‘The confidential kind.’
Vivienne breaks the silence with a high-pitched cackle and the group continues making inane conversation.
‘Lara, you don’t mind if I just steal Scarlett away, do you? I’m sure I just saw someone I know,’ Amanda says.
‘Really? No, of course not.’
Amanda drags me away, muttering. ‘He’s blatantly turned her down before. What a cow!’
‘Not just me then?’
‘Not. At. All. But forget her, Mr Cover-Me-In-Chocolate-Sauce-And-Lick-Me-Clean is at twelve o’clock!’
‘Amanda, that’s vulgar. Plus, what’s happening with you and?—’
‘O. M. G. OMG! OMG! That’s the guy who plays that guy in Inception. Quirky but smokin’ hot.’
‘Which guy?’ I turn to follow the approximate direction of Amanda’s stalking eyes. ‘Ohhhh, Tom Hardy? Yes, that’s Tom Hardy.’
‘Holy shit! How can you be so calm?’
‘Jesus, Amanda, did someone give you a Viagra? They’re just normal people.’
‘You’re so cerebral.’
‘What, have you swallowed a dictionary now?’
She scowls at me as a waiter steps towards us with a tray of full champagne flutes. Amanda takes the last swig from her glass and replaces it with a full one. I deposit my empty glass on the tray.
‘You need to be careful,’ I say. ‘I think Williams likes you and I know you don’t really like him but?—’
‘Really? Do you think so?’ She’s suddenly bright-eyed and paying attention.
‘Of course. Don’t you think so?’
‘I thought we were just fooling around.’
A moving hand catches my eye. Lawrence is beckoning us over to a pocket of men and women who are closer to our own age than most people we’ve seen so far – certainly closer than that catty cow, Stella.
‘Emily, this is Scarlett, Gregory’s girlfriend, and her friend Amanda. Scarlett, Amanda, this is my niece Emily, my nephew-to-be Harry, and their friends Archie and Penelope.’
‘Hi, it’s so nice to meet you.’
‘Lawrence tells me you’re a lawyer,’ Harry says. ‘I work for Bruckheimer.’
‘You’re almost next door to us then,’ I say. ‘Amanda and I both work for Saunders.’
‘We should have drinks sometime,’ Emily says with a genuine smile. ‘The four of us meet up with some other friends every Friday at Crux. We’ve tried to get Gregory there but he’s always too busy. Maybe you can persuade him.’
‘I’ll see what I can do.’
‘It’s a wonder we’ve never seen you,’ Amanda chips in. ‘Scarlett and I go to Crux if we go out straight from work.’
A loud burst of laughter comes from a gathering not far from us. Turning my head to the right, I see Williams telling a story of some sort to the responsive crowd, Gregory relaxed beside him, a rare but handsome sight. When the laughter subsides, Gregory turns his head around the crowd, finally locating me. Fire burns in my body and everything under my ribcage hammers to be let out. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of watching him. As a waiter offers fresh drinks to the group, Gregory pats Williams on the shoulder as if to say, You’ve got this. Then he replaces his one empty glass with two full flutes.
A silver-haired lady stops him midway but it’s a momentary distraction only. He’s making a line for me, focused, intent, as if I’m the only person in the vicinity.
‘Hi,’ he says, handing me a glass of champagne.
