Chloe never talked to her mum about this type of thing. She only divulged the ins and outs of her love life—so to speak and such that it was—with Ash, Lucy, and Jules. Susan took another sip of her bubbles, smoothing down her apron with the other hand. It was a masterful interrogation technique, the patient pause, and Chloe found herself succumbing without further resistance.
“Well, you see, Archer and I, we were papped.”
If Susan was surprised, she did a brilliant job of hiding it. Maybe she’d been more than a London party girl. Maybe she’d also worked for MI6. “I see,” she said, nodding solemnly.
“Kissing,” added Chloe.
That did evoke a slight raise of the eyebrows. “Mmm.” Susan’s eyes dropped to the table and her brow furrowed slightly. After a few moments, Chloe practically on the edge of her seat for each one, Susan lifted her eyes. “Chloe, I have known Alan Tate all his life. He is a truly good person. Talented? Yes. Handsome? Undeniably …”
Susan raised her brows again, this time her eyes glinting with humour, and Chloe responded with a grin.
“But all of that is superficial. There are dozens, hundreds of handsome actors in the world. Alan is … he’s special. He has a big heart, and I know that Cecily has worried about him over the years, with how many times that heart has been broken. She’s a tough nut to crack, is our Cecily, but I’ll come back to that later. What’s important is that Alan showed up here as soon as he made that discovery, even though it was on Christmas morning, and that tells you everything you need to know about him.”
Chloe nodded slowly, her own brows knitting together. “At least that’s how I see it,” added Susan before taking another sip of her bubbles.
Chloe had been going back and forth on the “Archer-paparazzi” matter for most of the day. Did she really want to get involved with the world’s biggest film star? Yes, he seemed to appreciate her warped sense of humour. And yes, that kiss had been something else. But having her life splashed all over the tabloids … And not just premieres and awards shows, but regular, everyday life … But, then again, everything Susan had said about him was true. Even though it had only been a few days, Chloe knew that Archer was special. She’d seen it.
“And I dare say,” said Susan, interrupting her thoughts, “that you are one of the few people to have brought a smile to Cecily Tate’s face in years.”
“Really?” Chloe asked, lifting her gaze to Susan’s. If that had happened, Chloe hadn’t seen it.
“Oh yes. I caught her raving about you to Simon, you know, from the committee.” Chloe did know Simon, yes—he of the impossibly sour expression.
“Well, that’s very nice to hear, especially as Cecily really impressed me. She’s as good as any pro I’ve worked with in Melbourne. Actually, she’s better than many of them.”
“Well, I think she’s taken a shine to you.” She paused. “And I was very proud of you, too, you know.” Chloe was shocked by how much those words meant to her and, truly humbled, she smiled. “Especially, how you and Alan helped with Mrs Capel. It’s worrisome, that she wanders off sometimes.”
“Oh, yes, it must be. And I didn’t do much …” Susan’s look indicated that she thought otherwise. “I was just happy to help. And Archer told me all about the Capels on the way to collect her. Such an extraordinary couple.”
“They are. Actually, I don’t think I mentioned it, but we’re taking them their Christmas lunch before we sit down.”
“Oh, that’s …” Chloe was speechless and felt the sting of tears.
“We’ve done it every year for some time now—the whole village. This year just happens to be our turn. Mrs Capel—Eloise—you see, she’s not up to the task, and their only son lives in Australia with his wife and daughter, so the village … we’re their surrogate family, as you saw yesterday.”
Chloe nodded, biting her tongue about the expectation that it would be Mrs Capel’s responsibility to make Christmas lunch. Things were certainly different in that little English village than they were back home. “In any case, we’ll make up some dishes for them—the full lunch and some pudding—and drop them ’round right after the Queen’s speech. I was thinking you might like to come with me?”
“I’d love to. That would be amazing.” Chloe had a thought—Archer will want to come with us—but it gave her pause. Was she ready to see him again so soon? Regardless, this wasn’t about her and she knew what she had to do. “Actually, would you mind if I asked Archer to come? I think it would mean a lot to him, especially after yesterday.”
“Not at all. How about you telephone the Tates when we finish our drinks.”
“Thanks, I will,” she said, feeling a twinge of nerves. She wanted—no, needed—to talk about something else. “Susan, I meant to ask you, did Lucy mention anything else when you spoke to her?”
“You mean about the young man, Will?” Chloe nodded. “She was somewhat coy, but I know my daughter and there seemed to be more talk of Will than the rest of the family put together. He’s Jules’s brother, correct?”
“Yes. And that might be another reason she wasn’t quite herself.” Chloe would not mention the third reason, Lucy’s hangover. “Jules was kind of a bitch to her about it when it came up.”
“About Lucy and Will? But why?”
“It’s unclear. But she really shut Lucy down. It’s a bit rich, really, because I think something’s going on between her and one of my friends in Melbourne.”
Susan’s look was a mix of perplexity and anger. She pursed her lips. “Well, that would explain it, I
