Page 103 of For Love or Money
‘Sorry, darling,’ Peter said to her, ‘but it comes with the territory, I’m afraid. Don’t upset yourself about it.’
Stella handed the iPad back to Scott and sat down again, but she still looked troubled, worrying at her bottom lip with her teeth.
‘Don’t let it get to you,’ Rafe said to her. ‘It’ll blow over soon enough.’
‘And think how stupid they’ll look when it turns out you’re actually with Dad and Rafe’s still a tragic bachelor,’ Scott said to her. ‘You’ll have the last laugh.’
Stella gave him a weak smile.
Scott left the iPad open on the table and Lesley picked it up. One picture showed Rafe and Stella walking along the Croisette. It was taken from behind. The other was on the beach and they were sitting side by side on sunloungers. It had obviously been taken from some distance and was a little blurred, but it was unmistakably taken the day they had all gone to Cannes, and it had been cleverly edited so that the rest of the group were nowhere in sight. Stella was in her orange one-piece, and Rafe was turned towards her attentively, tanned and handsome in his swim shorts. Lesley was amazed at how convincing it was. They looked just like a loved-up couple on a romantic holiday together. If she didn’t know better and came across it in a magazine, she wouldn’t have questioned it for a second.
The atmosphere became even more tense and fraught since Scott’s discovery of those photos, so, when Al suggested they go out for lunch, just the two of them, Lesley practically bit his hand off. He’d been polite but cold with her this morning, and she really needed some time alone with him to clear the air.
So as the others set up for an afternoon of dozing by the pool, sleeping off their hangovers, Al took Lesley on a drive to Menton, where they walked along the seafront, checking out the restaurants that lined the harbour.
‘What do you fancy?’ Al asked her.
‘I’m in serious need of a hangover feed,’ she said, trying to get back on a more friendly footing. ‘So it can’t be anywhere where the food is too poncy. Nothing with shavings or foam, ordust. I can’t be doing with shavings of anything in my condition.’
‘Big portions, then, heavy on the carbs?’ Al said. ‘How about this?’ He stopped outside a little Italian restaurant.
‘Perfect.’
‘This is my treat, by the way,’ Lesley said when they were seated. ‘It’s the least I can do to make up for last night,’ she added as Al began to protest.
‘Really, there’s no need for that.’
‘Come on, I owe you one.’
‘All right, if you insist.’
‘I do. And have whatever you want.’ Lesley looked down at her menu. ‘But not the lobster,’ she added. ‘I’m not made of money.’
She was relieved to see Al give the hint of a smile. Maybe he was starting to thaw. ‘I really am sorry about last night,’ she said. ‘But it honestly was nothing.’
Al shrugged. ‘I probably over-reacted. I know it must be hard for you, pretending you’re in a relationship, not being free to do whatever you want ... with whomever you want.’
‘It’s what you’re paying me for,’ she said. ‘Anyway, I don’t want Scott like that. I told you we were just messing around.’
‘TV’s Mr Darcy, then?’
Lesley thought it was touching that he didn’t realise Rafe was way out of her league. ‘It must be hard for you too.’
He lifted his head. ‘How do you mean?’
‘Well, everyone thinks you’re taken, so you can’t flirt with whoever you want without looking like a sleazebag. And Cassie obviously wants you back.’
‘Really?’ He frowned, looking at her closely. ‘What makes you think that?’
‘I saw you talking to her last night. You looked very cosy.’ She tried not to sound snitty.
A slow smile spread across Al’s face. He obviously liked the idea of getting back with Cassie. But she shouldn’t be surprised. He’d only broken up with her because she cheated, not because he’d fallen out of love with her.
‘Well, we could make it easier for both of us.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘What I said last night,’ he began, and Lesley’s heart sank. She was glad his mood seemed to have magically lifted, but she really wanted to draw a veil over the whole thing.
