Page 79 of You Only Live Once
‘One more question before you go, following on from that. Are we to believe the rumours that you’re about to get your own happy ending with the heir apparent to an earldom?’ She smiled a wide smile at me with teeth so brilliant white they were almost transparent.
I didn’t know what to say. I had vaguely suspected somebody might make a comment or two tonight but assumed I’d be able to brush them off. I certainly hadn’t expected to be ambushed on live TV about the relationship between Jack and me.
I swallowed my fear.Be brave, Lily.I smiled at her, remembering that she was just trying to earn a living.
‘I never like to give away the ending of any story,’ I said, smiling and giving her a nod, signalling to her that the interview was over.
She got the message, smiled and thanked me, continuing with her piece to camera as I walked off. Jack immediately joined me and took my hand. Without thinking, I held tight.
‘You did great!’ His handsome face was beaming.
‘I wasn’t expecting the last question. Did it sound OK?’
‘You handled it beautifully. Very classy.’
I laughed, looking up at him. ‘Coming from an heir apparent, I will take that as a compliment.’
‘It was most definitely meant as one.’
25
Once inside, I did as Zinnia had instructed, and gave her a call. I also messaged my editor to say that I was inside and where Jack and I were now standing, having thankfully been given a glass of champagne which I’d never needed more.
Within a few minutes, my agent was at my side, air kissing around me and landing a big smacker on Jack’s cheek before wiping off her lipstick with a tissue, pulled from a cavernous Gucci bag. In all the time I’d known Zinnia, she had never believed in travelling light, whatever the occasion.
A few minutes later, the attending members of the publishing team also arrived, and for the first time since I’d signed with them six years ago, I was able to give them all a hug. All our meetings so far had been online, as I’d never felt able to head up to their offices or to have dinner meetings. It was wonderful to meet them in person and thank them for all that they’d done over the past years. I introduced Jack and he chatted with them easily, unfazed by all the hustle and bustle that surrounded us as famous faces drifted by. As he said, being expected to attend functions from an early age seemed to have instilled a sense of normality about them into Jack. Right now, I was thankful for his complete calm in the situation, despite Zinnia’s cheeky comments about the two of us, which he either smiled enigmatically at or brushed off tactfully in a way that meant neither party were embarrassed.
Over the next forty-five minutes, various people were introduced to me, most of whose names vacated my brain almost immediately due to a mix of excitement, nervousness and the still overwhelming sense of surrealism. Just as we were thinking about going to find our seats, there was a swish of silver and gold and suddenly Bella Dupree appeared in front of me, along with several other people, none of whom I recognised.
‘Astoria! Oh my God! It’s so good to finally meet you. I’m so excited that you’re here tonight. I really hope you like what we’ve done with the book. I absolutely loved it, as you know, and the moment I finished it, I began reading it again.’
‘Thank you,’ I said, which didn’t seem adequate to balance her kind enthusiasm. ‘Thank you so much!’ I added. ‘I’m sure I will love it, and I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to attend the screening previously.’
She took my hand and smiled. ‘That’s OK, I understand. It can all be a bit overwhelming sometimes, can’t it?’
Coming from one of the biggest stars of the Hollywood screen, if anyone could understand overwhelming, it was her.
‘Definitely.’ I let out a nervous and slightly relieved laugh. We exchanged a private smile and, for a moment, she tightened her hold on my hand before turning to Jack.
‘And who’s this?’
‘Oh, I’m sorry. Bella, this is Jack Coulsdon-Hart. He’s my backup for the evening.’
She shook his hand, then turned and grinned at me. ‘You have very good taste in backup.’
I smiled, not really knowing what to say, and decided that remaining silent was probably the best option.
One of the entourage leant forward and whispered something in Bella’s ear. ‘I’m sorry, I have to go but hopefully I’ll see you later at the after-party. It really is so good to meet you.’ With that, she gave me a huge hug before disappearing back into the crowd in a swoosh of highly expensive metallic fabric.
‘Look at you mixing with the rich and famous,’ Jack teased.
‘Oh, you’re a fine one to talk. If you don’t behave, I might start introducing you as the Honourable Jack Coulsdon-Hart.’
‘You wouldn’t dare.’
I looked up and met his gaze, closer to it now with the five-inch heels.
‘Do you really want to try me on that?’
