Chapter 20 #2
‘Because you still love her and it’s you that can’t move on?
’ she suggested. ‘Oh, don’t look at me like that.
It’s hardly a secret. I think you’re wrong, Danny.
I think you should put Kirsty out of your mind.
Just because she hasn’t remarried doesn’t mean she doesn’t have someone else in her life. It doesn’t mean she hasn’t let you go.’
‘If Kirsty had someone else Rory would have told me,’ Danny said firmly. ‘It must mean that she’s still clinging to my memory, and I have to help her with that. I have to see her. It’s the only way to help her.’
Brooke sighed. Danny was fooling himself. Kirsty wasn’t clinging to his memory at all. She was married to his big brother and had well and truly let Danny go.
The truth was, Kirsty had let Danny go a long time ago. That’s what had caused all this mess in the first place.
* * *
Brooke
Saturday February 16 2008
The party was in full swing, and Brooke had had a lot of fun giggling at other people’s costumes and taking their mockery over her own costume with good humour.
‘Does Lee Hardwick really think he looks like George Michael?’ she smirked, as she and Whitney Houston stood watching the office lothario, with his highlighted hair and fake tan, try his best to impress Kate Bush with his decidedly dodgy dance moves.
‘Of course he does. He thinks he can dance like him, too.’ Whitney, aka Saffron, rolled her eyes.
‘Talk about deluded.’ She sighed. ‘It’s a shame, but most of the men here look no better dressed as eighties pop stars than they do every day at work.
It’s hard to believe, but most of them actually look even worse. ’
They both watched in amusement as Boy George and Cyndi Lauper, who had been smooching with increasing passion over the last hour, finally gave in to their lust and headed upstairs to one of the hotel rooms.
‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,’ Saffron said enviously.
‘Don’t we just.’
‘There must be someone here we can cop off with. What about Simon Le Bon over there?’
‘He’s not supposed to be Simon Le Bon. He’s supposed to be Limahl.’
‘Who?’
‘Dunno,’ Brooke admitted. ‘I only recognise him cos my mum likes him. She says he sang a beautiful song that used to make her cry. Something about a never-ending story.’
‘Oh. My mum had a massive crush on Spandau Ballet.’
‘Which one?’
‘All of them I think.’ Saffron shrugged. ‘Now there’s some eye candy,’ she said suddenly, nudging Brooke. ‘Shame he’s married. The best ones always are.’
Brooke followed her gaze and her heart fluttered as she saw Danny in his Adam Ant costume, standing in the corner chatting to Prince and Tina Turner. Even to her biased eyes he was easily the most attractive man in the room, with his dark hair, brown eyes, and chiselled cheekbones.
‘I’d Stand and Deliver for him any day,’ Saffron said with a giggle. ‘He’s a proper Prince Charming.’ She nudged Brooke mischievously. ‘Get it? We’d make sweet Ant Music together for sure.’
‘What are you on about?’
‘Haven’t you heard any Adam and the Ants songs? My mum had all the albums. In fact,’ she added gloomily, ‘she’s obsessed with 1980s music. I grew up hearing nothing else. I was a deprived child.’
‘Yeah, yeah, all right. Anyway, stop drooling over him. Like you said, he’s married.’
‘Stop being a Goody Two-Shoes! All right, all right.’ Saffron threw up her hands in surrender. ‘I’ll stop, promise. Can’t think of any more Adam Ant hits anyway. Don’t you think he’s fanciable though? Come on, you must see—’
‘He’s married to my cousin,’ Brooke said dully.
Saffron’s eyes widened. ‘Seriously? You’re related to him? Ooh, lucky you.’
‘Only by marriage. And what’s lucky about it?’
‘Well, you must get to see him socially, outside work.’
‘Why should I care about that?’
‘All right, keep your hair on.’ She laughed and lightly patted Brooke’s heavily lacquered hair, which was stuck up at all angles and finished off with a floppy red bow. ‘How long did it take you to get this look right anyway? Bet you used a whole can of Silvikrin on that.’
‘And then some. I should have bought a wig,’ Brooke said. ‘At least I could have just taken that off tonight. I have a feeling it’s going to take at least three showers before my hair feels normal again.’
‘Ooh, hold up, he’s coming over.’ Saffron’s eyes gleamed as Danny approached. ‘Are you going to introduce me to your cousin-in-law?’
‘Sure.’ Brooke gave her a sweet smile. As Danny arrived at her side she said, ‘Danny, this is Whitney Houston. She was just admiring your tassels.’
Danny flushed, as Saffron dug Brooke in the ribs.
‘My what?’
‘On your boots,’ Brooke said sweetly. ‘Weren’t you, Whitney?’
‘Saffron,’ said her friend through gritted teeth. ‘Hi, Danny. I don’t think we’ve ever really spoken to each other before. I work in reception with Brooke.’
‘Oh, right. Yeah, I think I’ve seen you around,’ he said, giving her a polite smile. He turned to Brooke. ‘Are you okay? Having a good time?’
‘It’s all right,’ Brooke said. ‘That bozo George Michael has been getting on our nerves, making lewd suggestions, but other than that…’
‘Which one’s he?’ Danny asked, scanning the room.
‘Lee Hardwick.’
Danny nodded. ‘Oh, him! I know who you mean. Total dickhead. Well known for it upstairs. Do you want me to have a word with him?’
Brooke smiled. ‘No, it’s okay thanks. We can handle him.’
‘Thinks he’s God’s gift to women,’ Saffron purred, ‘when anyone can see the good Lord has bestowed far more precious gifts on womankind than the likes of him.’
Brooke’s lips tightened as she saw Saffron distinctly batting her eyelashes at Danny. Good grief! The woman was shameless. It was gratifying to see that Danny no more responded to her flirting than he ever had to Brooke’s.
In fact, his only response was to take out his mobile phone and check it, leaving Saffron looking distinctly unimpressed.
‘Has she sent you a text?’ Brooke asked.
Danny sighed. ‘No. I sent her one about forty minutes ago asking if she was okay, but she hasn’t replied.’
‘Who are you talking about?’ Saffron queried.
‘His wife,’ Brooke said pointedly. ‘She couldn’t come tonight as she’s not very well.’
‘Oh. Shame.’
‘It is,’ Danny agreed. ‘I’d ring her, but I don’t want to disturb her if she’s asleep. She did say she was going to get an early night, so I suppose I should stop worrying and leave her in peace. It’s hard, though. I miss her.’
Saffron looked positively disgusted at this revelation.
‘Yeah, well, I’ve just spotted Bryan Adams over there – or is it Bruce Springsteen? Anyway, in the absence of anyone better I think I’ll pootle over and say hello.’ She rolled her eyes at Brooke. ‘Catch you later.’
Danny didn’t even notice her leave. He was still looking at his mobile phone, a frown on his face. ‘What do you think?’
‘About what?’
‘About whether I should ring Kirsty!’ he said impatiently.
Brooke tutted and took the phone from his hand. ‘For goodness’ sake, Danny. She’s got an upset stomach not typhoid fever. Go and get me a drink if you want something to do.’
He nodded sheepishly. ‘I guess you’re right. What do you want?’
‘At this point I’m past caring. Surprise me.’
‘Fair enough.’ He turned and headed across the room towards the bar, and Brooke sighed and gave the mobile phone a disdainful look, wondering if she dared chuck it out of the window and pretend she’d put it down somewhere and lost it.
Knowing Danny, though, he’d order the music to be stopped and demand a thorough search until it was found.
He couldn’t be cut off from his precious Kirsty for a whole night, after all.
Evidently seeing her on her own, Lee Hardwick shimmied his way over to her. He looked wide-eyed and excited.
‘What’s a beautiful girl like you doing here all by yourself?’ he asked.
‘Waiting for a bus home,’ she said sarkily.
‘Come and have a dance,’ he said. ‘You and me would be amazing together. I’ll bet you know some moves, right? I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.’
‘Oh, bore off, Lee,’ she said with a sigh.
‘Oh I see, too good for me are you?’ Lee sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand, an action which made him even less attractive to her if that were possible.
‘Sod you then. I’ve had enough of you stuck up bitches anyway.
I’m going home. This is a crap party and I’ve got better places to be. ’
He stared at her as if waiting for her to plead with him to change his mind. She was about to tell him to clear off then and good riddance, when the phone in her hand beeped and she glanced down and saw a message from an unknown number. An MMS picture message no less! Someone had money to burn.
Without even thinking about it, she opened the message. Danny had no password on his phone and if he didn’t want people to look at his messages, he should put one on, shouldn’t he? Either that or not leave his mobile in the hands of someone who was incurably nosy.
‘Is that your mummy checking you’re behaving yourself?’ Lee waved his hand in disgust. ‘I’m off. Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance.’
Brooke was barely aware of him walking away as she stared in total shock at the photo she was looking at.
Kirsty!
And not just Kirsty. Kirsty with a man who definitely wasn’t Danny, lying in a bed that, unless Brooke was very much mistaken, was hers and Danny’s, looking all flushed and hot, with mussed up bed hair, as if she’d just been…
She was asleep by the looks of it, but the man with her clearly wasn’t. He was the one taking the photo, and he had a smug look on his face that Brooke would have happily swiped off on Danny’s behalf.
Brooke stared at the picture, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Kirsty had told Danny that she was too ill to come to the party, and had told him to go without her. She was going to get an early night, she’d said. She hadn’t picked up Danny’s messages all evening.