‘Okay,’ I said, feeling a bit nervous. ‘I’m new to this as you know, so where do we start?’
‘Well, I’ve reread your book and underlined and made notes.’
‘Yes?’ Gosh, that was the first time I’d heard anyone do that, apart from a reviewer, my nemesis, who killed my books every time with her scathing comments on my writing. And… she was usually one of the first ones out.
‘I gotta say, Nina, your novel reveals more and more each time I read it.’
I laughed. ‘That sounds like a great endorsement, Luke.’
‘It is. If I am willing to spend millions on it, it means I love it. You are an extraordinary writer. And it feels as though you wrote this part for me. It seems like you have known me inside and out for ages.’
Was that what he thought? I think I blushed, because my face suddenly felt hot. And I was too young for hot flashes.
‘I’ve a confession to make, Luke.’
He grinned as if nothing could upset him. ‘What’s that, Nina?’
‘The day we met, I went back to my hotel room and googled you.’
‘Are you serious? You didn’t know who I was?’
Jesus, was he full of himself or what?
‘That was a joke, Nina. Come on! No need to make a face.’
‘Oh. Sorry. In any case, it’s not that I didn’t know who you were, because I recognised you instantly. But since the kids were born… I really don’t remember seeing anything that wasn’t from Disney or Pixar. And I don’t really buy magazines or even the papers. But I did see you at the Oscars.’
He laughed. ‘You mean when I didn’t win?’
‘Yep.’
He put his hand on mine. ‘Thank you, Nina.’
‘For what?’
‘For writing such a great book, for welcoming us into your home. And above all, for not giving a crap about who I am.’
I rolled my eyes.
‘I’m serious. You’re the first person I meet who actually isn’t…’
‘Star-struck?’
‘Yeah. I mean, I’m a guy like everyone else, only with more…’
‘Money?’
He grinned. ‘I was going to say visibility.’
I nodded, and we got back to work.
As it turned out, our first morning of work hadn’t been as bad as I’d thought. Granted, we’d hit some potholes (and thankfully not plotholes) along the way, but I had to accept that now my story was evolving for the screen. How much “evolving” it was about to do remained to be seen.
19
Gossip
As would have been expected, the news of the arrival of a Hollywood star in Penworth Ford could not have stayed smothered for long, and soon everyone between eight and eighty (well, ninety-three, actually, counting Old Nellie from the tea room on Fore Street) was gagging for some gossip.
‘Is he staying in your house?’ Nellie asked me as her granddaughter Annie poured us a cuppa and brought us carrot cake on the house (after all, I was a half-celebrity now, wasn’t I? Well, at least in the village).
‘No, Nellie. He’s booked a suite at an inn.’
‘Is he as handsome as he looks on the telly?’ Her eyes shone with excitement.
I thought about it. ‘Even more.’
‘And are you going to sleep with him?’
‘Nan!’ Annie cried.
I laughed. ‘No, Nellie, I’m not going to sleep with him. It’s just a business relationship.’
‘I think you should definitely sleep with him,’ she said with a nod, her silver eyes sparkling behind her thick, foggy lenses.
Annie turned crimson. ‘I’m so sorry, Nina! Nan sees intrigue and sex everywhere.’
‘She should write a book then!’ I quipped, forking some cake into my mouth. ‘Oh, my God, Annie, this is delicious!’
‘Nan’s recipe,’ she said, kissing her on the cheek. ‘Isn’t it, Nan?’
Old Nellie nodded, caressing her granddaughter’s face. ‘They’re cute when they’re young, aren’t they?’ she said, turning to me. ‘I was cute when I was young, too! And Charles was the handsomest devil you’d ever seen.’
‘Who’s Charles?’
‘My first love. I was,’ she whispered, leaning in, ‘the “older” woman!’
I put my cup down. ‘Really? What was he like?’
She clasped her hands together. ‘A real blinder. Couldn’t eat for days, the first time I met him. But… he was married.’
I looked at her, her white, paper-thin skin, spotted hands and wrinkly but dreamy eyes. And it surprised me that I had never thought of her that way. We seem to forget that the elderly once had love lives.
‘Nellie! It looks like you were not only the older woman but also the other woman, you naughty girl, you!’
How the years take everything away except for the memories. It must have been terrible for her, loving someone for so long, wanting to be with him but also feeling guilty for the pain she would cause another woman if she got her wish. But at least she had loved, and cherished those memories. I had nothing in my heart but disappointment and bitterness. But at least I was now out of the hurting game.
*
About a week later, as I was getting into the hang of scriptwriting (well, sort of), Luke suddenly got to his feet.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked. Had I said or done something untoward? Did he not like my rendition of Stella?
‘I’ve been here for days and you haven’t once taken me into town. Even Jessica’s been a gazillion times.’
‘I thought… you would want to avoid the crowds,’ I explained, feeling guilty for keeping him cooped up.
‘Crowds? The whole population of Penworth Ford is what I have in one evening at a house party. So, are you coming?’ he asked.
Well, if he put it that way. ‘Okay, then. I’ll get my bag. Guys? Would you like to come into town with us?’
‘Can we get cake?’ Chloe negotiated.
‘Of course,’ I said, and we all piled into his rental, also because he wouldn’t fit in my Ka.
We parked by the village gardens by the sea, which was a stone’s throw away from the centre along Fore Street. The village was in a stir. First the book, then the movie and now the star, in
