A Starlit Summer

by Kate Frost

  ‘That’s what you think I’m worried about? I don’t care about that. My problem is that it’s not true.’

  ‘So what if it’s not true. I bet your agent loves it. All the attention you’re getting. Watch the offers roll in this week.’

  ‘You’re unbelievable.’

  Milo shook his head. ‘I’m doing you a favour, Jenna.’

  ‘But you’re blatantly lying. How can you be okay with that?’

  ‘Seriously, why are you so upset?’ Milo stepped back, studied her and chuckled. ‘There’s someone else, isn’t there?’

  ‘Will that change things? Will you tell the truth?’

  ‘Who is he?’

  ‘What does it matter who he is? I want this non-story straightened out.’

  ‘It’s that builder isn’t it? He’s hot as hell. I can see why you’re with him.’

  Jenna clenched her fists and breathed deeply. It was all a game to him, when actually he was messing with her life. She decided on a different tack.

  ‘Why are you worried about people knowing you’re gay? I mean, there are loads of gay actors. Why keep it a secret?’

  Milo went over to the fridge and took out a bottle of water. ‘You don’t understand. I’m typecast, which actually is a really good thing because I get loads of work.’ He unscrewed the lid and took a gulp of water. ‘I’m the good looking guy next door, the leading man, the one the girl always falls for. I don’t want to risk my personal life getting in the way of my work. Risk losing out on roles because a shitty casting director passes because of who I’m with. This is my life, my career.’

  ‘I get that, but it’s my life and my career too. My relationship with Finn.’

  ‘Wow, Finn, that’s a proper Cornwall surfer kinda of name.’

  ‘Seriously, Milo, I need you to end this craziness.’

  ‘Jenna, hun, apart from the Finn thing, I’m doing you and your career a huge favour. You’ll thank me one day.’

  Fuming, she left his trailer, ignoring the glances in her direction from some of the extras. Of course everyone would think they’d been having a quickie in his trailer, exactly as Milo wanted everyone to believe. He wanted to take the conversation away from anything he deemed negative. She wondered what Timothy thought about Milo being splashed across the media with her. She had no real idea about Timothy, he didn’t have the same level of fame as Milo. Was he openly gay? Maybe that’s why Milo was being extra careful that he wasn’t gossiped about in that way. In his mind it was much more palatable to be seen with a blue-eyed blonde woman. He was spinning a web of lies and Jenna was caught helpless at the centre.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Work was her escape and the cottage her refuge. Despite Lily and Amanda repeatedly asking her all week to come back to the hotel with them after they wrapped, she kept refusing. They were concerned about her cutting herself off from everyone but she wanted to be on her own. The cottage felt far removed from all the gossip and people she wanted to avoid. Although she’d talked to Milo, she still hadn’t got round to having that conversation with Heidi. Finn was definitely avoiding her. She’d only seen him once more during the week when she’d wrapped early and got back to the cottage before he’d left. He’d been working on the bathroom with his dad, which made it impossible for them to have a private conversation. He’d ignored her and she’d said little more to him than hello. It bothered her more than anything that she’d wrecked things between them by not being up front about the Milo situation to begin with.

  At least the end of the week brought the promise of Carla coming down for the weekend. It was a hellishly long drive for just two days but Jenna appreciated it more than she could say. Building work stopped at the end of the day on Friday and they weren’t going to be working on the cottage over the weekend, so she knew she wouldn’t see Finn for a couple of days at least. She missed him like crazy and regret coursed through her at the way things had played out between her and Milo and her and Finn over the last week.

  Carla arrived at lunchtime on the Saturday, pulling into the drive in her battered Ford Fiesta. She climbed out of the car, a familiar sight with her freshly-dyed pink hair, skin-tight trousers and layered tops that clashed with each other, yet somehow the colours and patterns worked.

  Jenna flung her arms around Carla and clung on to her.

  ‘Wowzers, someone needs a hug.’

  ‘It is so good to see you.’

  ‘You too.’ Carla released Jenna and wandered round to the front of the cottage, her hand shading her eyes as she gazed up at it. ‘Shit, Jenna. This place is insane. I’d never want to leave if I was here.’

  ‘Yes you would, you love city life too much. You’d get bored.’

  ‘Have you been?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Bored?’

  ‘Well no, but then I’ve been working.’

  Jenna opened the door to the kitchen and Carla explored downstairs ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’. Jenna smiled as she grabbed hummus, olives and cheese from the fridge and put it on a tray with a fresh loaf of crusty bread.

  ‘You hungry?’ Jenna asked.

  ‘Starving.’ Carla leant on the work surface and watched Jenna slice the bread and spread butter on it. ‘This place is lush.’

  ‘Imagine what it’ll be like when it’s finished.’

  ‘Are your mum and dad going to sell it?’

  Jenna shook her head. ‘The plan’s to rent it as a holiday home.’ She handed Carla a bottle of lemonade, picked up the tray and led the way outside and round to the garden at the back.

  ‘Flip, it’s huge, loads bigger than it looks when you first drive in.’

  ‘It’s great, isn’t it? So many hidden bits too – my dream garden.’

  ‘Does the wood belong to the cottage too?’

  ‘Some of it. It’s kinda hard to see where the garden ends – there’s a fence but it needs repairing.’

  Jenna put the tray on the middle of a picnic blanket already laid out on the lawn. They sat down on either side and stretched out in the sunshine. Jenna was sure the run of sunny weather wouldn’t continue, but while it did she was going to make the most of it. She was also going to make the most of having Carla here. However lovely Lily and Amanda were, she needed a friend who really knew and understood her, someone who didn’t judge and who would also tell her the truth.

  ‘So, spill, tell me everything, all the juicy details.’

  ‘There are none.’

  ‘Really, nothing at all?’

  ‘Nothing. Well not with Milo at least.’

  Carla dropped a piece of bread back on her plate and grabbed Jenna’s arm. ‘Woah, wait. What do you mean, not with Milo? There’s someone else?’

  ‘The builder. Well, one of them – the son, Finn.’

  ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘Yeah, we met up on the weekend, just happened to be out at the same place, got chatting, stayed out late, we went for a walk...’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And ended up kissing.’

  ‘Sweet. You really like him, huh?’

  Jenna nodded and felt a burning sensation in her throat like she was fighting back tears. ‘We had an amazing day together on Sunday, but I messed things up. At least that bloody article did and me not being upfront with Finn. He saw the article and is understandably mad.’

  ‘So he thinks it’s true?’

  ‘Yeah, everyone does.’

  ‘He’ll come round; wait and see. It’ll blow over, all the craziness that’s happening right now.’

  Jenna toyed with an olive on her plate, no longer hungry. She stared past Carla to the trees which cast long shadows over the newly cut grass.

  ‘Do you know, being here makes me feel far removed from all the shit that’s happening in the real world. I feel cut off from everything – in a good way. My love life – my made up love life I should say – is being played out in gossip magazines.’

  Carla picked up her mobile, clicked on something and scrolled through. She
turned the screen round. ‘You’re trending on Twitter, Jenna. You’re a fucking hashtag.’

  ‘I never asked for this.’

  ‘No one ever does; unless of course they want the attention and actively look for ways they can get themselves in the papers.’

  ‘I don’t crave attention. I don’t want to be famous because someone thinks I’ve hooked up with a movie star.’

  Carla pulled her sunglasses to the end of her nose and looked at her. ‘I know I asked you this before, and obviously you have a thing for the builder, but you’re honestly telling me you’ve done nothing with Milo Blake? I mean, he’s hot as hell; even I would.’

  ‘He didn’t even kiss me at that pool party. He just made it look like we were about to kiss and put his hands on all the right places. He was the one being all touchy leading me to that quiet spot away from the others so it looked like there was no one with us.’

  ‘But there were?’

  ‘Yeah, loads of us.’

  ‘Do you think he knew there were paps about?’

  ‘I think he was the one who tipped them off.’

  ‘Why would he do that?’

  ‘To get those photos out.’

  Carla frowned. ‘He’s famous enough without needing to do stuff like this. He’s an A-lister not a Z-lister.’

  ‘Don’t you think it’s odd that he was all over me when we were in public but nothing – and I mean nothing has happened between us in private. I was expecting him to invite me up to his room and I was in a total turmoil about whether I’d say yes or not, and then nothing. He just walked back round to everyone else in the pool. And then when he stayed overnight hooking up with me was the last thing on his mind.’

  ‘Really? Nothing? You’ve honestly not slept with him?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Cos social media’s having a fucking field day with the two of you. Imagining how beautiful your children will be.’

  Jenna shook her head. ‘What if I told you Milo was gay.’

  ‘Then I’d say either you’re lying or he’s an awesome actor.’

  Jenna sat upright and hugged her knees to her chest.

  Carla placed a hand on Jenna’s leg. ‘You’re serious about him being gay? I’m usually pretty good picking up on if someone’s gay or not. With him I got nada; I’d say he’s straight as fuck.’

  ‘I’m certain about it because the night I had that party at the cottage he slept with one of the actors. As in a male actor.’

  ‘That’s pretty bloody conclusive then.’ She leant back, resting her hands on the blanket. ‘Wow, so he’s using you as a cover up for his sexuality. He has everyone fooled.’

  ‘Except I know the truth and I don’t want to play along – I could milk this as everyone seems to be suggesting and have my five minutes of fame, but I don’t want to, it’s not who I am.’

  ‘You’ve got integrity, that’s for sure. You know, it’s so ’effing sad to live like that nowadays when he shouldn’t have to hide it. Hell, everyone knows I’m bi.’

  ‘Yes, but who you are, your look, your personality, your openness about being bi is what helps you get parts. Milo told me if everyone knew he was gay he’s certain it’d stop him from getting the leading man, love interest roles. He told me he’s got limited time at this kind of fame and he wants to get the most out of it as he can.’

  ‘His whole life is one big performance. It must be fucking exhausting.’

  ~

  After lunch they left the cottage and headed to Falmouth, away from anywhere Jenna thought either Finn or any of the cast would be, especially Milo. Apart from the first weekend, she hadn’t really explored this part of the coast. There’d been little downtime to see much of the area outside the filming locations, so it was good to spend a few hours wandering about like a proper tourist, nosing around the independent shops, having a beer in a pub by the harbour, and buying fish and chips to take back to the cottage.

  They ate them straight from the paper, sitting outside on the picnic table, birdsong the only sound apart from their munching. The cottage glowed in the evening light; the freshly painted walls were pristine now they were clear of the scaffolding. The windows had all been repaired, sanded and repainted, their glossy grey contrasting against the white walls. The newly laid slate roof looked smart. The outside at least was finished and appealing even if inside still needed a lot of work. The only trouble was, everything about the cottage now reminded Jenna of Finn: him on the roof relaying the slates; dipping his brush into thick glossy paint ready to transform the windows; shirtless on that insanely hot day working on the cottage’s stonework.

  Jenna sensed Carla watching her and looked across the table.

  Carla pointed a chip at her. ‘You need to switch off and stop thinking about stuff.’

  ‘Easier said than done.’

  ‘Always is. Getting drunk often helps.’

  ‘To begin with, until the tearful bit happens.’

  ‘Hey, I always think of you as a happy drunk.’

  Jenna laughed. ‘I’m so glad you’re here.’

  ‘You know, I was thinking, to take your mind off all this shit with Milo, how about we meet up with Heidi tonight? Have me as a mediator between the two of you?’

  ‘I don’t want to see her tonight; I don’t want to spend what time I have with you focusing on Heidi and our messed-up friendship.’ Jenna looked across the picnic table at Carla. ‘Unless of course you’d like to see her, I mean you two are still friends...’

  ‘We are, sort of. It’s not like I’ve seen much of her over the past few months. She’s been too bloody busy.’ Carla raised a pierced eyebrow. ‘And to be honest I think she’s doing her best to avoid me and bringing up what happened between the two of you – she must know that she was totally the one in the wrong.’

  ‘Who knows if she believes she wronged me or not.’ Jenna stabbed her fork into the battered fish. ‘I will talk to her, but not tonight.’

  ‘That’s fine, I just wanted to give you the opportunity, that’s all. She’ll be back in London soon enough; plenty of time for me to catch up with her. You never know, you two might actually be on speaking terms again by then.’

  Jenna nodded but her gut was telling her otherwise. She couldn’t imagine their friendship ever returning to how it was. Maybe she was burying her head in the sand turning down Carla’s offer to support her when facing Heidi, but the last thing she wanted to do was add more stress into her life.

  ~

  It was late on Sunday afternoon when Jenna waved Carla out of the drive on to the road and the long journey back to London. She wandered back to the cottage feeling lost. The place was quiet and lonely without Carla’s company and laughter. Tomorrow Finn and his dad would be back working on the cottage, continuing to repair it bit by bit. She had an early call time and knew she’d leave before they arrived. Maybe that was for the best. She locked the front door and leant against it, thinking of the long evening stretching ahead with no company. She wondered if her Great Aunt Vi had ever felt lonely living here on her own for so many years. With effort, Jenna pushed herself away from the door and wandered over to the kitchen. She switched on the kettle. It was too early to go to bed but that’s what she felt like doing. She had things to do though, a few lines to learn, and she needed to look through what she was filming in the coming week. She made herself a camomile tea and was heading into the living room with it when her agent phoned. She stared at Beth’s name on the screen and let the call go to answerphone.

  ‘Jenna, I’ve just had an email from one of the producers of The Love Hotel. They want you on next year’s show. This is big, Jenna. You don’t need to decide tonight or even in the next week, but soon. It’s a massive deal we’re talking about. I’ll email you all the details when I’m in the office tomorrow. Just wanted to give you a heads up so you don’t freak out too much when you see the offer. You’re going to be huge, Jenna. Huge.’

  Chapter Nineteen

  The same way Beth’s words had ro
cked her to sleep the night before, they tumbled around her head as soon as she woke up. She felt wrung out and tense despite the promise of an opportunity that could change her life. She showered, dressed and ate breakfast in a daze and was out of the cottage and on her way to the base before Finn and Gary arrived.

  Filming from the previous week had moved from inside the tea shop in Porthleven, to a second unit set up in Port Isaac to film the outside shots. The long drive to the north coast gave Jenna plenty of thinking time. White fishermen’s cottages and the harbourside dressed with lobster pots and wooden boxes were the backdrop to the scene. This week Jenna had scenes with Milo, Timothy and Heidi. It was guaranteed to be an interesting week and today was the only day where she was unlikely to see any of them.

  She spent the morning walking arm in arm with Lily along the harbour. They stopped to look out over the water and whispered together before continuing to the tea shop, at which point the scene cut. They’d filmed it in the opposite order, the inside scenes first in Porthleven, the outside ones in Port Isaac afterwards, which would be seamlessly put together in post-production. It was an easy and enjoyable day as filming went, with straightforward action to shoot from different angles and only one line. Between camera changes, they were able to sit on canvas chairs in the shade and look out over the picturesque harbour.

  If she thought the gossip about her and Milo would cool off, she was mistaken. The events of the past week were following her. She’d spotted paparazzi on the edge of the village as the minibus had driven them to the set, and although they couldn’t get close – unless they hired a boat and took photos from out at sea – she knew they were there, stalking her like vultures. The thing that confused her was that Milo wasn’t on location today, at least not here with her, and that left her worried that there was enough interest in her alone. The idea of a stranger staring at her through a long lens freaked her out.

  The scene was being set up to shoot with the camera on Jenna’s face this time, and while Lily was taken to the marquee to have a rip in the hem of her skirt mended, Jenna wandered over to the line of chairs set up against the bumpy white wall of a cottage.