“Uh, he was calling Jules, actually.” Steph nodded as though she’d suspected as much. “I told him it wasn’t necessary, but—”
Steph cut her off, resting both hands on the counter. “I think it is, though, hon. Like I said, Will is a grown man and Jules needs to understand that. Sure, they’re close, but she can’t keep him all to herself. She needs to let him be with whoever he wants to be with, especially if that person is you.”
Lucy blinked back unexpected tears.
Steph came around her side of the counter, took one of her hands, and looked at her lovingly. “Especially if that person is you,” she said quietly. Lucy glanced at Jackie who winked at her and smiled.
Lucy smiled through her tears and bit her lip. “Thank you,” she replied. Steph squeezed her hand.
“Now, there’s one more thing. You’re gonna need to be firm with my daughter too.”
“What? Oh, no.” Lucy shook her head vigorously.
“Lucy, listen to me. Jules can be headstrong and sometimes that’s to the detriment of those around her. She shouldn’t have attacked you like that and, even if you’re not thinking it now, at some point, resentment will come into play.”
Lucy looked inward and realised that resentment might already be in play. Why else would she deliberately ignore Jules’s message on the group chat? Yet … “But what if it damages our friendship?”
“Saying nothing will do worse damage.” Steph let go of Lucy’s hand and returned to dishing up.
A small sigh escaped. Steph was right, and not just about Jules. A niggling thought that wouldn’t be shaken popped to the forefront of her mind. Lucy also need to sort things out with her manager, Angela. “Um, Steph?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Steph replied, her attention fixed on the platter of roast potatoes she was dishing up.
“Do you think we could find some time to talk later?” Steph looked up and a flicker of concern crossed her face. “It’s just that there’s something happening at work that I need your help with.”
“Of course, honey.”
Lucy smiled. Everything was still leaning towards pear-shaped, but perhaps with Steph’s help she would manage to sort it all out.
Chapter 24
Chloe
It was impossible to enjoy soaking in the bath after what had happened. The adrenalin crash had left Chloe feeling anything but mighty, and the water was too cold to save with a top-up. She gave up after a few minutes of bobbing about, got out, dried off, and went about the business of cleaning up the water on the floor.
She knew she was in a five-star hotel and all she needed to do was phone housekeeping, but the task would allow her to get out of her head and focus on something she could control.
But as she sopped up the last of the water and threw the sodden towels into the bathtub, she gave up on clearing her mind. Nothing was going to cut through her whirlwind of thoughts and the nauseating feeling they left in their wake.
She simply couldn’t ignore that Archer’s ex-girlfriend had shown up in his—rather, their—hotel room, or that she’d felt entitled to do that. Or that she’d seen Chloe naked!
She glanced at the clock on the bedside table. Archer had been gone a little more than an hour. If Madison hadn’t shown up, she would have been slathering herself in high-end toiletries and ordering room service by now.
She eyed the bed, surveying the wreckage. They’d managed to make quite a mess of those high-thread-count sheets and that fluffy doona; most of the bedding was trailing onto the floor. Ordinarily, she’d have tidied it up before housekeeping arrived, but a more pressing thought took hold.
What would it have looked like to Madison? she wondered.
“It would have looked like he’d made mad, passionate love to some other than her,” Chloe said aloud. No wonder Madison had behaved like a bear with a thorn in its paw. She’d probably thought she would sneak into Archer’s room first thing in the morning and climb into bed with him.
Chloe’s stomach lurched. She didn’t want anyone to crawl into Archer’s bed ever again—except her.
“Well, bugger,” she muttered to herself. She was completely smitten with the world’s biggest film star.
Housekeeping called mid-morning to ask when it would be a good time to service the room. Chloe, who’d been biding her time by scrolling her social media accounts, welcomed the prompt to leave the room, and situated herself in the Rotunda Lounge downstairs where she nibbled on a £20 croissant.
It was excellent and so were the strawberry jam and butter she slathered onto it and the pot of breakfast tea, which she finished. And apparently, in a swanky hotel in inner London, it was not called English breakfast tea—that part was implied. In any case, it was perfect—strong with a heady scent and served with a small jug of Jersey’s creamiest milk.
But even a delicious breakfast couldn’t distract her from a series of vicious thoughts. What if this is just a bit of fun for Archer? What if he’s with me to make Madison jealous? What if I never see him again after this holiday?
Eventually, it was time to go back to the room, which she did to find it in pristine condition with all the amenities replenished. She checked her appearance in the large mirror that ran the length of the two-sink vanity, then looked herself in the eye.
“Right, Chloe Sims. When he gets back, you are telling Archer how you feel. And if he doesn’t feel the same way, you’re getting on a bus straight back to Oxfordshire, and you will spend the next few days having a lovely time with Max and Susan before getting on that plane.”
The pep talk did little to assuage the turmoil she was in, however, and she spent the rest of the time waiting for Archer reading a book she’d brought with her—well, staring
