The Perfect Hero

by Victoria Connelly

  Gemma laughed at the expression on his face. ‘I really don’t know what I’m going to do. I think I might work it out as I go along.’

  Rob nodded and picked up her hand. ‘That sounds great,’ he said. ‘And can I keep you company whilst you’re working things out?’

  Gemma smiled a big broad smile. ‘I’m counting on it,’ she said.

  Kay didn’t see Anne Elliot kissing a member of the crew on a wall overlooking the beach. Her eyes were focused straight ahead to where she could see filming taking place along the Cobb. She was so going to miss the little village that the cast and crew had created in Lyme Regis. Life was bound to feel a little dull once they’d departed and she’d never be able to walk along the seafront without expecting to see them all filming around the harbour. And Wentworth House would seem so empty without them. How could any other guests possibly fill the gap that the actors would leave?

  As she reached the Lower Cobb, she caught the eye of Sophie who looked wonderful in her Henrietta Musgrove costume. She ushered Kay through the security rope and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

  ‘Gosh, it’s chaos here,’ Sophie said. ‘Nobody seems to know what they’re doing.’

  ‘What are they meant to be doing?’

  ‘Well, we’re meant to be doing all these DVD extras and publicity photos but everything’s going wrong. Some mad tourist just ran on to the set and attacked Oli.’

  ‘Oh, God! Is he all right?’

  ‘Oh, yes! He loved it,’ Sophie said. ‘Although the pair of them almost toppled into the sea. She was quite determined to kiss him. Teresa went mad, of course, and now Gemma’s disappeared. Seems she’s got something going on with one of the guys from the lighting department.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘I can’t think what’s going on there,’ Sophie said shaking her head. ‘And rumour has it that she’s giving up acting.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Kim Reilly turned up ranting and raving and said that Gemma had gone mad and that she was having nothing more to do with her.’

  ‘Gosh,’ Kay said.

  ‘Exactly,’ Sophie agreed. ‘Then that nanny turned up with Teresa’s daughter.’

  ‘Annabel?’

  Sophie nodded. ‘And Oli disappeared with her and came back with ice cream all down Captain Wentworth’s jacket. Teresa was furious – again! Oli had to have a costume change which held everything up and now they can’t seem to decide what they’re doing. He’s been marching up and down the Cobb for ages.’

  Kay looked up at him from the Lower Cobb, willing him to look in her direction, but he didn’t seem to be aware of anything around him.

  ‘What’s the matter with Oli?’ Beth said, pushing in between Kay and Sophie and gazing up as Oli continued to prowl along the Cobb.

  ‘He’s got on the wrong side of Teresa again,’ Sophie said.

  ‘Has he ever been on the right side?’ Beth asked. ‘Teresa’s got no respect for him. She treats him appallingly.’

  ‘No she doesn’t,’ Sophie said. ‘He’s the kind of guy you’ve got to keep in check.’

  Beth tutted. ‘Everyone’s so mean to Oli.’

  ‘Oh, dear,’ Sophie said, looking up at Oli on the Cobb. ‘Something’s brewing.’

  The three of them watched as Teresa stalked towards Oli, her face was full of thunder and her eyes looked small and stony.

  ‘What’s he done now?’ Sophie asked.

  ‘Poor Oli,’ Beth said.

  ‘Shush!’ Sophie said. ‘I want to hear this.’

  Kay did too only she was a little afraid. There was something in Oli’s face that she couldn’t quite read. He looked anxious and furious but there was something else too – something that looked as if it were about to leap out and make itself known to the world.

  ‘Why do you do it?’ Teresa shouted. ‘Why do you always do that to me?’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘You know what I’m talking about. It’s always the same when we’re on location. You always go and—’

  ‘Don’t be so melodramatic.’

  ‘I’m not being dramatic, I’m being honest which is more than you’re being.’

  Oli ran a hand through his hair. ‘You don’t get it, do you?’

  ‘What’s there to get, Oli? You are who you are and you’ll never change and there’s nothing I can say that will make a difference, is there?’

  ‘Oh, you think I can’t change, do you? Is that what you really think? Well, you’re wrong. I can’t tell you how wrong you are!’

  Teresa turned and half-walked, half-ran along the Cobb.

  Oli watched her go, a look of anguish on his pale face. ‘Tibs!’ he suddenly cried.

  ‘Tibs?’ Sophie repeated incredulously.

  ‘Tibs,’ Kay said. She’d heard that name before, hadn’t she? When Oli had woken up in the living room, he’d said that name. He’d been dreaming about someone called Tibs or else had expected or wished that they were there when he woke up. And now Tibs was here in Lyme Regis because Tibs was Teresa.

  Teresa stopped and everyone watched as Oli ran the length of the Cobb to where she was standing.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Beth asked.

  ‘I think we’re about to find out,’ Sophie said and Kay had a horrible feeling that she was right.

  For a moment, it felt as if the whole of Lyme Regis was holding its breath as Oli grasped Teresa’s face in his hands and bent his head to kiss her. There was a collective gasp from all who stood watching as the kiss deepened.

  ‘Oli and Teresa?’ Beth said in horror. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’

  ‘Doesn’t look like they’re kidding, does it?’ Sophie said.

  ‘Oh my God! Look at the way they’re kissing. I’ve never seen anyone kiss like that before,’ Beth said.

  ‘It’s totally wasted too,’ Sophie said. ‘I mean, it’s not even going to make the film. It’d make a pretty good DVD extra though, wouldn’t it?’

  Kay could watch and listen to no more. She had closed her eyes, trying to put a stop to the image but it was burned into her brain. She ran as fast as she could along the seafront, knowing she had to get as far away from Oli as she could.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Kay knew she had to get through the rest of the day without having a nervous breakdown in front of her guests but, as she closed the door of Wentworth House behind her, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

  Her head was filled with so many questions that it began to throb and it took a moment to realise that she wasn’t alone in the house. The sound of laughter was coming from the living room. Kay quickly found a tissue in her pocket and dried her eyes. What a state she must look, she thought, quickly checking her reflection in the hallway mirror. Sure enough, her normally creamy complexion was red and blotchy. She couldn’t face anybody now. Whoever was in her front room – even if it was a couple of burglars – could be dealt with later.

  She was just sneaking up the stairs when a voice stopped her.

  ‘Kay!’

  She turned around to see Gemma standing at the foot of the stairs, a handsome man beside her.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  Kay nodded hopelessly.

  ‘What a silly question – you’re not all right at all, are you?’

  The handsome man touched Gemma on the shoulder. ‘I’ll be getting back. I’ll see you later, okay?’

  Gemma nodded and leaned forward to kiss him.

  Kay blinked in surprise. Could the day possibly get any stranger? What had been going on in her front room? she wondered. Wasn’t Gemma supposed to be seeing Adam?

  They both watched as the handsome man left the bed and breakfast.

  ‘I didn’t mean to interrupt you,’ Kay said.

  ‘You weren’t interrupting anything,’ Gemma assured her. ‘Now, tell me what’s wrong. Has something happened?’

  Kay didn’t know where to look or how to begin and so, moving through to the living room and sitting o
n the sofa, she began at the beginning and told Gemma the whole story right up until what had just happened on the Cobb.

  ‘Teresa and Oli!’ Gemma said. ‘I can’t believe it. I thought they hated each other.’

  ‘That’s what everyone else is saying.’

  ‘And he didn’t tell you anything.’

  Kay shook her head.

  ‘God! He’s such a rat!’ Gemma said. ‘Oh my God!’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I was just talking to him yesterday. He said he was thinking of giving up acting. There’s a lot of that going around at the moment . . . Anyway, I got the impression he was thinking of settling down and I just assumed—’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I assumed he was talking about you or someone he’d managed to keep well-hidden from the press up until now. Gosh, I’m so sorry, Kay.’

  Kay simply shook her head.

  ‘I’m going to kill him when I next see him,’ Gemma continued.

  ‘No, don’t!’ Kay said in alarm. ‘Please don’t say anything.’

  ‘But he hurt you, Kay.’

  Kay took a deep breath. ‘It was my fault. I let myself fall for him. I let myself think that he was someone he wasn’t. He never led me on.’

  ‘But he slept with you!’

  ‘I know. But he never made me any promises,’ Kay said.

  They sat in silence for a moment.

  ‘I hate men,’ Gemma said at last. ‘Apart from Rob.’

  Kay frowned. ‘Is he the man who was here?’

  Gemma smiled.

  ‘But I thought you and Adam were together?’

  Gemma looked uneasy for a moment. ‘I’m afraid there never was a me and Adam.’

  Kay looked confused. ‘I don’t understand.’

  Gemma took a deep breath. ‘I like Adam but we’re nothing more than good friends.’

  ‘But I really thought Adam was smitten with you.’

  Gemma shook her head. ‘No.’

  ‘That’s so strange,’ Kay said. ‘I was so sure – on the beach he said . . .’ Kay paused.

  ‘What?’

  ‘He was going to tell me something but I didn’t give him the chance,’ she said, suddenly realising that she’d never really had a full confession from Adam at all when it came to Gemma. ‘What on earth was he going to say?’ she asked. ‘Oh, goodness! This is all so confusing. And I thought I was a natural matchmaker.’

  ‘Like Emma Woodhouse?’ Gemma said.

  Kay nodded. ‘And I’ve just ended up making as big a mess as Emma, haven’t I?’

  ‘But your intentions were the very best,’ Gemma said, squeezing her hand. ‘Look, I’ve got to get back to the set before I’m missed. Will you be okay?’

  ‘Well, I’ve been thinking of chucking myself off the top of Golden Cap but I’ll try to let the feeling pass.’

  Kay accompanied Gemma to the front door and they gave each other a hug.

  ‘You know,’ Gemma said, ‘I can’t help thinking that you were right about Adam.’

  ‘What do you mean? That he really is in love with you?’

  ‘Oh, no,’ Gemma said quickly, ‘not me. But maybe there’s somebody else he’s got his eye on.’ She gave a little smile and Kay watched as she left. What on earth had Gemma meant?

  She closed the front door and the image of Adam was instantly banished from her mind because all she could think about was Oli. And that kiss. How long had he and Teresa been in love? Kay was guessing that it pre-dated her own brief affair with him by a good long time. So what did that make Kay? A mere distraction? Was she just some sort of stopgap whilst Oli sorted himself out? Because that’s what it felt like.

  ‘I mustn’t think about it,’ she whispered to herself. ‘I must keep busy. I must keep sane.’

  She walked through to the kitchen where a sink of dishes awaited her but all she could see was Oli’s beautiful golden face staring up at her from out of the greasy plates. She turned to face the door and instantly saw him standing there, his lopsided grin tormenting her. And then a thought crossed her mind. She had to tidy his room before he got back. She’d done it before, of course, but not since they’d spent the night together. Not since he’d kissed Teresa.

  Without a moment’s pause, Kay bolted up the stairs and into his bedroom. She saw the unmade bed in the middle of the room and felt a stab in her heart because she knew he’d only slept in it for half the night. She suddenly felt anxious. She had every right to be there, of course, but it felt strange nevertheless. She couldn’t help feeling like an intruder.

  But curiosity soon got the better of her and she began to hunt around the room, opening the drawers in the bedside table, peering into the wardrobe and patting the pockets of the jackets hanging in there. There must be something here – something that would tell her that he was in love with Teresa – something linking them together.

  When she saw his large suitcase in the corner of the room, she bit her lip. It was shut but not locked and, when she knelt down next to it, her hand began to shake. This was wrong, she told herself, but she knew she couldn’t leave the room until she’d done it and so she unzipped it and opened it up.

  Why was she so surprised to see just a regular suitcase? There were a couple of neatly folded t-shirts, an ancient pair of jeans, and a couple of rugby shirts. She closed her eyes for a moment. What had she expected? What did she think she could find that was going to make the slightest bit of difference to her relationship with Oli? Closing the suitcase up again, she sank down onto the carpet and sighed.

  It was then that she noticed a notebook she’d previously overlooked. It was on the window seat and was half-hidden by the curtain but, sitting on the floor, Kay had a perfect view of it.

  ‘It won’t be anything,’ she said, getting up off the floor and dusting herself down. Still, it would be silly not to take a peep now that she was here. It was a small notebook, just a cheap spiral-bound one that you could pick up in any stationery shop and it was scuffed at the edges as though it had been endlessly put in and taken out of pockets and suitcases. Kay flipped it open and saw Oli’s scrawling handwriting. The first page was a To Do list and Kay couldn’t help smiling as she read through it. Laundry. Order take-away. Pack script!!! Ring Mum. Tell neighbour not to overfeed the fish. Ring Teresa.

  Ring Teresa. It could’ve been a professional call he had to make but Kay got the feeling that it wasn’t. She flipped over to the next page and read the name Captain Wentworth. What had gone through his mind when he’d written that, she wondered. Was he thinking about the character he was going to portray? She flipped to another page and, as she did so, something fluttered to the floor. Kay bent down to retrieve it and saw that it was a photograph of a little girl on a swing. She looked no more than four years old and she had bright blonde pigtails. There was only one girl it could be.

  ‘Annabel,’ Kay said, sinking down on the window seat.

  And there was only one reason he’d keep a photograph of Annabel in his possession and that was because she was his daughter.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Adam had made a quick visit to the Cobb after he’d parted from Gemma but had left before the excitement with Oli and Teresa and headed home. As he pulled up in his driveway, a familiar head popped round the gate.

  ‘Nana!’ Adam cried, getting out of the car quickly. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’

  ‘I wanted to see you,’ she said, sounding horribly out of breath. ‘You didn’t return my phone call.’

  ‘Yes I did.’

  ‘Well, not to my satisfaction,’ she said. ‘Now what’s been going on with you and that bed and breakfast girl?’

  ‘Kay.’

  ‘Yes, Kay.’

  ‘Come and sit down first. How did you get here, anyway? I hope you didn’t walk.’

  ‘Well, I didn’t fly, did I?’

  ‘But you’re not meant to walk so far.’ He gave her attire the once-over. She was wearing a scarlet jumper, a pair of floral trousers in blue and wh
ite and bright pink wellington boots.

  ‘Not walk so far! I used to walk miles and miles in my time – further than any of you youngsters nowadays. Anyway, I had my stick with me and had a nice little rest by that stream.’

  ‘Where’s your stick now?’ Adam asked, wanting proof.

  Nana Craig nodded towards the hedge and Adam saw the candy-striped aid.

  ‘Come on,’ he said, shaking his head and ushering his nan into the house. He put the kettle on and reached into a cupboard for the biscuits. ‘Here,’ he said. ‘You must be starving.’

  Nana Craig peered inside the Charles and Diana tin with a frown.

  ‘I think you have some specimens in here from about the time of their wedding,’ she said.

  ‘Nonsense,’ Adam said, ‘I replenish that tin every week. Or so.’

  Cautiously, Nana Craig chose a Fruit Shrewsbury, giving it a sniff before eating it.

  ‘So what is so urgent that you have to walk halfway across Dorset to tell me?’ Adam asked, placing two mugs of tea on the old kitchen table and pulling out chairs for them both.

  ‘A walk can’t kill me. I need to keep moving at my age or I’ll seize up and solidify.’

  ‘But you shouldn’t take risks when you don’t have to. I worry about you,’ Adam said, placing a hand on hers.

  ‘And I worry about you too which is why I came over here. Anyway, it’s nice to get out and talk to somebody even if it is only to Sir Walter,’ she said as the cat came waltzing into the kitchen in case he was missing out on anything. ‘Now, what on earth is going on?’

  Adam sighed. ‘I told you – Kay’s in love with that actor.’

  ‘Yes, but I didn’t like him,’ Nana Craig said, dipping her hand into the biscuit tin and chancing another Fruit Shrewsbury.

  ‘I’m afraid it doesn’t matter who you like. It’s who Kay likes that matters.’

  ‘So you’ve said nothing,’ Nana Craig said, biscuit crumbs cascading down her chin.

  ‘I told you, there was nothing to say. She’s in love with Oli Wade Owen.’

  ‘She thinks she’s in love with Oli Wade Owen and she probably only thinks that because she hasn’t been given a choice.’