Is this about the woman in Sandy Cove? The one you took for a ride on your motorbike. I’ve seen photos of you two all over social media. This is my fave—” Echo whipped out her phone, clicking on a photo of Saffron and Kirsty at the Harbour Bar, both leaning over the table, looking like they were about to kiss. Saffron hadn’t seen the photo, but she’d trade her millions to go back in time and stay in Sandy Cove.
“This is about me wanting to live my own life.”
“Please. You won’t be able to survive without Pearl and I guiding you every step of the way.” Echo walked two fingers on the table. “You’ve always needed someone like me by your side or you’d fall apart.”
“If you say one more word to me, I’ll stand on top of this table and tell the world the truth. I can’t stand you, Echo-Fucking-Black. We are not a couple. We were and it was one of the worst periods in my life. Now, I just want to be free of you.”
Echo started to speak, but Saffron stabbed the air with a finger. “Not one word.”
Echo shut her mouth, her eyes filling with hatred.
“There’s probably a hundred actors who would love to fill my shoes. Hire one of them for your precious series. I’m going home to Sandy Cove.”
Chapter 25
Helena had insisted Kirsty take her dad up on his offer of dinner that night. Kirsty didn’t have much appetite, but she also didn’t have the energy to say no. This wasn’t game over yet. Saffron had just gone to London for a meeting. Like her dad said, if she was hers in the first place, she’d come back.
Kirsty had forgotten this part of getting together with someone. The part where you constantly second-guessed yourself and felt like you were going mad. She hadn’t missed it one bit. And yet, on the other side of this madness and uncertainty lay the pot of gold. What was that old saying? No lotus without mud? Right now, Kirsty was covered head to toe.
At least her mum had acquiesced to the fact it was summer: tonight they were eating outside. She was whipping up a speciality paella. Mum bought the paella spice mix every year when she and Dad spent the first two months of the year in their timeshare apartment in southern Spain. Kirsty had offered to help in the kitchen, but had been shooed out by her mother. Now she was relaxing in the lounge with her dad. He’d made a jug of sangria to complete the authentic Spanish experience, which made Kirsty smile. At least they hadn’t produced a straw donkey and started performing the Macarena yet. Perhaps after dessert?
She sipped her drink and coughed. Her eyebrows shot up her head. “How much wine did you put in this, Dad?”
He glanced over the top of his paper. “What the recipe said, plus a glug for luck.” He gave her a grin. “Remember when I taught you to make cocktails? A glug for luck is the secret home ingredient.”
“I remember.” She paused. “You’re doing your crossword late.”
“I was out walking, wasn’t I?” He put his paper down. “Are you feeling any better? Any communication from you-know-who?”
Kirsty ground her teeth together. “Not yet.” She said it like it meant nothing, but it didn’t. Saffron had texted her once since she left, saying ‘Sweet dreams’ last night, but she hadn’t received it until this morning. Since then, nothing. After a steady stream of messages the whole time she’d been in Sandy Cove, Kirsty wasn’t sure what it meant. She was going with the just busy excuse. She wasn’t focusing on what Saffron might be busy doing.
She took another glug of her sangria. This time, the strength pleased her.
“Here’s one you might know. Fourteen down. Singer and performer, son of musicians Loudon and Kate. Five letters.”
“Rufus,” Kirsty replied.
Dad looked down, then cracked a smile. “It fits! I knew I had a daughter for a reason!” He gave her a wink and filled it in.
Even saying the word caused Kirsty’s heart to deflate. She recalled the morning on Ginger’
s deck with the silver suit. Meeting Saffron in the harbour market. Both times, Saffron had been on her knees playing with Rufus the dog. Would she be back to do that anytime soon?
Kirsty glanced up at the TV, which was on mute. It was on a channel she didn’t recognise. Her parents were normally on the first five stations, not known to stray off the well-trodden path. She picked up the remote and was just about to turn over, when an image of Saffron and Echo flashed up on the screen.
If Kirsty’s heart had deflated at the thought of Rufus, it shrivelled up into a kernel and almost stopped beating at that. She located the mute button and stabbed it.
“The two were dining at Haze, very much on show for all the waiting paparazzi,” said the channel announcer.
Kirsty’s heart rallied as the camera zoomed in on Saffron. She was so incredibly beautiful. Also, incredibly styled in a black tux and crisp white shirt that Kirsty had seen her wearing before in photos online. But where was Pearl? Where was the meeting room? If Kirsty didn’t know better, this looked very much like a date.
Was her date with Echo going to end with the same dessert Saffron had given Kirsty?
Kirsty put her drink down, her hands automatically going to her face to cover her eyes. Her heart, recovered from its temporary slump, was now booming in her chest for all the wrong reasons.
Every muscle in Kirsty’s body tightened. Her hairs stood on end. She struggled to control her breathing.
Saffron was in a posh restaurant with her ex, and the way Echo was gripping Saffron’s arm and staring at her left little space to jump to anything but the obvious conclusion. Echo’s grip was possessive.
Saffron was letting her do it.
Perhaps Saffron had missed her doing it.
Had Kirsty been played by a movie star? Had all Saffron’s words meant nothing? Had she been acting all along?
Please say it wasn’t true.
However, the announcer was oblivious to her internal strife. As was her dad, still frowning at his crossword.
“We all know that Girl Racer 2 has broken all box office records for a female-led action movie, especially one with two out lesbian leads. Could it be that the on-off couple are back on in real life, too? If that’s the case, it’s going to make the shooting of Girl Racer 3, due to start next month according to my sources, even hotter than the last. It’s also going to tip fans of the franchise over the edge! We’ll bring you all the latest news on the film and the romance as we get it. Now, back to the rest of our Hollywood round-up.”
Kirsty jumped up from the sofa, then switched off the TV.
Her dad looked up. “You okay? That was a very sudden movement.”
“I have to go.” She couldn’t get through a dinner with her parents without cracking and she didn’t want them to see she’d failed again. It was becoming more and more apparent by the minute that she had. Why did she keep failing at romance? What was wrong with her? She had the perfect role models with the perfect marriage, but she couldn’t emulate it, no matter how hard she tried. All Kirsty wanted was normal. It turned out, that was the hardest thing to find.
How could she have been so stupid to think Saffron would choose her over Echo Black? Even those words skating across her mind made her shake her head and let out a despairing snort.
She was Kirsty from Sandy Cove. Not Echo from LA. She’d never stood a chance.
“Go? But we’re having paella. It’s your favourite.”
“I know. It’s just, something’s come up. I’ll tell you more another time.”
He stared at her, then nodded. If there was one thing she’d always been grateful for, it was her dad always knew when to stay silent. It was a talent her mum had never cultivated. She leaned down and kissed his cheek.
“Can you tell Mum?” She would never take Kirsty fleeing without an explanation.
He nodded. “I’ll take care of it. Go do what you have to do.”
She squeezed his hand and walked out of the house.
Once in the fresh air, she almost crumpled. She’d kept it together in the house because she’d had to. But now, replaying that image of Echo holding onto Saffron’s arm and staring at her with her movie-star smile, she paused. She had a sensation like the soft tissue in her chest and throat had hardened, making it difficult to breathe. Kirsty stopped walking and leaned over, a hand to her heart. The pain was so visceral, it was pulsing. She never wanted to feel it again.
She hobbled along her parents’ road, running parallel with the beachfront and the High Street. She cut down an alleyway with some graffiti of a heart exploding and stopped to soak it in. The wall was a graphic representation of what was happening inside her body. She’d walked past it a million times before, and yet it’d never hit home like tonight. It was as if Saffron had reached in and scrunched Kirsty’s heart into a ball, then ripped it out and thrown it away.
Like it was disposable.
Like it meant nothing.
Tears welled up inside. Kirsty shook herself. She had to get back to her flat before she fell apart. She wasn’t doing it in an alleyway. Not when everyone in town knew who she was. Somehow, though, even with the shop mere minutes away, it seemed to take forever.
When she finally passed Wine Time’s window, Helena was grabbing a bottle from the display. Her face broke into a smile when she saw her business partner.
Before Kirsty could stop her, Helena had yanked open the shop door and was beside her. “Can you believe it? We’ve sold out of that new Chilean Cabernet you ordered. Going like gangbusters. So much so, I had to steal one from the display for an order someone just called in.” She paused. “Why do you look like you’ve swallowed a bee?”
Kirsty slumped against the doorway, but said nothing.
“You haven’t swallowed a bee, have you?”
Kirsty let out a strangled yelp as she shook her head. “No, but I have swallowed a whole bunch of lies.”
Helena’s face spelled alarm. She grabbed Kirsty’s arm and dragged her inside. She scooted around the counter and snapped her laptop shut. Then she pulled out a chair at the end of the tasting table and put Kirsty on it. She put the bottle of wine down, too. “What’s happened?”
As Kirsty filled her in, Helena’s eyes widened.
“You’re sure it’s not just a set-up? Just something for the cameras?”
Kirsty shook her head. “She told me it was a meeting with her agent and Echo. Then I find out through some crappy TV channel it’s just her and Echo, looking very cosy.” She threw up her hands, swallowing down the tears that were threatening. She pulled a tissue from the box on the table and blew her nose.
“If this was you, what would you think? Saffron can have me or Echo Black.” Kirsty jumped up and paced the shop. “What have I been doing these past few weeks? Apart from deluding myself.” She shook her head, then stopped pacing. She swivelled on her right foot and marched to the counter, scrabbling in the top drawer until she pulled a piece of paper out.
Then Kirsty turned to face Helena, waving the note in the air. “Remember this? Life is not a Hollywood rom-com, you stupid fuck. How damn prophetic was I? It’s more like a slasher movie right now.” Kirsty scrunched up the note and flung it behind the counter. Then she sat again, shaking her head.
“Oh fuck! I’m doing her sister’s divorce party. Saffron said she was coming back for it. Maybe that was a lie, too.” Kirsty put her head in her hands, her insides collapsing, her voice scratchy. “I can’t go to that now. I can’t possibly face her and everybody else.” For some reason, Anna’s face flashed through her mind, full of fake pity for her.
Kirsty brushed it aside. She didn’t need her romantic failures lined up in her mind right now.
“You bloody well can.” Helena reached over and put a hand on Kirsty’s arm. “Listen to me. You’re doing that party. You live here. This is your manor. If Saffron has played you, you hold your head up high. You did nothing wrong. If she’s chosen Echo Black over you, that’s her loss. You’re worth five movie stars
all stacked on top of each other.” Helena’s face was bright red as she stabbed the air above her head. “I tell you what, if she wants a fight, she can have one. Sandy Cove is on your side, not hers. If she comes in here, I’ll punch her lights out.”
Kirsty blurted out a cry-laugh at that.
Then Helena wrapped her arms around her.
Kirsty let her as her tears fell.
Chapter 26
Saffron parked her car, but didn’t get out, all ten digits white-knuckling the steering wheel. Her publicist had been calling non-stop, wanting to know what to say about the Echo Black rumours? Were they back together or not?
“It’s okay, Saff, if it’s just for show, but I need to know the truth so I can spin it the right way to maximise your image,” Andrea had said, after Saffron had shouted for the umpteenth time she never wanted to hear Echo’s name again.
No. None of this was okay. Not by a long shot.
Pearl didn’t get it.
Nor did Andrea.
Echo had been her cagey self on the socials, posting old photos of them together, with hopeful messages like: will be back together soon.
How would anyone believe Saffron had been played like an unsophisticated rube? She was known for portraying the bad-ass motorbike chick, brimming with confidence and intelligence. Saffron always smoked the bad guys. Always!
When Saffron had watched the clip zinging through the ether on every platform all over the world, she knew she was in deep shit with Kirsty. Saffron wanted to text Kirsty not to believe everything she saw or heard, but couldn’t find the words necessary to convey the message.
Ultimately, she decided it’d have to be done in person and there was no time like the present. Too many priceless hours had slipped past since the date setup. All because Saffron was terrified of losing everything that was outside of her control. She hated the swirling sensation, as if her life and happiness were being flushed away. All because of Echo Black!