Page 120 of Love like the (Real) Reel Thing
“He’s married.” She tipped her chin upwards.
It hadn’t been Dermot, then. Relief flooded her body as she mentally flicked through the rest of the cast. Maybe those rumours about Afric and a fellow cast member on her previous movie was all simply speculation and gossip.
“When I told him, Ididthink I might be pregnant. I was just late, really late to be honest, but I hadn’tactuallydone a test.” Afric gave Jess a wry look. “Even if he wasn’t married, he already has a son, and he doesn’t want any more kids. It’s over now, anyway.”
God, the movie would be a total let-down after all this. “But I don’t understand why Spencer pretended to be the father.”
Afric laughed dryly. “For the sake of the movie, obviously. The last thing either of us wanted was for the truth to get out – the whole thing would have gone tits-up. And after Spencer’s last movie, he couldn’t afford that.”
“Was that the only reason?” Jess asked.
“Does it matter?”
When Jess said nothing, Afric added, “All that stuff about him not wanting to work with me was true.” She skated the toe of her boot across the ground. “We fell out on our last movie because Spencer found out I was with this guy and he didn’t like it. He was pissed because I was hurting somebody special to him.”
Someone special? Who? “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry the leak forced you into having to pretend a relationship with Spencer,” Jess said.
“I still love him.” Afric met Jess’s eyes again. “Crazy, right? My family would disown me if they thought I’d got involved with a married man.”
To think she’d been worried that she might be bored in a small village for six weeks. Something struck her. “Does anyone else know?”
“On the movie, you mean?” She pulled a face. “Pretty sure a couple of people suspect. Dermot knows alright, but he’s a good mate.”
“So what now?” Jess realised she was genuinely curious.
Afric flicked her a sharp look. “I suppose I’ve told you everything else. And it’s not like you’re going to tell anyone.”
Should she take that as a compliment?
“I’ll have to announce that I’ve lost the baby,” Afric said flatly. “And then I’m going to head home for a while and see my family. Eventually Spencer and I will break up. Hey, you okay? You look a bit –”
“I’m fine.” Jess tried to think. “So I presume Megan Wilson knows this is all fake?”
“Spencer’s not seeing Megan anymore, he’s seeing someone else.” Afric shrugged. “But Lisa made sure they kept it quiet.”
It was hard to keep up! She debated asking the next question but decided she wasn’t breaking her promise to Sinéad if she asked Afric about her and Robert.
“I just found out that you and Robert used to hang out in college. It must have been … nice for you to reconnect when you met again?”
Afric shrugged. “I didn’t recognise him at all until he told me who he was at the summer solstice party. The guy looks way different to how he looked in college.”
“I’ve seen a photo,” Jess murmured.
She nodded. “He was just Robbie back then too, so I just didn’t connect the dots. Are you guys serious?”
“No. I’m heading back to Dublin. And we won’t be staying in touch.”
“I’m not exactly shocked, to be honest,” Afric said.
“He never mentioned that he knew you. His aunt just told me.”
“He was at a couple of the Lir parties in second year and he started hanging out with us, which was cool. Then he asked me out and I told him I just wanted to be friends.”
“So you never dated?”
“Nope, but after I turned him down I started hearing really bitchy things about me. Like, I couldn’t prove anything but …”
Just like the rumours Emily had heard about herself, Jess thought, feeling a fresh wave of disgust.
