‘Are you serious?’ Jenna turned to face her. She lowered her voice, even with the amount of background chatter and Lily and Amanda no longer listening in, she was aware of so many people surrounding them. ‘You set me up – the other evening at the hotel, you knew there’d be a photographer there, knew they’d be taking photos of us.’
‘I didn’t know that was going to happen, honestly I didn’t.’ She placed her hand on Jenna’s arm. She was still wearing the oversized silver ring Jenna had given her for her twenty-first birthday.
‘Really? You had nothing to do with it?’
Heidi’s eyes dropped from Jenna’s. ‘It wasn’t my idea. Milo had been talking about you and he kinda suggested that we should meet up, get all our past shit out in the open. It was something I’d been meaning to do anyway. I don’t want us to be like this, act like strangers and never talk.’
‘Well, you’ve been going about making amends in totally the wrong way, Heidi. All I see is you putting your career first, every single time. It’s the reason you’re cosying up to Milo, despite thinking he was with me.’
Heidi shook her head. ‘You’ve got that wrong. Don’t forget, I know you, Jen. I knew you weren’t into Milo. Yeah he’s good looking but he’s not your type.’
‘And what’s he been saying to you? That I’m not interested in him or simply that he likes you more?’
‘He’s the biggest flirt on the planet, Jenna. He flirted with you, he’s flirting with me. He flirts with everyone. You’re not actually with him and I’m single, so there’s no problem, is there?’
‘So, if you’re heading home tomorrow, is whatever you’re supposed to have with Milo over?’
‘Nope, I’m coming back on Friday, going to stay until the end of the shoot and then head back to London.’
‘And so what’s the actual deal with you and Milo? Are you sleeping with him?’ Jenna held her gaze, wondering if she was going to lie to her about that as well.
‘Does it really matter if I am or not?’
Jenna bit her lip. She had no clue if Heidi knew if Milo was gay. And how far would he take things to make the press believe his cover story? After all he really had kissed Heidi. Jenna sighed, it wasn’t her problem. Heidi was a big girl; she could deal with Milo Blake on her own.
‘I hear you’ve said no to The Love Hotel.’
Jenna swung back to Heidi. ‘How the hell do you know?’
‘Tabitha told me.’ She glanced sideways at Jenna and stuck her fork in a piece of chicken. ‘Our agents talk, Jen. They work in the same flipping office. Are you sure you don’t want to do it?’
‘I’m certain; the relief I felt once I told Beth was immense.’
‘We could have been on it together. How much fun would that be?’
‘You’re doing it?’ Jenna shook her head. ‘I should have known.’
‘Not for definite, no. Tabitha’s setting up a meeting with the producers. She’s convinced they’ll be gutted that you’ve pulled out...’
‘And let me guess, she’s going to sell you as the alternative; Milo’s new fling; a sexy blonde actress.’ Jenna threw her fork down on her half-finished plate of food. ‘Oh Heidi, I really hope you know what you’re doing.’
~
Jenna thought she knew Heidi. They’d clicked from the minute they’d met at drama school, and instead of being rivals they’d become firm friends. But when she really thought back on their friendship, there had been signs of a rivalry from early on. Just little things in the way Heidi would draw attention to herself – if they were both wearing skirts, Heidi’s would be shorter; if they found themselves among a group of blokes on a night out, Heidi would be louder and flirt more. Jenna had always put it down to personality – despite them both being drama students, Heidi was more outgoing, the attention seeker. And over the years, despite Carla being the opposite of both her and Heidi, Jenna realised now they’d built a stronger bond. She was dependable and straightforward. Maybe it was easier because being so different there never was any risk of rivalry. She also knew that Carla fancied Heidi. It was the big boobs and big personality, and even if she fancied Jenna, she hid it well, knowing that their friendship came first and she didn’t want to ruin that.
Jenna had no clue how she and Heidi were ever going to repair their friendship, or if they ever would. Without a doubt their relationship had changed and the closeness they once had was gone forever. She was relieved when Heidi was wrapped that afternoon and on her way back to London. She was one less thing to contend with. The remaining days ticked by, the countdown to the end, and there were tears when each of the cast wrapped. The end of the summer brought the end of an unforgettable few weeks’ filming.
It was also her last chance with Finn. Since he’d gutted the fireplace, the dirty, dust-filled room had been stripped bare and cleaned, the walls had been plastered and an undercoat had been put on. With early call times all week she’d been out before Finn and Gary arrived in the morning and got back after they’d left, the only evidence they’d been at the cottage the smell of wet paint.
On Thursday she was unexpectedly wrapped early and with her heart beating in anticipation of catching Finn before he left, she drove straight back to the cottage. The van was still in the drive. Jenna parked next to it and walked up the path. She wondered if Finn would be on his own, but wasn’t sure if she’d prefer Gary to
