Page 48 of Wish You Knew
There was a pause. “When you said you got drunk last night?”
I screwed up my eyes. “I was a prick to her.”
“Oh, what a surprise. Scott Lincoln fucks it up once again. Will you ever learn?” Saff’s disapproval crackled over the line. “I knew those pictures they had of you had to be fake.”
“What pictures?”
“She didn’t show you the articles on the internet then?”
No, she hadn’t. I didn’t know anything about any of it. Perhaps if I had, I wouldn’t have been such a dick last night.
“Saff, I need to go. I’ll catch up with you soon, yeah?” Before she had the chance to say anything else, I cut the call.
Firing up a browser, I typed my name and Rosie’s into a search bar. Within seconds, I’d found the article Saff must have been referring to. It showed us in the pub the other night, pictures of us at our table, laughing together, and one of us leaving together holding hands. My blood ran cold. Every other time I’d stayed here, the locals respected my privacy, never took advantage of having an up and coming rock star in their presence. The minute I arrive with a well-known model, all bets appeared to be off.
Seeing how happy we looked together stung. Had it only been two nights ago we’d been so into each other?
No matter what my mouth had said, my heart thought otherwise.
I’d been a complete idiot.
24
Rosie
“Surprise!” Ellie’s voice crackled through the intercom when I answered it. “I’m in town for a meeting and thought we could catch up.”
I hesitated. Since coming back from the country, I’d hibernated in my house for two days, barely leaving it. Getting dressed was a distant memory. I’d thrown a baggy tracksuit over my sleep clothes, before moving from bed to couch. An episode of the Kardashians froze on the television screen, while I answered the door.
“Um, I’ve not really been well,” I mumbled. “Might not be such a good idea for you to come in.”
“Bollocks. I can’t stay too long anyway, gotta get over to Shoreditch by three.” Ellie explained. “I’ve got the final pictures from the shoot.”
My heart sank. The last thing I needed was a reminder.
“Please, Rosie? Plus, I’m dying for a pee.”
Reluctantly, I pressed the buzzer to let her in, and wedged the front door open. Not two minutes later, she burst in, thrust her bags at me and rushed into the bathroom.
“Thanks! Won’t be a minute.”
I dumped her things onto the armchair and resumed my place on the sofa. My hand hovered over the remote to restart the programme, but I thought better of it and turned it to a music channel instead. Immediately, I wished I hadn’t. They were playing one of Trash Gun’s most popular tracks. Scott’s face filled the screen, and I stared at it, unable to breathe.
“Ooo, how’s Scott?” asked Ellie, coming back into the living room. “You mentioned you’d seen him?”
Defiantly, I changed the channel again, and tossed the remote aside. “He’s a prick.”
“I know that. But you two?”
“We’re nothing.” Saying the words out loud hammered home the message he’d given me. It hurt like hell, but I couldn’t do anything to change the situation. I had to pretend I was fine with it. “You said you had theSFUimages?”
“Yeah.” Ellie sank into the armchair and wrestled with her portfolio to show me. “The chemistry in some of those shots with Mark is off the scale.”
My hand froze in mid-air as I went to take the folder from her. With everything which had gone on with Scott, I’d almost - almost - forgotten about Mark. I wrestled with myself, debating whether to tell Ellie. I knew she had my back and if, for one moment, she thought he’d be damaging to her brand, she’d pull the campaign.
“Great, can’t wait to see them.” I forced myself to examine the photos. Looking at the shots, I could see what she meant. It looked like we were close and intimate, a couple. All the things he’d wanted, but not in a normal way. I couldn’t let him try to do it to anyone else. “Ellie, there’s something I need to tell you about Mark…”
Fifteen minutes later, the entire shoot had been ripped to shreds and shoved into my kitchen bin. Ellie went absolutely ballistic, calling Mark every name under the sun and swearing he would never work in the industry again. When I told her about theAspirecasting, she immediately called the fashion director and told her the truth.
