‘It can be soul destroying, can’t it.’ Jenna sipped her lemonade. ‘It’s good to have the security of a steady job for a few weeks at least.’
‘I am beginning to think what to do come September though,’ Lily said. ‘I don’t have anything lined up, do you?’
‘Shush.’ Jenna put her finger to her lips and grinned. ‘Not tonight, let’s not stress about it, there’ll be plenty of time for that. This evening is about enjoying ourselves.’
A group walked into the beer garden, their laughter and voices arriving before they did. They looked like surfers, in board shorts and Ripcurl hoodies. There was one woman with them, her arm around the waist of one of the blokes, his arm resting across her shoulder.
It was the tallest bloke who caught Jenna’s attention with his windswept hair, beard, and tattoos snaking down one arm. As they reached an empty table the familiarity of his features became clear.
Chapter Thirteen
Finn was the tallest of his friends and also the best looking. Although he was unassuming when you talked to him, from afar it was his looks that caught people’s attention. Jenna clocked a few other women looking in his direction. Almost as if he was a film star. Finn clambered over the bench at the table on the other side of the garden, sat down and caught Jenna’s eye. He smiled and waved.
‘Who’s that?’ Amanda asked.
‘The builder.’
‘He’s your builder?’
‘Well, not my builder. Him and his dad are the builders working on the cottage.’
‘Why are you going red?’ Lily clasped her fingers around the stem of her wine glass and leant closer. ‘Oh. My. Goodness. You like him, don’t you?’
‘I can see why. Easy on the eye is an understatement.’ Amanda whistled and folded her arms.
‘I bet he’s a joy to watch working on the cottage, all hot and sweaty.’
Jenna shook her head. ‘What are you two like.’
‘Living out the excitement of being single through you. I mean with him and Milo, you are one lucky lucky lady. Milo’s all over you at work.’ Amanda nodded in Finn’s direction. ‘Bet it’s the same back at the cottage with him.’
Lily looked at Amanda. ‘Oh, to have so many men falling at my feet.’
Jenna swung her legs over the picnic bench and stood up. ‘I don’t have men falling at my feet. You have no clue. That “thing” with Milo isn’t what everybody thinks. And Finn,’ Jenna lowered her voice and avoided looking in the direction of Finn and his friends, ‘is a lovely normal bloke and is pretty bloody sensible steering clear of us neurotic actors.’
She walked away weaving between tables across the spongy grass, going the longer way round to avoid Finn. Inside, the pub was traditional and cosy with beamed ceilings and thick stone walls that probably held the heat out like Bramble Cottage, but packed with people and on a still and hot evening, it was roasting inside.
‘A Budweiser, please.’ She’d been good and stuck to lemonade but one bottle of beer would be fine for her to drive back.
She had no idea why Amanda’s comment had got under her skin so much. Well, she did. The thing with Milo had annoyed the hell out of her and she hated that Finn had got the wrong idea.
Amanda appeared next to her at the bar and slid her arm around her waist. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take the piss. I wasn’t thinking. And yes, us actors can be neurotic and hard to live with. My boyfriend is a saint putting up with me.’
‘He’s not an actor?’
‘A financial advisor. Go figure.’
The barman passed Jenna her bottle of lager and she handed him the money.
Amanda hooked her arm in Jenna’s as they made their way back across the pub. ‘I love my boyfriend to bits but I always think how exciting it would be to be single and have the opportunity to have a fling with an actor. I think I’m living my fantasies about Milo Blake through you. Sorry if I’ve been a bit full on.’
They emerged back into the beer garden. The air was warm but fresher outside.
‘You don’t have to apologise; I overreacted. I don’t know why I’m feeling so uptight about everything. Milo’s messing with my head...’ They joined Lily back at the table and Jenna placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘Sorry for getting upset.’
Amanda took Jenna’s hand. ‘How’s he messing with it? Your head?’
Jenna bit her lip. She was conflicted about telling them the truth and exposing Milo when it was obviously a secret. Yet, without explaining it, it simply looked like she was making a huge fuss over one of the hottest actors on the planet giving her attention and no one understood that.
‘When you said before that I like Finn, it’s true. But I really like him.’
Lily raised her eyebrows and looked in Finn’s direction. ‘The builder?’
‘Yeah, the builder. Which is why I don’t want to get involved with Milo.’ It was partly the truth and hopefully it would stop them from pushing the point further and avoid her spilling the beans about Milo and Timothy. The possible consequences about the truth being revealed and her being the one to reveal it unnerved her.
‘I can see the appeal,’ Amanda said. ‘I mean they’re both hot as hell but in different ways. They’re like chalk and cheese. Blonde-haired, bearded surfer type guy, compared to dark-haired brooding Hollywood actor. What a choice.’
Lily picked up her wine. ‘Why don’t you go over and talk to him.’
‘He’s with his mates.’
‘So?’
Jenna sipped her Budweiser. ‘We kinda had a thing.’
‘You’ve slept with him?’ Lily nearly spat out a mouthful of wine.
‘No, nothing like that. We had, like, the briefest of kisses on that really hot day last week. You know the day we wrapped filming early because of the heat. We were sitting out on the grass at the cottage and he just kissed me. And then
