Page 102 of For Love or Money
Lesley turned to look at her, raising her eyebrows in surprise. She knew whyshewas in everyone’s bad books, but Jane had done nothing wrong. Sure, she had got tipsy and flirted her arse off with Philippe, but she was single, and perfectly entitled. Nevertheless, she was right – Peter was glowering at her from the end of the table, throwing her thunderous looks. Lesley felt sorry for Stella. Peter was making it so obvious he was put out about Jane and Philippe. It was so unfair. She hadn’t misbehaved at all, and look where it had got her.
‘Bloody dog in the manger,’ Jane muttered under her breath, but she sounded pleased.
‘Good morning.’ Al joined them, looking annoyingly fresh. But Lesley decided to forgive him for it when he made straight for her, put his arms around her from behind and kissed the top of her head. ‘Morning, sweetheart,’ he said, drawing curious looks from the rest of his family. She was grateful for his show of solidarity, but it made her feel more of a shit than ever.
‘How are we all this morning?’ Scott appeared, looking sleepy and dishevelled. He flopped into a seat beside Jane and started piling a plate with croissants and pain au chocolat.
‘Ugh, I shouldn’t drink,’ Jane groaned. ‘I’m too old. I can’t handle hangovers anymore.’
‘How about you, Lesley?’
Lesley blushed and threw him a filthy look from under her lashes, wishing she could make herself invisible. ‘Not good,’ she said weakly. ‘But no better than I deserve.’
‘Don’t be so hard on yourself. We’ve all gone a bit “Girls Gone Wild” when we’ve had a few too many. And no one would blame you for wanting a bit of this,’ he said, waving his hands over his body. ‘Everyone knows I’m irresistible.’
She gritted her teeth, willing him to shut up. There might still be some people around this table who didn’t know what she’d done last night.
‘Good party, though,’ Scott said as he smeared jam thickly onto a croissant. ‘Philippe’s a laugh, isn’t he? He fancies the pants off you.’ He grinned at his mother.
‘I know,’ she said, perking up.
‘So, have you anything to tell us? Will Rafe and I be acquiringtwonew step-parents this year?’
‘Oh, don’t be silly.’ Jane tossed her head dismissively, but her lips curled into a smile. ‘We were just having a bit of fun.’
Scott had his iPad beside him and started scrolling idly through it, one eye on the screen as he chatted away, occasionally murmuring snippets of news and gossip that he came across, and showing kitten videos to Jane.
‘Oh, you’ve made Celeb Watch inWow!Magazine,’ he said to Rafe, his finger pausing on the screen.
‘Oh,what?’ Rafe groaned, with a pained expression.
‘Hang on.’ Scott clicked a link and fell silent as he read, his eyes quickly scanning the screen. ‘It seems you’ve been seen in Cannes, out and about with a – oh!’ He broke off, grinning. ‘With a mystery blonde,’ he continued. ‘That’s you, Stella,’ he said, turning to her.
‘What?’ She shot up and went around the table to look over Scott’s shoulder. ‘What does it say about me? Is there a picture?’
‘Yep,’ he said, grinning up at her, as he pointed to the screen. ‘Not a great one, though. Rafe was spotted with you on the Croisette in Cannes and later you were frolicking on the beach together.’
‘Frolicking?’ Rafe rolled his eyes.
‘You were looking very loved up, apparently,’ he informed Rafe with a grin.
Rafe scowled in reply. ‘For fuck’s sake! Bloody gossip-mongers! Have they nothing better to do?’
‘We were not looking loved up!’ Stella shrieked in outrage. ‘We were all there, for God’s sake!’
‘You do look a bit cosy together here, in fairness,’ Scott said, pointing at the screen. ‘And scantily clad.’
‘Can I see that, please?’ Stella’s hand was shaking as she held it out for the iPad. She peered at the screen, frowning. ‘This is ridiculous! Peter was there, on the other side, but they’ve cut him out to make it look like it was just the two of us.’
‘I wouldn’t worry about it too much,’ Rafe said, giving her a sympathetic look. ‘It’s not a big deal.’
‘Don’t you mind?’ she said fretfully. ‘They’ve made it look like we’re … together.’
‘So they’ve got it wrong,’ he said, shrugging. ‘It wouldn’t be the first time.’
‘You’re not worried Dad will think you’re having it away with Rafe, are you?’ Scott asked, glancing cheekily at his father.
‘Of course not,’ Stella said stiffly. ‘I just ... I don’t like this kind of attention.’
