Chapter 14 #3
‘No bother,’ he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. ‘Consider it an early Christmas present.’
* * *
Kate was enjoying a rare night home alone, wrapping her Christmas presents in front of the television, when she heard Freddie’s key in the door.
‘Hi, honey, I’m home!’ he called, coming into the flat followed by a tall, flaxen-haired hunk.
‘Kate.’ Freddie led the hunk to the sofa.
‘This is Jonathan.’ He seemed very pleased with himself.
Kate hoped he wasn’t two-timing Ken. ‘Hi, nice to meet you.’ She stood up to shake Jonathan’s hand.
‘Jonathan’s going to be your date for the wedding.’
‘Oh! Really?’
Jonathan grinned down at her from his lofty height. ‘Sure,’ he shrugged amiably, ‘if you like.’
He was unfeasibly good-looking, like an underwear model, with shoulder-length golden hair, piercing blue eyes that would have given Brad Pitt’s a run for their money, and the ridiculously square jaw of a comic-book hero.
Even though he was wearing a leather jacket over a thick sweatshirt, you could tell he had a six-pack.
‘Um, that’s really nice of you,’ Kate smiled uncertainly at him. ‘Would you like some tea or something? Coffee? Wine?’
‘Coffee, please.’ He smiled lazily, revealing perfect Hollywood teeth.
‘Okay, have a seat – I won’t be a sec. Freddie, could I have a quick word with you in the kitchen?’
Freddie followed her in and she shut the door after them. She put the coffee machine on and waited for it to start hissing before she spoke. ‘What’s this all about?’
‘Just something to complete your outfit, sweetie – a little arm candy,’ he said, taking mugs out of the cupboard.
‘Is he an escort? Do I have to pay him?’
‘Oh no,’ Freddie said. ‘Don’t worry, he’s not a gigolo or anything – he’s much lower down the food chain than that.’
Kate looked at him enquiringly.
‘He’s a model “slash” actor – and you know what that means.’ Freddie raised his eyebrows.
Kate had no idea what that meant.
‘Will work for food!’ Freddie hissed, as if stating the blindingly obvious. ‘Seriously, just feed him some soup and crackers and he’s all yours.’
‘But where would I even meet someone like him?’ Kate fretted. ‘If everyone knows I’ve just hired some random bloke for the day, I’ll look sadder than ever.’
‘You’ve just been away for three months, haven’t you?
You can meet all sorts travelling around the world.
Jonathan could easily be a backpacker – he has that kind of slacker look, don’t you think?
And he’s already got a tan,’ Freddie said dreamily, as Kate made the coffee and loaded a tray with mugs, sugar and milk.
‘We need biscuits,’ he said and flung open the cupboards. He found a packet of shortbread, emptied it onto a plate and then picked up the tray. ‘Come on, we’ll get to work on your cover story.’
* * *
‘So, how do you know Freddie?’ Kate asked, as they sat on the sofa drinking coffee and Jonathan laid into the biscuits.
‘I used to go out with his friend Matthew.’
Kate froze. ‘You what?’ she gasped. ‘Oh my God, you’re… you’re—’
‘Gay? Yeah, is that a problem?’ Jonathan looked at her innocently.
‘Yes! I mean no,’ she faltered. ‘I mean, no offence but, well, you’re supposed to be coming to this wedding as my boyfriend. This isn’t going to work,’ she said, in a panicky voice.
‘No one will know,’ Freddie said calmly. ‘You didn’t know until he told you. He can totally pass. Besides, he’s an actor.’
‘Yeah, I can play it straight.’ Jonathan smiled nonchalantly. ‘It’ll be good experience for me, playing the romantic lead. Got any more of these?’ he asked, as he polished off the last biscuit.
‘Are you sure?’ Kate asked apprehensively.
‘Oh yeah, I work out a lot – and I have a really fast metabolism.’
‘I don’t mean about the biscuits. I mean are you sure about playing my boyfriend?’
‘No problem,’ he said affably. ‘I’ll even snog you, if you like.’
Kate felt trapped.
‘So, what’s the dinner going to be at this wedding?’ Jonathan asked.
Freddie shot her a told-you-so look. ‘I’ll get some more biscuits,’ he said. ‘You two can start on your back story.’
‘Where are we going to say we met?’ Jonathan asked.
‘Well, I’ve just been away for three months, travelling, so perhaps we ran into each other somewhere then.’
‘Okay,’ Jonathan nodded, ‘sounds good.’
‘I was in India, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia – have you ever been to any of those places?’ she asked hopefully.
‘No,’ Jonathan said.
‘Laos? Sri Lanka?’ Kate asked desperately.
‘Sorry – I’ve been to Benidorm,’ he said, ‘and I spent a weekend in Ibiza once, but I don’t remember any of it.’
‘Right. It’s not really the same thing.’
‘Okay,’ he said, pushing his hair back from his face, suddenly business like. ‘Let’s say we met in Thailand.’
‘Thailand?’
‘Yeah. I’ve never been there, but I love Thai food. And I’ve done lots of drugs,’ he added helpfully. ‘Oh, and I went through a Buddhist phase for a while.’
‘Great! You’re practically a native!’ God help me, she thought. This is going to be a disaster.
* * *
‘…dying of food poisoning, so I threw myself into this tuk-tuk, practically at death’s door, and asked the driver to take me to a doctor. Next thing, he’s unloading me into his uncle’s silk shop and insisting I can see a doctor there, and to have a browse while I’m waiting…’
God, he’s good, Kate thought, as everyone laughed at another of Jonathan’s stories about his travels in Thailand. He had more stories about Thailand than she had, and she had actually been there.
She was glad she had brought him to the wedding.
He had been really sweet and solicitous towards her, seeming to sense how wobbly she felt around Will, putting a protective arm around her shoulders or clasping her hand whenever he came near.
So far it was going swimmingly. She had managed to avoid Will most of the time, apart from the briefest peck on the cheek when they had arrived at the church and she’d introduced Jonathan.
Now he was safely tucked away at the top table, though she was uncomfortably aware of his eyes on her all the time.
She and Jonathan were sharing a table with Helen and Conor, Ken and Freddie.
‘So, where did you meet Kate, Jonathan?’ Helen was asking.
‘At a food stall in Chiang Mai,’ he answered readily, smiling fondly at Kate. ‘She was cooking the most amazing pad thai I’ve ever tasted in my life.’
‘You were cooking at a food stall?’ Helen asked.
‘Yeah, I’d got chatting to the woman who ran it and she was giving me an impromptu lesson in Thai cooking.’
She wished she didn’t feel so self-conscious.
That had really happened – apart, of course, from the bit about Jonathan being there.
At least they weren’t sitting with Rachel.
She had seemed sceptical when Kate had introduced her to Jonathan and was still watching them beadily.
Her mother looked as if there were a million questions she wanted to ask, but she was swallowing every one.
‘What do you do, Jonathan?’ Conor asked.
‘I’m an actor.’
‘Are you?’ Conor said, interested. ‘Would I have seen you in anything?’
Oh God, she hadn’t reckoned on Conor bullying Jonathan about his career.
‘I doubt it. I’ve done a bit of modelling, and some showcases attached to my acting classes, but that’s about it.’
‘Are you any good?’ Conor asked, with typical bluntness.
‘Yeah, actually, I am.’
He was giving a bravura performance right now, Kate thought.
‘You should come and see me – I might be able to help you.’
‘Oh, they’re starting the speeches,’ Kate said, grateful for the diversion as Will stood and introduced Carmen’s beaming father, who made a short, incomprehensible speech in heavily accented English before passing the microphone to Lorcan.
Finally, it was Will’s turn and Kate was able to gaze at him quite blatantly. He was so heartbreakingly beautiful.
I’m still so in love with him, she thought despairingly.
Promising to be brief, he was true to his word.
‘I’m not normally given to quoting poetry,’ he said, ‘but everything I feel about Lorcan – and about his family – can be summed up in a couple of lines of Yeats: “Think where man’s glory most begins and ends. And say my glory was I had such friends.” I’m sure Lorcan and Carmen will be very happy together. ’
He turned to Carmen, almost as an afterthought.
‘None of us has known Carmen very long, but she seems wonderful and I’m sure she’ll make Lorcan very happy. She’ll have me to answer to if she doesn’t,’ he finished, fixing Carmen with a mock-steely gaze.
This was greeted with nervous laughter, no one quite sure how to react, but on seeing Carmen laughing up at Will, everyone’s anxious titters dissolved into rapturous applause as he sat down again.
As soon as dinner was over and everyone was circulating, Freddie sought out Will. ‘Brilliant speech!’ he enthused. ‘It had just the right balance of sentimentality and menace. Threatening the bride with mayhem was an inspired touch.’
‘Glad you enjoyed it.’ Will glanced furtively at Kate. ‘So, how’s Kate?’ he asked ultra-casually.
Freddie wondered how long he’d been practising that.
It was a good job he’d never pursued a career in acting.
‘She’s fine,’ he replied. ‘You know – okay.’ He tried to sound ambivalent.
Will was clearly miserable, so he didn’t have the heart to rub it in and talk up how happy she was with her new boyfriend, as he was supposed to.
‘Where did she—’ Will gulped. ‘Where did she meet this new guy?’
‘In Thailand. They bonded over dysentery or something.’ He was beginning to regret having come up with the idea of Jonathan. ‘It probably won’t last,’ he found himself saying.