Chapter 25
Maya wriggled in her seat in the sleek black limo that Noah had collected her in and watched the plush greenery outside become less dense and inter-spaced with a mixture of buildings and then skyscrapers, as they journeyed towards central London and the bustling, vibrant streets and restaurants of the city.
She hadn’t been back to where she’d grown up for years, and it felt bittersweet to be returning with a new relationship and fresh hope for her future.
She was wearing a floor length dress made by her grandmother that had layers and layers of burnt orange and red chiffon draped across her body.
Her movement created the illusion of a blazing flame.
It was certainly a statement as the dress moved fluidly around her and clung to her curves in all the right places.
There were no straps, just clever drapery and invisible stitching.
Maya had baulked at the colour, but her grandmother had insisted.
Her family knew about Noah, but they still hadn't met, which was driving them crazy.
She'd become precious about her time with him because they were both busy, but she knew she couldn't put it off any longer.
Noah had asked when he was going to meet them and she had told him a bit about her past, but omitted how batty her family really was because now she was actually more scared of him meeting them and being scared off!
Maya knew how important this big gala ball was for Noah and his career, as this was his biggest movie to date.
Dame Rosalie was a huge advocate for museums and the history they curated for later generations and had donated lots of memorabilia from her films to charities to raise funds to keep them open.
Tonight's auction was in aid of a beautiful local museum that desperately needed investment to survive.
After Dame Rosalie had performed there when she was a fledgling actress, they had supported her career, so she was returning the favour, Noah had explained.
Maya had designed a stunning No.
1 Ethereal Lane waterfall necklace for Dame Rosalie to auction after a lot of excitement about how much money it might raise for her charity.
Maya had worried that she might get bombarded with donation requests after that, but Dame Rosalie was a force to be reckoned with and what she wanted she usually got, Maya had discovered.
Her fingers could only create so many pieces a year and she had her own charitable causes now, which were very close to her heart, including supporting local businesses like the refit of Bertha and offering materials for the art class that Mason ran on the boat.
It had been so rewarding to watch the art class flourish and their canvases sell extremely well at Penny's café.
‘What’s she like to work with?’ Maya asked Noah about Rosalie.
He thought for a moment and then responded. 'She’s scary, but an absolute sweetheart. Plus she's the most professional and talented woman I’ve met in a long time, present company excluded,' he winked and kissed her hand, which made her flush with pleasure. 'I know how hard you work. She’s amazing, but growly,’ he laughed. ‘She keeps trying to set me up with friends of friends, though.'
Maya raised her eyebrow. ‘Really?’ Thank goodness that hadn't happened.
‘Yep.
Apparently she knows someone who would be perfect for me, but she doesn’t know that the perfect woman already fell into my lap, or the river by my house, anyway,' he grinned and leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips.
She smiled, feeling shy suddenly, and she gulped in some air as the car smoothly pulled up against the curb by a red carpet and she took a moment to calm her racing nerves before they got out.
She wasn't sure how she felt about the possibility of Noah being set up for a date by someone else.
Photographers and reporters lined the road and flashes of light filled the dark night sky as people stepped out of their cars and walked up the red carpet to the event, which made Maya sit back in fear.
'It's okay,' reassured Noah, who was looking suave in his black tie suit and crisp white shirt.
'I'll be with you the whole time and we only need to stop for one or two quick photos to help support Dame Rosalie and to fulfil my contractual obligations to my bosses.' He winked and grinned.
'They keep saying I've been too busy and my mind elsewhere to promote my next film much,' he laughed.
'Apparently, you're quite the distraction.'
Maya gasped.
'Are you in trouble because of me? ' she asked, horrified.
She could suddenly picture Tabitha leaning in and telling a few people on set that Noah wasn’t at the top of his game because his current date was distracting him from work.
It was just the tittle-tattle that she enjoyed .
Noah shook his head and smiled.
'I was joking.
The publicity department just reminded me to get my face out there a bit more, which, to be honest, I probably should do.
Are you okay?' he asked.
'I'm sorry for teasing.
Bad timing on my part,' he inclined his head towards the bank of photographers waiting eagerly outside and tucked his arm around her for a moment.
'We can do this,' he said supportively.
She tried to quell her nerves and nodded, but her hands felt clammy and she gripped onto her sparkly handbag with undue force, which made her wince when the sequins pinched her skin.
Images of the events she'd been dragged along to with Blake flashed into her mind, but she tried to focus on Noah's warm arm around her waist as they exited the car and she smiled mechanically as the flashbulbs went off in their faces and crowds of people called Noah's name.
She'd never been out with a superstar before and she tried to hide her vulnerability by straightening her shoulders and standing tall, as Noah led her inside and whispered words of encouragement in her ear, which made her smile for real, finally.
This whole thing was terrifying! She had always let Blake preen if they’d seen any photographers about and stayed well into the background, sidling indoors as soon as there was a chance.
Now she was walking up the red carpet with an A-list celebrity!
They stopped when they saw the scene in front of them on entering the ball, their eyes wide in awe because it felt as if every surface sparkled.
It was like walking into what Maya imagined a palace under the sea would look like, with swirls of ice blue and white everywhere and huge glass pillars reaching from the floor to the ceiling, which were half full of water and topped with huge pink Lotus flowers with their dark green lily-pad like foliage.
The vast venue had a swirling curved stage area rising from the centre and the bar tables dotted around had wide vases of water topped with soft yellow Water Poppies with their deeper yellow centres, dark stamens and heart-shaped leaves.
There was an actual waterfall to one side of the room with the water falling into a crystal clear pond beneath it which was surrounded by tall white and purple Water Iris with their three-petalled flowers and tall grass-like leaves.
The light bounced off the myriad of surfaces and rippled across the room.
Beautifully attired people were standing around in small groups chatting and laughing as waiting staff dressed as water imps wandered around with trays that looked like they’d been sculpted from ice, even though they clearly hadn’t and champagne in crystal flutes and morsels of mouth-watering food that was fresh from the sea.
'Wow,' said Maya in awe.
Her artist's eye was almost overwhelmed by the beauty of the room.
It reflected the waterfall necklace she'd made to perfection, and she felt emotion well up in her throat.
Her No.
1 Ethereal Lane logo and images of Maya’s jewellery collections were projected over the main stage on enormous screens, and people were looking at them with interest.
‘Unbelievable,’ echoed Noah, as he took in the scene in front of them.
Rosalie had taken charge of every aspect of her charity ball and Maya had overseen her part in the event and signed it off, but seeing it in person was a revelation.
Maya was humbled and at a loss for words.
Luckily, the room had the same effect on every single person who stepped inside, as they all stopped to stare around on first arrival.
Dame Rosalie was holding court on the stage, which had water flowing from the edges into small rock pools on the floor below.
The rock pools seemed to have little diamonds glinting from the bottom of each one and tiny silver fish swam between them.
There were six security guards stationed on or around the stage and Maya knew that there were many more dotted within the room, dressed as guests.
Only a few people were being allowed up onto the stage to greet Dame Rosalie as the waterfall necklace was showcased in a glass case at the front, where the auction would be held.
There were fully staffed bars all over the venue, including one on the stage to serve Dame Rosalie and guests invited up onto the stage.
Images of a stunning model wearing a ballgown and the waterfall necklace appeared from time to time on the screens.
It had clearly been taken at the venue as the glass pillars could be seen in the background, which created an extra hum of excitement.
In one of the photos, Gio was taking her hand, looking incredibly handsome in a tuxedo, his eyes alight with happiness.
It really was a breath-taking photo and Maya thought back to her first meeting with Gio, where he’d barely spoken a word.
This confident photo of an alpha male made her smile, and she hoped he was gradually taking confidence from his new role and enjoying life. Bobby was certainly smiling whenever she saw him now, and living together seemed to work well for them both.
Maya took a moment to enjoy the sparkle and haute couture of the guests' clothes and how much they seemed to enjoy the event from the smiles and hum of conversation.
Classical music was being played by a group of musicians towards the ornate doors that led to an outside patio area and Maya couldn’t wait to move closer and hear more later.
She hoped tonight might be the start of her two worlds entwining and that the fallout wasn’t her relationship with Noah, because he was becoming more and more important to her happiness.
She knew she couldn’t keep the fact that she’d designed the waterfall necklace from him for much longer, but that she hadn’t already told him created its own problems.
Would he think he couldn’t trust her now? She hoped not, but it was a possibility.
Noah turned to her with wonder in his eyes. 'This is incredible. I know Rosalie is a perfectionist and I've been lucky enough to be invited to a few extraordinary places, but this is cooler than most of the film sets I've been on!'
'It's stunning,' added Maya, trying to take it all in.
'I should bid on the necklace for you,' he joked, ‘but that might be forward of me before we have the exclusive talk. I do want that conversation,' he added carefully. Maya looked into his eyes in shock and hoped he didn't bid because this was her highest value piece to date! She knew he could probably afford it, but that was beside the point. She wondered if he was simply joking about either point or if he was serious! Surely not? He grinned at her and took her hand to guide her to a group of beautifully elegant men and women. Unfortunately, one of them was Tabitha, who gave her a tight smile before looking Maya’s outfit up and down as if searching for something, then stopping herself and giving them both a kiss on each cheek. Tabitha's own dress was clearly couture as it fitted her svelte body perfectly, but the amount of jewellery she wore with the subtle green fabric was almost obscene. Her heavily jewelled emerald drop earrings and matching necklace were a lot to take in, but the added diamond cuff bracelet, belt and branded clutch bag made Maya blink a few times.
Noah introduced her to his producers Corey and Tom and a couple of other key cast members and they chatted amiably for a few moments, then Corey leaned in to Noah. ' I'm really sorry about the timing, but something's cropped up with one scene. We need to run through a few points.' He winced and looked apologetically at Maya.
'What here? Now?' asked Noah, his face showing his displeasure. 'I can't leave Maya on her own.' Maya's heart fluttered at this show of protectiveness. She touched his arm to let him know she was fine.
'Noah. It's okay. You know what I'm like. I've been itching to look at the plants and the water features since we arrived. Come and find me when you're done.' Noah was frowning as if he really didn't like that idea, but Tabitha was already drawing him away with a firm hand on his arm.
‘Work must come before play, Noah,’ said Tabitha with a tinkly laugh, her hand still on her arm while she rolled eyes at Corey as if to say, see… flaky. He stood still and refused to budge, turning to lean in and kiss Maya on the cheek.
'Are you sure? I'm not happy with leaving you on your own at an event like this.'
Maya refused to get riled up by Tabitha, so she smiled up at him and a warmth spread through her veins.
She'd been so worried about tonight, but it would be okay.
'I'm fine,' she reassured him, darting a glance at a nearby corner that seemed quiet and unpopulated.
Hiding there and catching her breath for a minute seemed like an inspired idea.
Maya currently felt like she was sleepwalking through her own life and she needed to wake up and enjoy such an incredible experience.
She hadn't wanted to be there, but now she was, she was determined to enjoy it.
Maya had wrangled the floristry contract for Leah as part of the deal, so she was excited to inspect her handiwork.
Normally she'd step in and help her friend with such a huge contract, but in the end Leah had hired two extra staff, and her team had clearly worked diligently with Dame Rosalie to fulfil her vision.
Maya was so proud of Leah she could almost cry to see how far her friend had come.
She ran her hands over the green stems and oval leaves of the pretty pale purple Water Mint flowers that were potted in damp soil in wide almost white vases around the edges of the room.
These wildflowers grew on the banks of streams and around ponds and were sometimes used for infusions and essential oils, leaving a fresh minty scent on Maya’s hands as she touched them.
They softened the edges of the room and filled it with colour and texture.
It was a total triumph!
Just as Maya was trying to avoid catching anyone's eye and was inspecting a delicate little flower, someone firmly took her arm.
She gasped and turned to see the burly security guard she'd seen standing with Dame Rosalie towering over her.
He was wearing an immaculate dark suit, and he had an earpiece in his ear.
'Um...
can I help you?' she asked, looking around the nearly full ballroom and noticing people turning their way to stare.
'Dame Rosalie would like to speak to you,' he said in a steady voice that she understood immediately to mean that she had to follow him. She winced and bit her lip, her face flushing.
'I was just admiring the plants,' she said, playing for time and realising that she sounded quite whiney. 'Can't I just stay here?'
He arched one eyebrow at her, but didn't release his grip. He wasn't hurting her at all and she could see that they were attracting rather a lot of attention now, so she nodded her head and he led her towards the stage. ‘You didn’t tell us you were coming,’ he growled .
‘Surprise!’ Maya said feebly as Evan, the head of Dame Rosalie’s security, rolled his eyes.
‘You know she hates surprises. She likes to be informed of everything.’
‘I didn’t know myself that I was attending until the last minute,’ said Maya. The crowds parted as they walked through and for a split second Maya rested her head on his shoulder and whispered, 'How long did it take her to spot me?' Her captor turned and grinned at that and then rolled his eyes again at her stupidity.
'About five minutes. You aren't exactly inconspicuous in that dress!' Maya huffed, then glanced down at her eye-catching gown and groaned.
As they reached the stage, she turned her head to where she'd left Noah, and the group were all now staring at her with their jaws hanging open, as Evan still had hold of her arm and didn’t appear to be that happy.
Noah was frowning, and she knew he'd be panicking about what was wrong.
She tried to send him a quick, reassuring smile.
As Evan led her up the steps to Dame Rosalie, the security guard at the top grinned at the sight of her, his eyes dancing as he leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek, which made Noah's frown deepen and Evan smiled finally and let her go.
Before she could think of what to do, Dame Rosalie had pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, knocking the wind out of her.
Then Rosalie held her out at arms-length to take in her beautiful outfit and then drew her in for another hug before finally letting Maya go.
'You naughty child!' scolded Rosalie.
'You didn't tell me you were coming.
Party preparations have been ongoing for almost a year, and last month you said you already had plans! People wait in trepidation to receive one of my invitations, you know young lady,’ she scolded haughtily, the light dancing in her eyes, belying the humour in the situation.
Rosalie was never cross for long.