Rumor Has It (45 page)

    Kaye said hastily, 'Sweetheart, it's too soon to be thinking about that!'

    'I don't see why.' Lou began buttering another slice of toast. 'You just said this is the happiest you've been for years. And Parker's crazy about you, that's pretty obvious. So you want to be together, don't you?'

    'Well… we need to, um, talk about it…'

    'Mum, you're blushing! Listen, you've found someone lovely at last—'

    'Thanks a lot,' said Max.

    'Oh, Dad, you know what I mean. Lovely and not gay.' Lou turned back to Kaye. 'So you have to decide how you're going to organize things in future.'

    Tilly experienced a pang of envy. For Lou, because everything was so straightforward in her world, a dilemma was simply something to be solved. And for Kaye too, because she was in love with a man who loved her in return and, despite their unpromising start, she could see that once the hiccups were ironed out, they had a happy future together.

    'Sweetheart, give us time. There's lots to discuss.' Kaye was still blushing.

    When it came to persistence, Lou could give any Turkish rug seller a run for his money. 'But you can't be a proper couple if you're living thousands of miles apart.'

    'School,' Tilly announced, expertly tipping Lou off her chair. Because Parker might not be saying anything, but from the look in his eyes you didn't have to be a mind-reader to know that he wasn't remotely keen on the idea of having to leave New York. The next couple of days were completely crazy. The high-quality CCTV clip aired on American TV, America fell in love with Kaye McKenna all over again, and Charlene Weintraub, transformed in the blink of an eye into the Wicked Witch, slunk off into rehab.

    Kaye barely had a moment to breathe. Journalists and report ers descended on Roxborough and the phone didn't stop ringing. Interviews and photo shoots took hours. It was lovely to have been exonerated, but all she really wanted was to be with Parker, whose time over here was running out fast.

    On the evening of the second day, Kaye switched off her phone and they holed up together in his hotel room.

    'Denzil's putting on the pressure. He's desperate for me to sign that new contract. And he's upped the offer again.'

    Parker stroked her hair. 'Well, that's good, isn't it? It's what you wanted.'

    'I know.' Kaye nodded in half-hearted agreement. But she wanted Parker more. Finally plucking up the courage to ask the question that had been zapping around her brain for the last forty-eight hours, she took a deep breath. 'Would you move to LA?'

    There, done. She'd said it.

    'Listen to me.' Parker, who'd been so incredibly patient during all the recent madness, gave her the kind of look she'd been dread ing. 'I love you. You mean the world to me. But I can't just abandon my company. It wouldn't be fair on my staff, or to my clients. I can't let them down. And I definitely couldn't move in with you and not work. I'd look like a complete parasite. People would think I was… worthless.'

    A lump expanded in Kaye's throat. He was absolutely right, and no one knew better than she did how vituperative the Hollywood gossip machine could be.

    'I'm sorry.' Parker hugged her. 'Thank you for asking me. But I guess it's that male pride thing. I built up a successful business and I'm proud of it. But we can still see each other, can't we? We'll make it work out. New York to LA is only a six-hour flight.'

    It sounded reasonable when he said it like that, but it was only six hours in theory. What with getting to and from the airport, queuing through security, and the various hold-ups that always seemed to plague her like a swarm of mosquitoes, it would be more like ten. Kaye gazed out of the window at the rolling hills, the orange-violet sky and the slowly setting sun. And she'd never been one of those people who enjoyed flying anyway. When you factored in Parker's working hours and her own gruelingly hectic filming schedule, how much time would they end up spending together really?

    Not nearly long enough to be able to call it a proper relation ship, that was for sure.

'SWEETHEART, LISTEN. I NEED to know how you feel about it and I want you to be completely honest.'

    'Oh Mum, look at you being all worried.' Vigorously shaking her head, Lou said fondly, 'I'm
fine
. You've got your job back and that's brilliant. With the amount they're offering, you'd be mad to turn it down.'

    Kaye was still wracked with guilt. 'I know, I know. It's just been so lovely being back here and seeing you every day.'

    'But I can still come over during the holidays.' Unlike Kaye, Lou adored flying. 'If you go back to the States, we'll still be in touch, won't we? Just like we did before! Mum, I'm happy here with Tilly and Dad.' Her face suddenly turning three shades pinker, Lou added casually, 'And I think I'm kind of getting a boyfriend, so I wouldn't want to leave anyway.'

    'Sweetie, really?' Hugging her, Kaye was overcome with emotion. 'That's fantastic. Is it someone nice?'

    'No, he's completely vile.' Lou smiled and rolled her eyes. 'It's Cormac.'

    'Oh, he's in your class.' Vaguely able to picture him, Kaye said, 'Fair hair, quite athletic?'

    'Captain of the football team.' Lou looked proud. 'He's really nice. Although it's not like we're going
out
out together. We just text a lot and sit next to each other at lunch. But it makes going to school more fun. So stop panicking and wondering if I'm going to mind if you move back to the States, because I promise you I won't. I'm more worried about how you and Parker are going to sort yourselves out.'

    Kaye said wryly, 'Me too.'

    'I really like him, Mum.'

    'Me too.'

    'You'll have to persuade him to change his mind about leaving New York.'

    What had she done to deserve a daughter like this? Stroking Lou's face, Kaye said, 'I know, sweetie. I'm still working on that bit.'

There were seven of them gathered in the drawing room at Beech House, eight if you counted Betty, and having Jack in the vicinity was making Tilly nervous. The nerves, in turn, were making her ravenous. Hovering beside the French windows leading out on to the garden, she snapped yet another breadstick into quarters and trawled the first quarter through the bowl of guacamole on the table beside her. Concentrating on the dif ferent dips was easier than looking over at Jack. She'd been taking them in turns. Chili cheese next, then salsa, then mayonnaise…

    'Phew, you
reek
of garlic.' Lou flapped her hands in protest.

    OK, garlic mayonnaise. You knew you'd exceeded your garlic limit when you could no longer taste it.

    'These are great.' Tilly pointed her breadstick at the tray of dips. 'You should try some.'

    'Yeurgh, no thanks, I've got to go to school tomorrow. Don't want to frighten Cormac off.'

    'Well, here comes Erin. She's not scared of a bit of garlic.'

    Erin wrinkled her nose. 'Actually, you are a bit strong.'

    'Oh well, who cares?' Holding out her arms to Betty, Tilly said, 'Come over here, sweetie, you still love me, don't you?' Prompting Betty to bounce up to her, wince with horror, and promptly screech into reverse.

    'I feel like I've got leprosy.' She began to regret monopolizing the dips; probably just as well she didn't have a love life to put in jeopardy. 'Anyway, how's the house sale going?'

    'Pretty good. Fergus is showing another two couples round it this afternoon.' Erin grimaced slightly; this was a subject with which she wasn't completely at ease. When Fergus and Stella had split up, Fergus had moved into a rented flat. As Stella's husband, the house they had bought together was now his. In a year or so, when he and Erin felt it would be appropriate to marry, they would buy a new house in Roxborough.

    'OK, here we go, I'm going to say a few words.' Clapping her hands, Kaye captured everyone's attention.

    Max said, 'Only a few? That'll be a first.'

    'As you know, Parker and I are leaving tomorrow.' Holding out a hand, Kaye gestured for Parker to come and stand beside her. 'And I'm going to miss you all terribly. Well, some more than others.' She looked pointedly at Max, then grinned and took a deep breath. 'Anyway, the thing is, I've come to a decision. I'm not going to renew my contract with
Over the Rainbow.
I won't even be moving back to LA. Because I've decided I'd far rather go to New York.' Turning to watch the look of disbelief spreading across Parker's face—he'd clearly had no idea she'd been about to say this—she added, 'If this man here is sure he doesn't mind.'

    Unable to speak for a moment, Parker shook his head helplessly.

    'And I'm just warning you,' Kaye told him, 'now would be a seriously bad time to tell me you have a wife waiting at home for you to go back.'

    Unable to resist it, Max chimed in, 'Or a husband.'

    Parker was gripping Kaye's hands. 'Are you sure? Really?'

    'Oh please, what's more important? Working on some stupid, meaningless, so-called glamorous soap? Or being with someone who means the world to you?' Tears glittered in Kaye's eyes. 'I mean, hopefully I'll be offered something in New York, maybe theatre work for a change. But who knows if that'll happen? Either way, I've been lucky enough to find a wonderful man. I'm not going to be stupid enough to risk losing him.'

    To her absolute horror, Tilly realized she was on the verge of crying too. Hastily she rubbed her hot cheeks and stuffed another mayonnaise-loaded breadstick into her mouth, because it was physically impossible to simultaneously eat and cry. Kaye and Parker were hugging each other now, wrapped up in a haze of joy that was all-consuming. Of course, Kaye was doing the right thing; it was blindingly obvious. A happy relationship was worth more than ten dazzling careers.

    Aware that she was being watched, Tilly glanced up and saw, across the room, Jack's gaze on her. God, she must be hormonal at the moment; perilously close to bursting into tears but hampered by her mouthful of food, she almost sprayed breadstick across the carpet. Inhaling instead, she ended up coughing and spluttering and being vigorously whacked on the back by Erin.

    Which never helped.

    'Are you all right?'

    Tilly nodded, coughed, swallowed and wiped her streaming eyes.

    'Isn't that romantic about Kaye and Parker?'

    'Yes.' Oh God, and now Jack and Max were coming over; clutching her neck by way of apology, Tilly croaked, 'Crumbs… windpipe…' and dodged past them on her way out of the room.

    Upstairs in the cool marble bathroom she cleared her throat and used a tissue to clean away the flecks of mascara under her eyes. Not wanting to head back down just yet, she picked up the magazines Lou had left on the floor after her bath this morning. Emblazoned across the cover of
Hi!
magazine were the words 'STOP PRESS!! He Broke My Heart But I Forgive Him!' above a posed shot of Tandy and Jamie. Tandy's petal-pink mouth was turned up at the corners in a sad-but-hopeful smile whilst Jamie looked handsome and suit ably penitent in a shirt that exactly matched her lipstick.

    Tilly had already read the interview inside; as she'd turned the glossy pages, she'd been torn between feeling sorry for Tandy and wanting to shake some sense into her. To be with Jamie she was prepared to be hurt and humiliated. And Jamie, realizing he could get away with being unfaithful, would do it again and again. Overwhelmed with sadness, Tilly smoothed the wrinkled cover and placed the handful of magazines on the window ledge.

    She opened the bathroom door and came face to face with Jack. Oh God, how was this fair?

    'I came to see if you were all right.' He studied her. 'Everything OK?'

    Damn, why hadn't she thought to brush her teeth? To blast him with eye-watering garlic breath or to hide it, keep her mouth clamped shut, and just nod?

    Tilly nodded.

    'Sure?' Jack gave her a shrewd look.

    She held her breath and nodded again. 'Mmm hmm.'

    'So… have you changed your mind about me yet?'

    Tilly's teeth were tightly clenched to stop any stray deadly fumes from leaking out. She shook her head.

    'OK, listen to me.' His tone altered, became matter-of-fact. 'The trouble with you is, you think you know best. But just this once, I happen to know you're wrong. And chasing after a girl who gives me a hard time really isn't my thing, but the reason I haven't given up on you before now is because I
know
I'm right. So, seriously, what do I have to do to make you realize that too?' Jack spread his hands. 'You just tell me what it is and I'll do it.'

    Oh no, not more tears,
please no
. Tilly rolled her eyes, desperate to siphon them back down to wherever they'd come from. By some kind of miracle, it actually worked. She even remembered to keep her mouth closed. Only when she'd edged far enough away and was already halfway down the staircase did she open it enough to say, 'Please don't, Jack.'

    Because this was hurting, actually
physically hurting
, more than she could ever have imagined. And she couldn't cope with the pres sure of it any more.

If Jack could be a commitment-phobe, so could she.

'Where's Jack?' said Erin twenty minutes later.

    'Had to shoot off, see a tenant or something.' Max shrugged and refilled their glasses as a phone beeped somewhere in the room. 'Mind you, he's been a miserable bugger today. No idea what's wrong with him. Woman trouble, maybe.' A thought occurred to him. 'Could be something to do with that pretty physio who's moved into the Fallon Road place. You've seen her bombing around in her white MG, haven't you? Long blond hair, looks like Claudia Schiffer.'