by Jo Bartlett
‘I don’t want anyone to know.’ Karen sniffed back a sob. ‘Not yet, not while there’s a chance…’ She’d given into the crying now and they couldn’t just stand out in the street; he couldn’t leave her either, even if he wanted to.
‘If there’s really no-one else you can call, why don’t you come for a drink at Mum’s?’ If it was odd to refer to the house that way, he couldn’t help it - it would never be anything else for him.
‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’ Even as Karen spoke she was walking in the direction of Isobel’s house, until he put his hand on her arm again.
‘Maybe it will do us both some good and Bertie could certainly do with some cheering up. Only I think it might be an idea for you to shut your front door first.’ She smiled weakly in response and turned towards her house.
It had all the warning signs of a huge mistake and he wasn’t even sure why he was doing it, he was hardly the counselling type. But it was like Isobel was inside his head, telling him to do the right thing for once. If misery really loved company, they were on to a winner.
****
Bill Desire was sitting in the middle of the stage, with a guitar slung over one shoulder when Ashleigh walked into The Golden Rock’s Phoenix Theatre. He was wearing an over-sized cowboy hat, the hair that emerged from beneath it long enough to rest on his shoulders, and huge sunglasses even though the theatre was almost in darkness.
‘How ya doing darlin’?’ Bill looked up as she got closer; at least Ashleigh thought he had, it was hard to tell behind those sunglasses.
‘It’s lovely to meet you.’ She joined him on the stage and he kissed her on both cheeks, just as Marcus had at breakfast, his beard brushing her skin in a way that seemed somehow over familiar.
‘You too, sugar.’ He sank back on his chair and began strumming his guitar and humming, disappearing into a world of his own so that she was almost afraid to disturb him. Maybe not finding out more about Bill before meeting him was a mistake…
‘Have you got any preferences about how I handle the shoot?’ She lifted her camera to take the first shots, but Bill just shook his head and started to sing about the dog he’d had as a child. This was why she’d never got into country and western music. Did people really like this stuff? His voice rose suddenly and then cracked when he sang about the poor hound’s death. It was maudlin and cheesy and she might have laughed out loud if it hadn’t made her think about Bertie again, so that tears stung the back of her eyes instead.
‘I’d like you to get some pictures of my lady if you don’t mind, sugar?’ Bill smiled and she wished he’d stop saying sugar. It had made her think of Susie-Anne and even missing Bertie like mad was better than that.
‘Of course. My remit is to capture the real you, to let The Golden Rock’s audience into some insider information. So seeing you with your wife would work perfectly.’ Heat prickled Ashleigh’s skin all of a sudden. Bill hadn’t said wife, he’d said ‘lady’. What if she was his girlfriend, or worse still his mistress? She might have crossed the Atlantic, but she was still more than capable of putting her foot in it.
Bill’s ‘lady’ sashayed across the room, she had long blonde hair and legs that seemed to go on forever – although she would have had a shot in a knobbly knees competition. Wearing matching dark glasses, she said nothing as she took Bill’s guitar off him and laid it on the floor, before perching herself on his lap and nuzzling his neck. Now this wasn’t just embarrassing, it was getting downright weird.
‘This is Steffi, my fiancée.’ Bill almost fell off the stool as Steffi kissed him enthusiastically and Ashleigh fought the urge to sigh. It was like being back at Glitz and everything she’d loved about the job in Vegas so far seemed a million miles away.
‘Congratulations.’ Her voice was flat, but she went through the motions. Years of working for the magazine had trained her well; she could feign interest in the life of celebrities she couldn’t care less about. ‘So when’s the wedding?’
‘Depends when our bridesmaid can get an evening off work.’ Bill’s deep-south accent suddenly sounded distinctly odd.
‘So what do you say, honey, when’s it gonna be?’ Steffi spoke for the first time. Except it wasn’t Steffi at all – it was a voice she’d know anywhere.
‘You bastards!’ Ashleigh threw herself into Stevie’s arms, as he got up from what she could only assume was Zac’s lap, dislodging his blonde wig in the process.
‘Surprise!’ He swung her around in a circle and she just caught sight of Zac peeling off his beard, his hat and wig already long gone.
‘What are you doing here? I only spoke to you this morning!’ Ashleigh was breathless with shock, but the two of them were grinning like naughty schoolboys.
‘Well, we came to see you, mainly, but Calvin persuaded me to do a two-week stint starting at the end of this month to give me a taste of what it might be like if I agreed to be the performer in residence for a while,’ Zac took hold of her hand, ‘suddenly there was a much bigger draw for me to give it a whirl. We were already in our suite, two floors above you when you called. My jet lag was so bad I almost had to cellotape my eyelids open.’
‘There was one other thing we came for, wasn’t there?’ Stevie grinned again, ‘We’ve got some planning to do for this.’
He passed her his phone, there was a picture of him
and Zac in matching blue T-Shirts, holding hands. The slogan on Zac’s T-Shirt read: ‘I’M WITH HANDSOME’ and Stevie’s said ‘NOT FIANCÉE NUMBER 8, FIANCÉ NUMBER 1!’
‘That’s incredible!’ Ashleigh hugged him. ‘Are you really getting married?’
‘We are, but if I can hardly believe it, there’s only one way of convincing everyone else.’ He smiled, happiness written all over his face. ‘We want to let the world know that this isn’t just another one of Zac’s engagements.’
‘So, you’ve told everyone?’ Ashleigh was still recovering from the shock that they were both here and now this. It was so much to take in, but she couldn’t have been happier for them.
‘Not yet, but I want to shout from the rooftops just how much he means to me.’ Zac shrugged. ‘I know everyone’s going to assume this is just another of my crazy stunts but this is the real deal and afterwards we’ll release the photos so everyone knows I’m serious and this time it’s forever.’
‘And then he gets to be centre of attention for a second time when we do it all over again and have a blessing at home.’ Stevie put an arm around them both. ‘But tonight’s mission, honey, is to find a venue. So are you up for it?’
‘Just try and stop me!’
Chapter Thirty-Six
‘How do we look?’ Stevie did a twirl, when she met them in their suite an hour later.
‘You both look great, although you do have the perfect figure for that dress you were wearing earlier – apart from the knees!’ Ashleigh looked around their suite as she spoke. Calvin Welch might have wanted her, but he clearly wanted Zac a darn sight more. The room they stood in had a highly polished chocolate-brown marble floor and a wall of glass, which looked directly out on to the strip. There was a curved bar area in one corner, with bottles of champagne lined up and a huge box of chocolates, the like of which Ashleigh had only seen once before. Why did everything have to remind her of Tom?
‘What’s the plan for tonight?’ She watched an unreadable expression cross Zac’s face.
‘Well, we were going to ask you for one last favour, before we go public with all of this. We want to be able to pick a wedding venue without the world breathing down our necks and revealing what we’re up to before we’re ready.’ Zac headed towards one of the other rooms in the suite as he spoke.
‘So that’s the plan, look at a few venues and then go out for dinner to celebrate with our beautiful bridesmaid!’ Stevie swept her into his arms again.
‘And what’s the favour you want from me?’
‘This has an oddly familiar feeling about it.’ Ashleigh raised an eyebrow. ‘But what’s a bit of fraud between friends?’
****
‘What do you think?’ Zac leant over the replica of the Rialto Bridge in The Venetian Hotel and gestured towards the bride and groom being punted in a gondola along the faux river towards them.
‘I love it!’ Stevie hadn’t stopped grinning all night. It was no surprise, after all Vegas was his spiritual homeland and he’d loved all the other venues – the replica of the Eiffel tower, the helicopter, the grand staircase at the Luxor Hotel and the courtyard over-looking the fountains at the Bellagio. He just wanted to marry Zac, Ashleigh could see that, and he didn’t give a damn where.
‘They’re all brilliant options for the two of you, but maybe this one is a bit public?’ She raised an eyebrow, as they were pushed up against the side of the bridge by other people wanting to get a glimpse of the new bride and groom in their finery. ‘Do you really want to wear that fake beard on your big day?’
‘True. You know I liked The Crystal Room at The Golden Rock, it was so intimate and like something out of Narnia.’ She couldn’t tell if Zac was blushing beneath his beard, but she wouldn’t have been surprised.’
‘The Crystal Room it is then.’ Stevie didn’t even hesitate. ‘Come on, let’s get on with the celebrating and work out just which outfits are going to work best with crystals… ’
****
Tom scrolled through the messages on his phone, he was in his office in the Glitz building where he now seemed to spend most of his time. There were eight texts from Karen. What the hell had he been thinking of? She was desperately searching for a replacement for Graham, someone to build her self-esteem, and Tom needed that kind of complication like a hole in the head. He hadn’t done anything, thank God, they’d both been far too drunk.
He looked at the rest of the messages on his phone and sighed, trying to summon up the energy to read them, but it just wasn’t happening. There was one from Zac. He was one client who didn’t need any help getting on to the front pages of any magazine or newspaper come to that. In fact they were all full of the news that he’d headed off to Vegas, allegedly in hot pursuit of the photographer he’d been seeing since January. Tom couldn’t believe that. The papers must have got it wrong, it’s not like it was the first time. Much more likely that Zac had gone to explore Calvin Welch’s offer, the rest of it was just gutter journalist guesswork. Someone who knew Ashleigh and Zac had obviously put two and two together and made five, and then sold the ‘story’ to the papers. If his mind had been on business he might have been angry that Zac wasn’t involving him in the negotiations with Calvin Welch, but he didn’t seem to feel anything much of late – until he opened the email.
From: Zac Starr [mailto:[email protected]]
To: Tom Rushworth
Subject: Taking the plunge
Hi Mate
Thought I should let you know before the paps do that I’m finally taking the plunge at The Golden Rock, the day after tomorrow at 6 pm! Calvin’s using some of the photos as promo for the hotel, but Glitz can have the rest.
Talk later. Zac
Tom swallowed hard and wondered when he was going to wake up. Zac was getting married to Ashleigh? He shook his head and read the message again, the words swimming in front of his eyes. She’d once said she wanted to get married in Vegas, when they’d been in the chapel for the shoot at Zac’s house, but it couldn’t be true. No, it would be some eighteen-year-old showgirl, someone he’d known for five minutes and decided to marry whilst he was under the influence. There couldn’t be any other explanation. It took him a few seconds to realise that someone was knocking on his office door.
‘Tom?’ Angus peered round the side of the door, as if he was worried about stepping in.
‘Have you heard from Zac too?’
‘No, but another story’s just broken about him and I don’t think you’re going to like it, because Glitz has missed out on the exclusive for this.’ He edged towards Tom’s desk and set down a printout of some grainy photos. They might not have been crystal clear, and Zac might have been attempting a half-hearted disguise, but it was obvious who was in the photo. ‘A wedding coordinator in Vegas twigged it was Zac and took the photos on her mobile. He was with his fiancée picking a venue apparently.’
‘Right.’ Tom couldn’t manage more than a single word. So it was true.
‘You know it’s Ashleigh, don’t you?’ Angus was doing his anxious hopping from side to side, as he always did when stress got to him. ‘I was sure the papers had that all wrong, but it seems not…’
‘Thanks, I’ll sort it.’ Tom looked up at his old friend. Angus had been right, he didn’t like it one bit, but it had absolutely nothing to do with Glitz missing out on an exclusive.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ashleigh smoothed the silk dress over her hips and held the bouquet in front of her, as she looked in the mirror. The inside of The Crystal Room changed colours every few seconds, so it had ruined Stevie’s attempt to coordinate their outfits. In the end, they’d gone for simple black and white theme. There was just going to be the four of them anyway, Ashleigh in a simple black dress with a bouquet of white stargazer lilies, accompanied by Marcus, who’d happily stepped in for best man duties after meeting Zac and Stevie the day before, and who’d been asked to wear a black suit. Zac and Stevie would be wearing matching white suits – it seemed somehow fitting for Elvis’ old stomping ground.
For once her hair had gone right and she smiled at the knock on the door. Marcus could be relied on to be on time, but she wondered whether it was chaos up in the grooms’ suite. Zac and Stevie were meeting them in The Crystal Room and she suspected, as she moved to open the door, that she and Marcus would be in for a long wait.
‘Ashleigh.’ Tom stood in the doorway and her mouth hung just as open as the door for a moment. ‘Is it true, you and Zac?’
‘I…’ She couldn’t get the words out. It was like the first time he’d turned up on her doorstep, all those months ago, only this time the stakes were much higher and she didn’t know how to be around him anymore. He’d inadvertently broken her heart and she’d been much more settled on the other side of the Atlantic from him. It was easier that way.
****
‘You’re making a mistake.’ Tom didn’t move. Clearly this was a conversation they were going to have in the corridor of one of the busiest hotels in Vegas. ‘Look I know it’s none of my business, but you don’t love him.’
‘And you don’t believe in love, so what difference does that make?’ She gripped her bouquet a little tighter. He was as pragmatic as ever, if she’d expected him to make some declaration of undying love, than she was going to be disappointed. ‘That’s not the point! You do, I know you do, and whatever reason you think you have for marrying Zac, it’s not good enough.’ Finally he took a step forward. It would have been so easy to tell him that she wasn’t the one marrying Zac, but that wasn’t her news to impart and why should she do him any favours? It was Zac’s business interests he had at heart, so the reality was going to hit him even harder.
‘Have you spoken to Zac, then? Warned him off too?’ Ashleigh frowned.
‘No, I wanted to see you first, but this isn’t right for him either. It’s not advisable without some legal pre-work and his career...’
‘So what you really mean is that I’m not a good business decision?’
‘That’s not the only thing. I know neither of you are willing to listen to that sort of logic!’ Tom was losing control of his argument and she couldn’t recall ever seeing
him like that. God knows what he was going to do when he found out whom Zac was really marrying; it could kill his career and that was clearly all Tom cared about.
‘I’ve got a wedding to get to, so now really isn’t a good time.’ She started closing the door, pushing him out into the corridor. ‘But if you really want to see what this wedding is about, what real love is, then I suggest you turn up and see it for yourself.’ Closing the door, she leant against it. Oh God, had she really told him to go to the wedding? Please don’t let him spoil things for Stevie and Zac. She’d never forgive herself or him.
****
Tom stood in the corridor outside her room and wanted to kick himself. He might even have done it, if it wouldn’t have made him look like a mad man. Had he really flown eleven hours for that? To tell her not to marry Zac because she didn’t love him? He should have known that Ashleigh would use his own argument against him. Zac was even less likely to listen. He’d told everyone at Rushworth Associates and Glitz that he was going to make sure that Calvin Welch didn’t pull a fast one with Zac’s contract, but even as he was driving to the airport he’d known it wasn’t that. He hadn’t been himself for weeks, trying to fill a hole in his life with all the wrong things, and for once in his life he had no idea how to fix it.
For a moment or two he just stood there, looking at the number on her door, 6752. It wasn’t a significant number to him, but he’d never forget it. She’d told him to go to the wedding, see it for himself and the thought was paralysing him. He couldn’t just stand in the corridor all night and it took all his energy to turn away and walk towards the elevator. Pressing the button, he watched the lights change as the lift rose floor by floor towards him. Every second that passed was a second closer to six p.m., the deadline he’d raced across the Atlantic to beat. Now that he was here, he was powerless to do anything about it or offer up any real explanation for why it had seemed so important to come.