CHAPTER 21
Hollywood actor Spencer Torres flew back from London to the west of Ireland early this morning and went straight to Mayo’s Linford Castle where he’s making his new movie.
Spencer was spotted at the weekend in a popular Soho nightclub with friends – dancer Ben Colbert and model Megan Wilson with whom he’s been romantically linked.
The American actor – whose previous movies include Not Right Now, and Why Don’t We Do This? – took a break from filming An Irish Inheritance when Afric Brooks was rushed to hospital after burning her hand during filming.
Emily was in Jess’s office when she arrived in the following Monday. She jumped up a bit guiltily from Jess’s chair, as Jess made her way into the room, put her coffee on the desk and let her bag slide off her shoulder onto the floor.
“Sorry, I hope you don’t mind. I knew it’d be quiet in here but I can go now.”
Jess waved her back down. “Don’t go! If I’d known you were here I’d have brought you a coffee. What’s the news about Afric? I was just about to go and see Anthony.”
“He’s on a day off,” Emily said. “But I heard Afric’s still in a bit of pain so they won’t be filming again until tomorrow. And they’re having to change the script because her hand is bandaged.”
Jess nodded. “I was reading something in the Gazette but I’d say it’s all over the media. I was talking to Anthony over the weekend. Apparently he got an emergency electrician in to replace some cable and check everything else is safe. Some of the insulation had got damaged.”
“Yeah.” Emily sighed.
Jess sat down in the other chair. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Emily twisted her hands together in her lap. “You probably have loads to do, I should go.”
“Or you could stay for another few minutes and talk to me.”
Emily was silent for a moment. “Have you heard people calling me names?” she blurted out.
“Like what?” Jess stared at her.
“Some of the staff call me Barbie.” Colour flashed to her cheeks. “And I don’t think it’s just because of my hair.”
A memory of Robert’s slightly unkind description of her slid to mind.
Emily could be a bit ditzy, but he’d seemed somewhat contemptuous.
On the other hand, Jess knew she’d been quite protective of the younger woman when she’d worked in head office, so she could be reading way too much into Robert’s peroxide-blonde comment.
Still, she knew Emily was right – people did judge her by her appearance.
“So, I get that my hair is really blonde now, and that I spend, like, a good bit of money on clothes and makeup and manicures.” Emily shrugged. “That’s just self-care, right? And I can’t help it that I’m tall and skinny. I take after my dad. Well, except for the bald bit. And not being a man.”
Jess hid a smile.
“Maybe they’ve given you a nickname because they like you?”
Emily shot her a disappointed look. “It’s not just the nickname, you see.”
“Did something happen recently?” Jess asked. Maybe some of the young staff were jealous because of Emily’s part in the movie, she thought.
“You’re going to think it’s stupid.”
“Not if it’s bothering you.”
Emily sighed. “Dermot is treating me like a kid sister and I really like him, Jess. Like, I know I have a shit record with men but I’ve a really good feeling about him and he’s not taking the hint.”
“It could mean he’s already in a relationship,” Jess said gently. “Why don’t you just get to know him a bit better and then you can bring it up naturally?”
“Not sure it’ll make any difference.” Emily looked uncomfortable. “Especially if he thinks I’m a tease.”
Jess’s coffee went down the wrong way. “Why would he think that?” she managed, when she finally stopped coughing.
“Because …” Emily hesitated. “A couple of weeks after I first moved here, I started hearing rumours that I was a tease. Like, they made no sense. But then they stopped, so I kind of forgot about them.” She chewed on her lip.
“The other day I heard some of the staff talking. They didn’t know I could hear them. ”
“And you’ve no idea who might have started the rumours?”
Emily shook her head. “Like, it’s not as if I’ve been hooking up with every guy in the village. I’ve barely even dated anyone since I arrived – except for that blind date with Susie.”
“So most people will know it’s bullshit, Emily. Ignore it.”
“Yeah, but maybe this party is a bad idea, Jess.” Emily’s voice faltered.
“It’s a great idea, Em.” Jess thought fast. “Everyone I’ve told about it is really excited.” Not exactly the truth. A complete lie, in fact. But it was going to be a total success, so it didn’t matter.
“That’s great.” Emily gave a small smile.
“And stop worrying about Dermot,” Jess added. “If he believes those rumours, he’s not that smart.”
“Sometimes I don’t think I’m that smart, Jess.”
“Hey!” Jess shook her head and then looked straight into Emily’s face. “You work for the Charleston Group, remember?” When Emily still didn’t look convinced, she added, “You gave me the heads-up about that weird video Chelsea posted the morning of her wedding. Your instincts were bang on!”
“I suppose.” Emily brightened a bit. “Hey, how’s it going with you and Robert?”
Jess shrugged. “Good. Maybe we’ll stay in touch when I go back to Dublin.”
“Oh my God, I’m so happy for you!”
Jess laughed. “It’s nothing serious, Em!
He’s nice, that’s all.” He was nice, she thought.
What was happening between them felt unhurried.
After they’d shared a taxi home the previous night, Jess had briefly considered asking him in, before she realised that it’d be for the wrong reason.
Part of her wanted to prove that she’d moved on, and it wasn’t fair to use Robert like that.
The real win, she’d realised, as they’d stood wrapped in each other’s arms outside Ivy Cottage, was that for several long minutes – while Robert had let her know exactly how attracted he was to her – she hadn’t thought about Adam.
Not until she’d let herself into the Cottage, closed the door behind her and experienced a brief moment of panic when she had compared him with Adam, and had wondered if she was always going to compare every man with Adam.
“And that’s enough about me,” she said firmly. “You free to hang out some time this week?”
“Totally.” Emily opened the door. “And I’m making my acting debut! Maybe I can dazzle Dermot with my acting skills.” She gave a little wave and left.
Jess sat down at her desk. She was pretty sure that if Emily had settled in better since her move, she’d be able to ignore stupid rumours about herself. She just wished her confidence wasn’t taking such a battering.
Her mobile rang and she swiped a finger quickly across the screen. “Mam? How are things?”
“Good, now,” Carmel said. “Hang on, I’ll just turn down the music. I’m heading out shortly to take your nana shopping, and I thought I’d give you a quick call.”
“Right.” Jess tried to think if her mother had ever taken her nana shopping before. She didn’t think so. Moira was very independent and she liked the daily routine of getting out to the shops. “Is Nana okay, Mam?”
“She’s in great form,” Carmel said. “I’m taking her to buy some new clothes, that’s all. Which is why I’m phoning. She’s decided to have her birthday party this weekend. You’ll be able to get home for it, won’t you?”
“Uh, sure.” Jess tried to remember if Moira had mentioned anything when she’d called her after she’d got out of hospital. “Why is she having it so early, Mam? Her birthday’s not until August.”
There was a slight pause. “Oh, she wants to have some friends to it, and this probably suits them better. Anyway, when you get to Nana’s age, you can have a birthday party whenever you want.”
“What about Zoe?” Jess said. “It’s a bit last minute to ask her to get back from Vegas.”
“I know.” Carmel cleared her throat. “I did check with her but she won’t make it. She’ll do some Facetime with your nana instead.”
Moira was getting more eccentric by the day, Jess thought, smiling. Still, it’d be a perfect opportunity to get home for a weekend and see her family. “Can I do anything?”
“Not a thing, love! I’m hiring a cleaner beforehand and caterers on the day. Sometimes you have to throw a bit of money at things. Now, I want to hear how things are with you. Have you met any nice people down there?”
Jess immediately thought of Robert. She knew her mother had worried when she and Simon had called off their wedding.
And she’d stood by her when Jess had announced she was pregnant with Adam’s baby and was going to give their relationship a chance.
But she didn’t think she was ready to hear she’d met someone else.
“Everyone’s lovely, Mam,” Jess said. “One of the girls who used to work in head office is working here now, so we’ve been hanging out a lot.”
“Oh, that’s great, Jess.” Carmel sounded relieved. “Girlfriends are so important, and I know you must be missing Kate. Did I tell you I bumped into úna the other day?”
“No, you didn’t.” úna was Simon’s mother, and Jess hadn’t seen her since their aborted wedding day. They had never really seen eye to eye, but Jess knew her heart had been in the right place. She also knew that Kate loved her and would be a far better daughter-in-law than Jess would have been.
“We had a little chat. We’ve been getting on much better since you and Simon decided not to go through with things. I asked her how the wedding plans were going, and she said that she and Kate are planning everything together.”
Jess took a moment to digest this. “I’m really glad. Simon deserves to be happy.”
“I know he does.”
There was a pause and Jess got the impression Carmel wanted to say something else.
When she didn’t, Jess said, “I’d better go, but I’m having a great time down here. It’s a bit like a holiday. I’ll see you at the weekend.”
“That’s great. Bye, love. Bye, bye, bye!” Carmel hung up.
Jess frowned. What had her mother wanted to say? That she wished Jess could have been happy with Simon? That she hadn’t slept with Adam on her hen weekend? Or that she hadn’t messed up her life so spectacularly?
She sighed and sent Kate a quick text. Hey, back in Dublin for the w/end. Fancy Sunday lunch in Bewley’s? Xx
A few minutes later, Kate replied Grt, c u 12.30?
It’d be good to catch up with Kate too. Phone calls were great but she hadn’t found the right time to tell her about Robert. Until now it had felt too soon.
But after a goodnight kiss that had almost become something else, they’d definitely shifted out of the friend zone. And she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that.