Kate Hardy - Behind the Film Star's Smile

‘People whose shoes she chews?’ Jess asked archly.

‘I don’t think Mimi minded so much about the shoes as, um, not getting time with me on her own.’

She flushed. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to get in the way of your date.’

‘Trust me, I’m not dating Mimi, and I don’t want to.’

‘She’s really that difficult?’

The look of shock on Jess’s face told him that she hadn’t meant to blurt out the question. ‘She’s really that difficult,’ he confirmed wryly. ‘I’m looking for an easy life right now.’ Just so Jess knew he wasn’t hitting on her.

‘Look, I don’t want to put my foot in it, but I, um, saw the papers last year.’

Hadn’t everyone? Fleur had turned the end of their marriage into a total media circus.

‘I get where you’re coming from and, just so you know, I’m not going to turn into your Number One Fan and stalk you or anything,’ Jess finished.

‘I know.’ He tried for lightness. ‘Otherwise I’d set my dog on your shoe wardrobe.’

‘Shoe wardrobe?’ She looked surprised.

‘Don’t all women have them?’ he asked. Fleur had needed a walk-in wardrobe to hold all her shoes—organised by colour and heel height. She’d had ten pairs of black court shoes with four-inch heels, and Luke hadn’t been able to tell the difference between them.

‘I have three pairs of shoes,’ Jess said. ‘No, four, if you count my running shoes.’

He laughed. ‘I like you. You’re refreshing.’

‘Thank you. I think.’ She smiled, and it sent a thrill all the way down his spine. Which was crazy. He and Jess came from different worlds. He barely knew her. He couldn’t be reacting to her like this.

‘Just for the record, I think I like you, too.’ Then she grimaced. ‘Sorry. You must hear that all the time, people coming up to you and telling you they love you.’

He smiled. ‘It happens a bit, yes, but I’m not daft enough to think that they love me. They don’t know me. They love the character I played in a movie, and there’s a big difference between the two.’ Which had been half the problem with Fleur. She’d loved who she thought he was, not who he really was. That, and the fact that he hadn’t been able to give her what she really wanted.

‘I suppose it’s like the baddies in soap operas. People shout at them in the street because they confuse them with the character, and they might be incredibly sweet in real life instead of being mean,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘So you’re not a handsome, charming and posh Englishman with floppy hair, who isn’t very good at talking about his feelings?’

He laughed. ‘Got it in one.’ Though, actually, he knew it wasn’t that far off the mark. He’d been typecast for a reason. ‘Well—I’d better let you get on. Enjoy your evening with your sister and your best friend.’

‘I will, and thanks again for the photos. Enjoy your evening, too.’ She made a last fuss of the dog. ‘And you, be good. We’ll do some more training tomorrow. And go for another run.’ She glanced at Luke. ‘She likes running, by the way. And there’s nothing like a good run with a dog at your side.’

‘If that’s your idea of a subtle hint,’ he said, ‘I’d hate to know what a heavy one’s like.’

‘You want a heavy hint?’ She laughed. ‘When you’ve had a day of dealing with people you have to be civil to, but really you want to shake them until their teeth rattle and tell them to grow up... That’s when a good run with a dog at your side will definitely put the world to rights. Even if you do have to go out in public wearing dark glasses and a silly hat.’

‘I do not wear dark glasses and a silly hat,’ he said.

She folded her arms. ‘My sister gets every magazine with your picture in it, so I know you’re not telling the truth. You’ve got a silly hat. A beanie. I’ve seen it.’

‘Busted,’ he muttered, enjoying himself hugely. When had he last met someone he could have fun with like this?

‘I think you should steal the hat, Baloo,’ Jess said in a stage whisper. ‘Chew it to pieces. Then he’ll have to go and get a sensible one.’

Luke couldn’t remember when he’d enjoyed bantering with someone so much, it had been so long ago. ‘What counts as sensible? Deerstalker? Fez? Top hat?’

She groaned. ‘You’re not Sherlock Holmes, Dr Who or Fred Astaire.’

‘Ah, but I’m an actor,’ he said. ‘So I could be. If you wanted.’ He did a little tap dance. ‘See? I’m Fred.’

She grinned. ‘Don’t make me dare you.’

‘Dare me,’ he said softly, willing her to dare him to kiss her. Because right at that moment, he really, really wanted to kiss her.

But then panic flared in her eyes, as if she realised that their flirting was starting to get a bit too intense. A bit too close. ‘I need to get going. See you tomorrow. Bye, gorgeous.’

The way she made a last fuss of the dog made it clear to Luke that the ‘gorgeous’ had been directed at the Labrador, not at him.

Pity.

He was definitely attracted to her. He thought it might even be mutual. But to act on that attraction would be the most stupid thing either of them could do. They were from different worlds. It would never work. And if it turned out that she, like Fleur, wanted something he most definitely couldn’t provide...

Better not to start anything he couldn’t finish. ‘See you tomorrow,’ he said. And watched her walk away.

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