Chapter 41
JAKE
I rested my guitar down on the daybed in our villa’s garden and exhaled.
Another song written.
That made six this week, which was a new record.
It was always impossible to predict how long composing a song would take. Some of my biggest hits were penned in minutes. Others I’d mulled over for weeks, months and even had a couple that I’d started, but only been able to go back and finish years later.
But over the past few days, the words had flowed right out of me and straight onto the page.
I wrote that first song about Halle on Monday once we’d got back from Venice Beach.
On Tuesday, she was gone for a couple of hours doing Sammie and Jasmine’s nails and during that time I wrote another.
But on Wednesday night after Halle and I got back from checking out some farmers’ markets in Malibu and watching surfers at the popular Surfrider beach, magic happened.
I’d told her I was gonna take her advice, call Roger and ask to meet so I could collect my guitar because I was on a roll with the songwriting.
But when I’d opened the door and stepped inside the villa, my eyes popped because right there, propped up on the sofa, was my guitar.
Halle had looked up the company Roger worked for and called him to ask if he could drop it off at the hotel because she knew it would help me write.
Damn.
I stood there in shock for minutes before I could speak. That was one of the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful things anyone had ever done for me.
Once I’d made sure I showed Halle my gratitude, I’d put her to bed, then taken my guitar, phone, notepad and a lamp to the beach.
I’d walked to the same hammock we’d used on Monday, sat in it and with just the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the light from the lamp, I’d written two more songs. Another one about Halle and one about Minnie.
Although I didn’t get to bed until five in the morning yesterday, I made sure I woke up to have breakfast with Halle. I’d ordered some waffles and pancakes from the Love Hotel’s restaurant to be delivered to our villa.
After devouring breakfast, we’d gone for a walk on the beach, before relaxing by the pool at our villa. Then whilst she did the nails for a guest who’d seen Sammie’s nails and asked if Halle could do the same design on hers, I’d liaised with Sammie to set up my final date with Halle tonight.
Yep. Today was Friday: our last full day at the hotel.
My stomach sank. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Halle. She meant too much to me.
But we’d agreed that it was only temporary, so I couldn’t go back on my word. I really wanted to, but it wouldn’t be fair to Halle.
Yeah, I’d written these songs, but I still had to find a way to record, distribute and market them and that would be intense and time-consuming. Halle deserved someone who could give her all the attention in the world and who lived in the same state as her. And that wasn’t me.
That was why I had to make sure tonight’s date was something she’d remember forever, for all the right reasons.
What I was planning was ambitious, but thankfully Sammie said her partner Romeo and a French Love Alchemist guy I hadn’t met, called Claude, had the skills I needed to pull everything off. I hoped she was right.
My cell buzzed and my jaw tensed. This morning was the first time I’d turned it on it two days.
On Wednesday, Wilma had called again, demanding that I reveal Halle’s identity immediately. I refused. She called back and I told her no again. But when she called a third time, I switched it off.
The only reason I’d switched it on again was because Halle had another request to do a guest’s nails and she didn’t know when she’d be back so said she’d call to update me and the phone in the villa wasn’t working properly.
I was so damn proud of Halle. She was killing it with all the nails she’d done. Just like I knew she would.
When the first guest request came in, she was gonna turn it down because she said we were on holiday and she wanted to spend the time with me, but I reminded her that this was her future and I wanted her to succeed.
Plus, I might’ve offered to congratulate her with my tongue if she accepted the job… That incentive seemed to work. And whilst she was gone, I wrote another song, so it worked out well for both of us.
We worked well together. Everything felt so… effortless. There was no drama, we just connected on every level.
My cell stopped ringing, then started again. I’d gotten so distracted thinking about Halle that I’d forgotten to even look at it.
It was Wilma.
Fuck it. I’d be leaving the hotel tomorrow, so I’d call her back once I’d left. I wasn’t gonna let her ruin my mood or my last day here with Halle.
I switched off the phone. Halle would try and call but hopefully when she couldn’t get through, she’d just come back to the villa.
About an hour later, the villa door opened.
‘Hey!’ Halle waved, then walked out to the garden. ‘You’re here! I was trying to call you.’
‘Yeah, sorry.’ I got up to kiss her. ‘My cell was on but Wilma called again, so I switched it off.’
‘She still hassling you about posting a proper photo of me?’
‘Yep.’
‘Maybe I could…’
‘No,’ I said firmly. ‘You’ve already done enough. It’s fine. We’ll be leaving tomorrow, so…’
My words lingered in the air and our eyes locked. I wondered if she was dreading saying goodbye forever as much as I was.
‘How’d it go with your customer?’ I changed the subject.
‘Amazing!’ Halle beamed. ‘She was so happy and asked if I’d have time to do her girlfriend’s nails too for their final date tonight too.
They’re the cutest couple. Apparently, they hit it off straightaway and put a label on their relationship by day two.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they got engaged tonight! ’
‘Wow.’
‘She said, when you know, you know…’ Halle held my gaze. ‘Anyway, I said I couldn’t because I had my own match to spend time with.’
‘You should do it!’ I said. ‘Just think of the extra photos you’ll get to add to your portfolio. And, if I’m honest, I need to spend a couple of hours preparing for our date tonight.’
‘Oooh, I’m dying to know what you’ve got planned. Can’t you give me a little hint?’
‘Nope. It’s a surprise. But I think you’ll like it. At least I hope so.’
‘Aaargh! Such a tease! You won’t tell me anything about all the songs you’ve been writing this week and now you won’t tell me about our date! How will I know what to wear if I don’t know where we’re going?’
‘Doesn’t matter what you wear. You’ll look beautiful.’
‘Such a smooth talker!’ Halle wrapped her arms around my waist, then kissed me softly. I was just about to lift her onto the daybed and ask her if she wanted a little afternoon delight, when the doorbell rang.
‘Dammit,’ I groaned. ‘Talk about bad timing. I’ll be right back.’
I strode to the door and when I opened it, my jaw crashed to the ground.
‘Good afternoon, sir, Ms Beaker is here to see you. I tried to call but your phone was off and the villa phone wasn’t working and she said it was an emergency so I decided to escort her—’
‘I’ll take it from here.’ Wilma jumped in before pushing past the staff member, stepping inside the villa and slamming the door behind her.
‘What the fuck are you doing here?’ I spat, my heart thundering against my ribcage.
‘You’ve been avoiding my calls,’ she poked at my chest with her finger, ‘so I had to come and find you. Is that her?’ Wilma strained her neck to look out onto the patio where Halle was relaxing on the daybed.
‘Jake, she’s a fucking babe! Why aren’t you putting photos of her online?
’ She reached in her purse, pulled out her cell, then headed towards Halle.
‘Don’t you fucking dare, Wilma!’ I shouted, racing in front of her. ‘Baby!’ I called out, in desperation, deliberately not using Halle’s name. I didn’t want Wilma to know anything about her. ‘Go to the bedroom.’
‘Jake?’ Halle came rushing in. ‘What’s wrong? Who’s this?’
‘This is Wilma. Go! She’s gonna try and take photos of you!’ I held out my arms and stood in front of Halle, trying to shield her.
‘She’d better get used to the photos. When you guys appear on your reality show together, there’ll be a lot more of them. The press are gonna love her!’
‘Reality show?’ Halle moved from behind me, concern etched all over her face. ‘What reality show? What’s she talking about, Jake?’
‘You didn’t tell her?’ Wilma laughed.
‘No, I… it was irrelevant,’ I stuttered, the blood draining from my veins.
‘I think it’s pretty relevant to explain that she’s about to be thrust into the limelight.
We’ve got two production companies keen to have talks about giving you your own show, but they needed to see how she looked first. And now I’ve seen your mystery lady for myself, there won’t be a problem.
She’s pretty and she’s exotic, which will help the show appeal to a wider audience. ’
‘Exotic?’ I ground my jaw. ‘She’s a person, not a piece of fucking fruit! Don’t be disrespectful.’
‘Reality show?’ Halle repeated.
‘It’s not how it sounds, baby,’ I protested.
‘I don’t want to be in a reality show!’
‘Awww,’ Wilma said in a condescending tone.
‘Don’t tell me you thought all of this was for real, honey?
Jake didn’t come here to fall in love. He came to relaunch his career.
We planned it all together: he pretends to fall in love to get a TV show, you guys get engaged, sell the story to the media, meanwhile he just happens to mention that he’s working on some new music and boom!
He gets a record deal. Then once everything’s set up, the endorsements roll in and you’ve made enough cash, then you two put out a statement on social media to say that after a lot of soul searching, you’ve decided to break up.
Then you’ll both go your separate ways, significantly richer, of course! ’
Halle blinked rapidly, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly like a hungry goldfish as she struggled to speak.