‘Can I come with you? Pleeeeease.’
‘No.’
‘I promise I won’t gawp at him.’
He knew his sister well enough not to trust her to keep calm. ‘There’s not a chance I’m taking you with me, so if you don’t mind leaving now, I’ll be on my way.’
‘You can be incredibly selfish sometimes, Callum. Do you know that?’
He gently pushed her out of the flat and locked the door behind them. ‘We can’t always have what we want, Erin,’ he said, thinking about how much he wished Tasha wasn’t on the island for only another two weeks. He would have loved the chance to spend time with her and get to know her better, but life often didn’t work that way, he thought, trying to resign himself to the fact that she would soon be leaving Jersey and he might never have the opportunity to see her again.
8
TASHA
Tasha read Callum’s email with relief.
‘Callum’s located your phone,’ she called out, hearing Riley mutter something as he slammed the fridge door closed in the kitchen along the hall. ‘He’s bringing it here now.’
She was relieved he had been successful but when Riley stepped into the dining room, which she was using as her office, instead of looking pleased he seemed sulky.
Unsure why he should react in that way, she asked, ‘I thought you’d be pleased. It’s not like you to be without your phone. I thought you’d have missed it.’
He didn’t react immediately, then looked at her in silence for a moment.
Tasha tried to work out why he was behaving this way. Then it dawned on her. ‘Are you avoiding Brooke?’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Maybe.’
Riley had been dating model Brooke Farrow on and off for almost a year, as far as she could recall. More off than on, Tasha mused, recalling the seemingly endless rows the pair had had as their inflated egos clashed time and again.
‘You’ve broken up?’
He groaned. ‘To be honest, I’m not sure. I feel like we are but Brooke seemed to have a different opinion. I’m not sure how much longer I can deal with her drama.’
Tasha watched him leave the room, trying to work out how anyone could be as oblivious to their own behaviour as Riley managed to be.
Remembering Callum was on his way, she quickly went to her room and freshened up. It was one thing trying to act cool but she intended doing that with brushed hair and fresh breath.
She heard a car and hurried down the stairs to greet him, wondering whether he had been to the cottage before.
‘Hi there,’ she said, giving him a wave as he parked the car. ‘It’s good of you to come so quickly.’
He got out and walked towards her, holding out Riley’s phone. ‘It’s no problem at all. I was at a loose end and I imagine Riley’s eager to get this back. I know I’d hate to be without my phone for long.’
‘I suppose he is,’ she said, aware that if she had heard Callum’s car from her bedroom then Riley must have done from his down the hall. She took the phone from him. ‘Thank you. Um, if you’ve got time maybe I could show you around? Or we could sit outside and have a drink before you go on to whatever you need to do next?’
He smiled. ‘I’m happy to do both of those things.’ He looked around. ‘It’s beautiful here, although why they call something this grand a cottage beats me.’
Tasha laughed. ‘I agree. When I told Riley we were coming to stay in a cottage he wasn’t impressed.’ She didn’t add that he wasn’t that cheerful after seeing the place either, preferring something far more modern and minimalist.
It made sense for her to at least show Callum the place before she told Riley she had his phone. She took a discreet look at Callum’s handsome face and thought how his kindness shone through. Then she considered how deceptive people’s looks could be. There was Riley’s friendly on-screen character and boy-next-door looks that tugged at his many fans’ hearts, and if there was one thing she had learnt above all others since working for him it was not to take people at face value ever again and to watch what they did more than listen to what they said when referring to themselves and others.
‘I presume this is Victorian,’ he said as he studied the frontage of the building with its pillared front porch and crenellated balcony above, on which stood a large planter containing scarlet hanging geraniums interspersed with purply-blue lavender. He turned to her.
‘This is beautiful.’
She nodded. ‘I thought the same thing when I first came here. Shall we go inside and have a look around? There’s a housekeeper but it’s her day off today so we’re seeing to ourselves.’ More that she was looking after Riley’s needs for food and drink most of the time.
