Chapter 36
Erica
Travelling at a moment’s notice was a luxury Erica took for granted. Having the money to book a private charter helicopter had its benefits when she was nursing a broken heart. Erica was still on the tarmac when Archer’s text came through to say he still wanted to get married, and the deal was still on. Flying as the only passenger, she felt guilty. Erica contacted charities on the island to see if they needed anything transported to the mainland. While they were loading up, Erica debated speaking to Archer but couldn’t risk being overheard. Whatever he had to say could wait until she returned.
“Okay, that’s it, Miss Turner. I’m grateful for your kindness,” the man said after sticking his head through the door opening of the helicopter.
“No problem. We’ll bring back your deliveries in two weeks.”
“Fantastic. You’ve saved us so much money.”
“I’m happy to help,” she said, then slid on her sunglasses when the burly man stepped from the helicopter to stand away.
She prayed he was another man who didn’t know who she was.
The flight back to London seemed to take seconds, and they soon landed at London City Airport. She had a car waiting to take her to her house in Kensington. When Erica had left, dozens of journalists were crowding at her house’s front gates. Yet, as she stepped from the car, the road was quiet. London smelled different since she’d been gone. The island’s fresh air had changed her senses, and she craved it already. The driver came with her to the door, placed her overnight bag next to her, and waited until she opened the door.
Erica thanked him, and she was once again alone. Being alone in the cottage was relaxing and calming but alone in her large house, she felt lonely. Leaving her case at the foot of the stairs, Erica made her way through the open-plan living room and into the kitchen. The vastness struck her. Picking up her post, she took it to her study, which was the smallest room on the ground floor. Heading back to the kitchen to make a snack and a coffee, she smiled at the flowers in a vase, left by Yanny as a welcome home surprise. Unfortunately, the flowers didn’t smell as fragrant as those from the flower farm on Copper Island.
Sighing, she waited for the kettle to boil and told herself comparing everything to the equivalent on Copper Island would not ease the ache in her heart.
Erica settled on the sofa, read her post, and then tossed it to one side. She wasn’t comfortable, restless in her own space. Deciding to go to bed early, Erica rummaged in her handbag for her book, only to remember she’d put it down when she wrote the note for Archer.
*0 *
The following morning, Erica hoped for a better mood, but it didn’t come. It hadn’t rocked up when Yanny buzzed on her intercom.
She let him in through the gates and then greeted him on the threshold of her home with a hug.
“Are you okay?” Yanny asked her as he examined her face.
“Yeah, all good,” she said, attempting to keep the sigh from escaping.
“You haven’t told your face the message. It looks like someone took your favourite teddy away.”
Sighing, instantly remembering Archer’s dog and the cute teddy she’d held hostage that sat on her bed. She wondered if her heart was breaking. Archer thought she was acting the whole time. How could he believe that?
“My head is all over the place. Please tell me you have me busy for the next two weeks.”
Yanny led the way into the kitchen. He went to the coffee machine and helped himself to a cappuccino. Erica passed on caffeine and opted for water instead.
“You have meetings every day for the movie, dress fittings, script changes, you know the drill. Then, a couple of magazines are desperate to interview you, and then there’s your ex-husband.”
“Gregg? What about him?”
“He wants an audience.”
“Did he say why?”
“No, but I suspect it has to do with his relationship with the wench going off the radar?”
“Trouble in paradise? ”
“Possibly, but I have no idea what that has to do with you. You’re divorced. What can Gregg possibly want?”
“I suppose one meeting won’t hurt. Can we make it at a public place but inside?”
“Sure, what are you thinking, lunch?”
“Make it somewhere expensive next week. It will allow me to reacclimatise to London life before I face him. He’s going to want something. I just don’t know what it is.”
“I’ll squeeze it in. Tomorrow you have the fitting for your wedding dress,” Yanny continued with his list.
Another sigh escaped Erica. She’d talked with the dressmaker every few days, tweaking what she wanted. The dressmaker already had her measurements, and the fitting would ensure they’d translated. The lady making her wedding dress made all her red carpet gowns. Erica paid well enough that the dressmaker only worked for her, so it didn’t take long when she needed a dress. Erica chose a simple design to help with timings, but it was detailed enough to make her feel special, even if she felt like shit.
“What’s going on, Erica? Are you going to tell me why you came earlier than planned?”
“My profession never came up in conversation. Archer thought I was a writer because he saw me with a manuscript a few times. He never asked, and I never said. It was a fake arrangement, so we didn’t need to delve into our whole lives. Just know enough to fool his aunt.”
“Except?”
“His aunt knew exactly who I was and thoroughly disapproved of who I was. She called me a two-bit actress. I nearly took the bait but resisted. When we met with the vicar, we had to state our professions as she was new to the island and wasn’t sure if I was Erica Taylor, the actress, or not. When we got back to the cottage, Archer was furious. He now thinks I faked liking him, and then he told me he’d fallen in love with me.”
“Oh shit. That’s a lot to unpack. So he’s in love with you?”
“Yeah. The thing is, I think I fell a little bit in love with him too. I loved that he didn’t know I was Oscar-winning actress Erica Taylor. I hadn’t worn a scrap of make-up the whole time I was on the island. We got really close and spent time together every day. It felt so good, and now he thinks I don’t care about him.”
“Do you think you should go ahead with the wedding?”
“If it were the original deal, then I’d say yes.”
“But?”
“His aunt pulled me aside and said if I don’t stay married to him for a full year, she’ll write Archer and his siblings out of the will. She told me I couldn’t ever get divorced while she was alive. So getting their hands on the business is the only way they can be assured of staying together.”
“Four siblings that like each other? I don’t believe it.”
“His brother Jason tracked down my mobile number. He gave me the speech and said he would keep my secret safe. He didn’t need to, and really, I outed myself.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Go ahead with the wedding. We joked at the beginning if we hated each other, the house was big enough to live on opposite sides and not see each other.”
“That’s no life, Erica.”
“I know, but I feel responsible for their happiness.”
“And what about yours?”
“I spent five years with Gregg, and look how that ended.”
“So you’re going to give up a year of your life to rescue four people, three you have never met, because you feel obliged to carry through on a deal you made when you were lust drunk. You’ll also be breaking the law.”
“Yes.”
“Maybe time away will give you perspective. By the time you return, you’ll have a better view of what you’re going to do. I’ll stand by you no matter what, but I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t tell you I think you’re bonkers.”
“You’ll give me away, right?”
“Aren’t you inviting your parents?”
“I think the fewest people possible is best if I’m going to break the law and lie in front of a woman of the cloth.”
“A female vicar, interesting, how very progressive of Copper Island.”