The Perfect Hero

by Victoria Connelly

  ‘But we can’t find anyone for the lead. We need someone English – proper English – not one of these American girls with a fake Oxbridge accent. But she can’t be too well known, you know?’

  ‘Tony – I may have just the girl for you,’ Adam told him.

  He hadn’t been able to sleep after that. He’d tossed and turned until his bedding was tied up in knots and had finally got up and flung his bedroom windows open, breathing in the soft spring air. He was anxious for Gemma because he knew a little something of her personality. She was one of the few actresses he knew who wouldn’t automatically jump at a chance of appearing in a Hollywood film.

  ‘What will she say?’ he whispered into the night but only a distant owl replied. He’d have to wait until the next day to find out the real answer and got up as soon as he could, driving into Lyme Regis and parking as close as he could to Wentworth House. It was early and he thought that everyone would still be in the bed and breakfast so he made his way along the seafront, gazing up into a perfect blue sky and listening to the ear-piercing shrieks of the seagulls.

  Not only was Adam anxious about Gemma’s reaction to his proposal, he was also anxious about seeing Kay again. He might have persuaded his head that she was in love with another man but he couldn’t persuade his heart to listen.

  Reaching the bright blue door, Adam took a deep breath and knocked. He didn’t have to wait long before it was answered.

  ‘Oh, it’s you,’ Kay said in greeting, her face glum and gloomy.

  Adam’s eyebrows rose. He hadn’t been expecting a warm embrace but he’d hoped for a slightly kinder reception.

  ‘All right if I come in?’ he asked.

  ‘I suppose,’ Kay said.

  ‘Are you okay?’ he asked. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t get involved with this woman when it was so clear that he meant nothing to her but, seeing her sad eyes and sorrowful face, he had to know if she was all right.

  ‘I’m fine,’ she said.

  ‘You look upset,’ he said. ‘Is something worrying you?’

  ‘Adam, what are you doing here?’ she suddenly snapped. ‘You’re always hanging around!’

  Adam looked stunned for a moment, not quite knowing how to respond. ‘I’ve come to see Gemma,’ he said.

  ‘Well, she left with the others ages ago.’

  ‘I didn’t know that.’

  ‘She’s probably at the Cobb. They’ve all gone there – okay?’ she said, sharply.

  ‘Okay,’ he said, turning to go. She’d managed to put him in such a bad mood that he almost slammed the door behind him as he left but, instead, he turned around to take one last look at her and saw that she was running up the stairs. He took a step back into the hallway.

  ‘Don’t be a fool,’ he said to himself. ‘She doesn’t want you here. She doesn’t want you at all.’

  And so he left.

  ‘My head is throbbing!’ Kim Reilly told her daughter as they sat at a table outside The Harbour Inn. Gemma had been waiting on the Cobb until she was needed for her DVD extra piece – ‘A day in the life of a heroine’ – when her mother had grabbed her and frogmarched her to breakfast.

  ‘I’ve already eaten,’ Gemma said.

  ‘You’ll keep me company,’ her mother told her and so they were sitting together looking out over the stretch of sandy beach as the first day trippers set up with towels and windbreaks. ‘I’d forgotten about these early mornings on set.’

  ‘It’s not the early morning,’ Gemma said. ‘It was the late night filled with too much alcohol.’

  ‘Don’t shout at me!’

  ‘I’m not shouting,’ Gemma said. ‘Anyway, what are you doing getting up so early for? You’re not needed today, are you?’

  ‘Teresa wants me to be in the extras – talking about the acting life.’

  Gemma tried not to react. When was her mother going home? She’d be following them to Bath too, wouldn’t she? Oh, why on earth had Teresa encouraged her?

  ‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Kim said.

  ‘What? I’m not thinking anything,’ Gemma said, terrified lest her mother had somehow read her mind.

  ‘You’re thinking you wish you could be more like me.’

  Gemma frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I’m not past it yet, you know.’

  ‘I didn’t say you were.’

  ‘And you’re jealous,’ Kim said. ‘I can see it in your face. I know the way your mind works. You’ve always been jealous of me.’

  ‘No I haven’t! How can you say such a thing?’

  ‘You’ve always wanted my confidence – my je ne sais quoi and that’s a fact.’

  ‘I’m not going to argue,’ Gemma said.

  Kim nodded, taking that as a sign that she was right.

  Gemma gazed out towards the sandy beach and the sea. She watched as a gull swooped down and landed near a day tripper who was sitting on a wall eating a bacon butty. The gull looked far more comfortable than the day tripper.

  It was then that Gemma saw a familiar figure walking towards The Harbour Inn.

  ‘Adam?’ she said. ‘Adam!’

  He stopped and turned to look at her. ‘Just the very person I was after.’ He joined them on the terrace, pulled up a chair and sat down. ‘Good morning, Kim. How lovely to see you.’

  Kim’s face brightened at Adam’s attention and Gemma couldn’t help but notice that her mother’s bosom had suddenly swelled up and out, and her eyelashes had started to bat for England.

  ‘I was wondering if I could talk to you, Gemma. I’ve got some news.’

  Gemma looked at her mother in the hope that she might suddenly remember she had to be somewhere else.

  ‘Oh, don’t worry about me,’ Kim said. ‘We don’t have any secrets, do we, Gemma?’

  Gemma sighed inwardly. ‘Of course not,’ she said politely and Adam cleared his throat to begin.

  ‘I’ve been talking to someone,’ he began. ‘Someone in Hollywood. He’s a producer friend and we’ve worked on a couple of projects in the past. Anyway, he’s looking for an actress – a good one. She’s got to be English and he wanted someone yet to make the big time.’

  ‘Ha! That’s our Gemma,’ Kim chipped in.

  ‘What’s his name?’ Gemma asked.

  ‘Tony Glass.’

  Gemma nodded. The name certainly rang a bell.

  ‘I think it’s going to be big. A huge summer hit,’ Adam continued. ‘This could really open some doors for you, Gemma. Hollywood isn’t an easy one to crack but this sounds like just the sort of production to do it for you.’

  Kim’s mouth was hanging open in wonder but Gemma’s was a thin line across her face.

  ‘Auditions are next month in LA. You’ll be finished with Persuasion then. You could fly straight out there. He’s dying to see you. I hope you don’t mind but I sang your praises a little bit.’ Adam grinned.

  There was a moment’s silence before Gemma spoke. ‘Gosh, Adam – I don’t know what to say.’

  ‘Say yes! That’s all you have to say,’ Adam told her.

  ‘I didn’t expect this.’

  ‘Well, you should have. You’ve done such a brilliant job here and word gets around quickly, you know.’

  ‘It’s so kind that you put me forward for this.’

  ‘It has nothing to do with kindness,’ Adam said. ‘It’s simply about knowing talent when I see it. So what do you say?’

  Gemma took a deep breath. ‘What do I say? Gosh.’

  ‘Yes. But after gosh?’

  ‘After gosh,’ Gemma said, ‘comes . . . sorry.’

  Adam frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I can’t, Adam. I really can’t.’

  He didn’t look happy. ‘Is this some crisis of confidence here? Because, if it is, I can help you get over that.’

  ‘It’s not that,’ she said.

  ‘Then what?’

  ‘I’m giving it up,’ she said and, as soon as the words were out of her
mouth, she felt wonderfully light. ‘I’m giving up acting.’

  ‘You can’t be serious?’ he said.

  ‘I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.’

  Kim Reilly’s mouth dropped open and her eyes saucered in absolute horror at her daughter’s words. ‘Are you crazy?’ she blurted across the table.

  ‘No,’ Gemma said. ‘I’m perfectly sane – maybe for the first time in my life. I’m giving up acting. There – I’ve said it.’ She gave a funny little laugh. ‘Wow! That was so easy. I can’t think why I haven’t done it before.’

  ‘What do you mean before? Before what? You’ve only done two films!’ Kim said.

  ‘Mother, I’ve been acting since you took me to ballet class when I was four years old. I had to pretend I liked it to please you and I’ve been acting ever since – all the way through drama school and beyond.’

  ‘Well, of course you were acting at drama school!’ Kim said. ‘That’s what they were teaching you to do.’

  ‘But I also had to pretend that I was happy when I wasn’t.’ Gemma looked at the appalled expression on her mother’s face and couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for her. ‘Please try and understand,’ she said. ‘Acting was more your dream than mine. I just went along with it to please you.’

  ‘That’s rubbish!’ Kim said, spitting the word out in anger. Gemma calmly shook her head. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I just didn’t know what other options were available.’

  ‘Oh, and now you do, I suppose.’

  ‘No,’ Gemma said, ‘but I’m going to find out.’

  ‘You’re making a huge mistake,’ Kim said. ‘And don’t expect me to pick up the pieces when you realise what you’ve done.’

  ‘I’m not expecting you to pick up any pieces. I can take care of myself,’ Gemma said. ‘You might not have noticed but I’m a grown woman now and I have a mind of my own and I’m not going to be bullied by you any longer.’

  ‘Bullied?’ Kim’s tight eyes narrowed even tighter.

  ‘Yes, you’re a terrible bully!’

  ‘Gemma! How dare—’

  ‘You’ve always been a bully but I’m not going to put up with it any longer! It stops now, Mum. Right now!’

  Kim stood up, her chair scraping harshly behind her. ‘I’m not staying to listen to any more of this stupidity. Name-calling your own mother and turning down the best offer you could possibly receive as an actress! You’ve gone mad. But you’ll have changed your mind by the end of the day, no doubt. You always were fickle, Gemma.’

  Gemma’s mouth dropped open at the blatant lie and she watched as her mother stormed off towards the Cobb. She turned to look at Adam; his face was frozen in shock.

  ‘Did that really just happen?’ he asked.

  Gemma nodded. ‘I think it did.’

  ‘And you’re the same girl I saw shaking with nerves just a few days ago?’

  She nodded again. ‘It was time,’ she said. ‘Time I stood up to my mother and time I really found out what I want to do with my life.’

  Adam’s face broke into a smile and he leaned across the table and took her hands in his. ‘Good for you, Gemma,’ he said. ‘Although I shall miss you. There aren’t many like you in this business.’

  She smiled back at him and then, sensing someone behind her, she turned to see Rob standing there.

  ‘Rob!’ she said.

  He didn’t reply although it was quite clear that he was looking at her. It was then that Gemma realised that Adam was still holding her hands.

  Chapter Forty

  Kay immediately felt rotten about the way she’d treated Adam. He hadn’t deserved it and she had run back down the stairs and tried to call him back but he didn’t hear her.

  ‘Men!’ she cried. ‘Bloody, bloody men!’ She returned to the B & B and slammed the blue door behind her, stomping up the stairs to the privacy of her bedroom. The dishes could wait. The bedrooms could wait. Sitting down on her window seat, she looked out across the sea towards the Cobb. Oli would be down there by now, charming everybody as usual. Well, except Teresa.

  ‘And then he’ll be gone,’ she said, pulling out the sketch that she had made of him.

  Kay’s head was still spinning at the thought. Was Oli really just going to leave Lyme Regis? And would he ever come back or ask her to go with him? He had said nothing to her. He had made love to her but he hadn’t talked about the future; he hadn’t talked about them.

  Kay stood up suddenly, knowing that she had to take action now. She couldn’t wait a moment longer. If she did, Oli would be gone and she would be nothing more than a distant memory. She had to find out if he had any feelings for her at all and if so, did they have a future together?

  * * *

  When Gemma rejoined the film set, Rob had disappeared. She looked everywhere for him but couldn’t see him and then it was time to do her piece to camera.

  They’d positioned a stripy deckchair in front of the Cobb and Gemma was asked a series of questions about her experience playing a Jane Austen heroine. It was all pretty straightforward and she didn’t have time to get nervous because she kept thinking about Rob and the look on his face when he’d seen her with Adam. What must he be thinking?

  Finally, her piece was done and she was free to go. She should have been walking on air at having made her decision to leave acting and at finding the courage to stand up to her mother at long last, but she wasn’t thinking about those things. All that mattered was that she found Rob.

  She walked along the seafront by the kiosks which were filling the air with the scent of hot vinegary chips and her tummy gave a rumble and she realised how long ago breakfast seemed now. As an actress, she had been very wary of what she’d eaten over the years but she smiled at the thought of being able to eat anything she wanted to now. She didn’t have to constantly worry about her waistline and could enjoy a bag of chips when she felt like it. But not just yet. She still had the last few scenes to film in Bath and she couldn’t have Anne Elliot suddenly piling on the pounds, could she?

  Leaving the tempting smells behind her, she walked on and then she saw him sitting on the low wall overlooking the sandy beach. He was holding a polystyrene cup and sipping from it slowly.

  ‘Rob?’ she said quietly before sitting on the wall beside him.

  Rob looked up from his coffee. ‘Hello,’ he said.

  ‘You ran away from me,’ Gemma said. ‘And I couldn’t find you.’

  ‘I didn’t run away,’ he said.

  ‘Didn’t you?’

  ‘I just didn’t want to interrupt you and Adam.’

  ‘But you wouldn’t have been interrupting anything,’ Gemma assured him. ‘We were just talking.’

  ‘Were you?’

  ‘Yes!’

  ‘Because you looked very much like a couple to me.’

  Gemma shook her head. ‘Why does everybody keep thinking that?’

  ‘Maybe everybody’s right.’

  ‘But they’re not right. Not at all! Can I tell you something? Adam’s wonderful and we made friends immediately. I guess we’re quite similar characters. He’s as shy as I am and we find life on a film set hard at times. But we’re not a couple even though Kay at the bed and breakfast has been trying to push us together!’ Gemma gave a little laugh but Rob didn’t join in. She sighed. ‘You want to know the truth? It’s strange but I feel as if I want to tell you everything.’

  Rob looked at her and didn’t try to stop her from continuing.

  ‘When I found out I was doing this film, I was really nervous because I knew I would be acting opposite Oli. It’s not very original of me – I’m not the first and I certainly won’t be the last actress to have a crush on their leading man but my crush on Oli began at drama school and this whole experience of filming with him has been so strange.’

  ‘You’re in love with Oli?’ Rob said.

  ‘Listen to me,’ Gemma said. ‘I thought I was for a while. I mean, most men would look good dressed as Captain Wentwort
h and Oli quite took my breath away but I soon realised that, although he’s a wonderful hero, he’s not the right man for me.’

  ‘No?’

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘Not at all. I was just dazzled by him, that’s all. But then I got to know him and – don’t get me wrong – he’s a great guy but I was beginning to realise that I was falling for somebody quite different.’

  Rob frowned, his forehead puckering like an adorable puppy’s. ‘Adam?’

  ‘No!’ Gemma cried in frustration. ‘You!’

  For a moment, Rob looked at her as if he hadn’t heard her properly.

  ‘Well, say something,’ Gemma said. ‘I don’t want to be the only one sitting on this wall baring my soul.’

  Rob’s eyes widened and he suddenly laughed. ‘You know how I feel about you! I fell head over heels the first time I saw you shaking with nerves in rehearsals.’

  ‘Oh, don’t!’

  ‘Before that, even. I think I was in love with you in that film Into the Night although you didn’t notice me at all.’

  ‘I can’t think how I overlooked you.’

  ‘Neither can I,’ Rob said, his eyes sparkling. ‘I mean, I’m witty and charming, handsome and—’

  Gemma gave him a playful punch and they both laughed.

  ‘So what were you and Adam talking about?’ Rob asked.

  ‘We were talking about Hollywood,’ Gemma said, suddenly serious. ‘Adam wanted me to audition for a film but I said no.’

  Rob’s eyes narrowed. ‘You said no?’

  ‘Yes and I told him that I wouldn’t be acting any more. I told my mother too! I told her a lot of things actually.’

  ‘Really?’

  Gemma nodded.

  ‘I would have loved to have seen that,’ he said with a tiny smile.

  ‘I wish you had. I still can’t quite believe I did that.’

  ‘Wow,’ Rob said. ‘So there’s no going back now?’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Gemma said. ‘At least, I hope not.’

  ‘So what are you going to do?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Gemma said. ‘I might open a knitting shop somewhere in Dorset. I might get married and have hundreds of children.’

  Rob’s eyebrows rose at her declaration.