by Matt Cain
‘So instead I’d like to thank my surrogate family here in LA. Friends who are always there for me and who accept me for who I am and not the person they want me to be. In particular I’d like to thank one very special couple, Mia Sinclair and Leo Henderson. It’d be fair to say that me and Leo got off on the wrong foot but I’ve since realized that he’s a good man – one of the very best. And Mia, you’re a unique, special and talented woman who deserves the very best. So Mia and Leo, this is for you.’
He waved his Oscar in the air one last time and the entire audience rose to their feet.
*
Standing side by side, Mia and Leo couldn’t resist cheering Billy at the tops of their voices. As she clapped so hard her hands began to smart, Mia could feel a camera zooming in on her engagement ring.
Leo had proposed to her just last month, after they’d been to the wedding of her housekeeper Ramona to her masseur Bob. In full formal dress, he’d driven her up into the Hills on the back of his motorbike and stopped right in front of the Hollywood sign, where he’d got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Mia had been so enchanted that she’d accepted immediately. And ever since then she’d felt like she’d been walking on air.
She’d been on the same high when Leo had taken her back to Watford to meet his family. Since joining the British Bulldogs soccer team he’d been making a real effort to reconnect with his past – and she’d really enjoyed travelling to the UK to discover where he was from and getting to know his family in the process. She got along particularly well with his three chick-flick-obsessed sisters and had promised to take them on a tour of a film set and introduce them to Billy when they came over to LA for the wedding.
She’d already started planning the big day and had even met with the caterers to start going through possible menus. Since being in a loving relationship, Mia was finding it much easier to resist the urge to binge-eat and hadn’t had a craving for junk food for as long as she could remember. She was looking forward to enjoying the meal at her wedding without any tension or anxiety.
As she took a moment to look around the room at some of the biggest and most powerful stars in the world, she reflected on how far she’d come since her childhood in Ohio when she’d spent her whole time dreaming of moments like this. She wondered whether she’d changed since then, or whether she’d simply grown in self-acceptance, developing the courage and confidence to be herself. She continued clapping as a wave of happiness washed over her.
Another huge event to take place in her life recently had been her dad’s sudden reappearance. He’d surfaced a few weeks ago to say that he was now living in San Diego and would like to meet Mia if she’d agree to see him. After much discussion she’d said yes but only if she could take Leo along with her. With the man she loved standing by her side, seeing her father again after all those years had been a far less traumatic experience than she’d imagined, especially when he’d explained that he was now happily married to the woman he’d left home for, commenting that his split with Mia’s mother had been more complicated than Mia remembered or would have been able to appreciate at the time. ‘I fell in love, Mia,’ he explained. ‘And I’m sorry but I just couldn’t help myself.’
As she watched Billy being led off stage and into the press room she felt Leo’s arm wrap itself around her shoulders. He too was overwhelmed with excitement about the wedding. There were days when he felt stunned by his love for Mia and, seeing as he’d already stood up in public and announced that he was in love with her, all he wanted to do now was tell the world that he was ready to spend the rest of his life with her.
Leo was also thrilled that Ronnie had agreed to be his Best Man. Repairing their friendship after his outburst about the show-mance had been much easier than he’d thought but now that he’d given up his career as a paparazzo, he was anxious for the two of them not to drift apart. Later that month he was due to start work at The LA Times as one of their sports photographers. And to Ronnie’s delight, his first assignment was a big Dodgers game. He couldn’t wait to get started.
On the same day, Mia was due to begin work on her next movie, a heavyweight political thriller in which she played a female senator captured by terrorist forces. It was a far cry from the lightweight roles that had earned her the nickname the First Lady of Love.
It looked like Mia’s days as a romantic lead were over. As she sat down next to the man she loved, she knew that she wouldn’t miss them. With Leo by her side, she had more than enough romance in her life.
And it was so much better than in the movies.
Shot Through the Heart
Matt Cain was born in Bury and brought up in Bolton. He spent ten years making arts and entertainment programmes for ITV before stepping in front of the camera in 2010 to become Channel 4 News’ first Culture Editor. Now a full-time writer, Shot Through the Heart is his first novel. He lives in London.
You can follow Matt Cain on Twitter @MattCainWriter
First published 2014 by Pan Books
This electronic edition published 2014 by Pan Books,
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ISBN 978-1-4472-5064-7
Copyright © Matt Cain 2014
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