‘I know, and that’s why I insist you have something in return for helping me. Hell, you can come and help me pick out a home for each of us. Whatever you want. Seems wrong that you should struggle to save for a place of your own, when I can afford more than one house. Or name a figure if you don’t want to decide now, and I’ll have it in your account before Liam and Savannah say I do.’ If it wasn’t for the pulse she could see fluttering rapidly at the base of his throat, she’d have assumed he propositioned women like this all the time. ‘Deal?’
Ellie was torn. Her friend needed her. Her closest friend right now, with Hannah gone. How could she not help?
‘Then…’ She reached forward, about to take his hand in hers.
‘Dessert?’ asked the waitress, who had seemed to pop up from nowhere.
‘Jesus Christ!’ Ellie yelled, and then tried to hide her mortification with an overly bright smile. ‘Sorry.’
‘Would you like to take a look at the dessert menu?’ She offered them two little gold embossed cards that reminded Ellie of wedding invitations, and her stomach churned in response.
‘No harm taking a look,’ she squeaked in reply, snatching both cards and not even bothering to check with Alex first, desperate to get rid of the waitress.
Shit, what if she overheard Alex’s proposal?
By the benign expression on the waitress’s face before she turned away to leave them alone once more, she’d guess not.
‘Ellie?’
She met his eyes for a split second before she stared down at the menu and tried her best to concentrate on the words swimming in front of her. ‘Oh, erm, I didn’t really want dessert,’she answered swiftly. After a moment, she realised he was still holding out his hand to her.
‘Deal?’
She slipped her hand into his, the warmth of his skin sending a shiver up her arm. ‘I’m in. Deal.’
Have I really just said yes to fake-dating Alex King?
Yes, and not because of the trip to the Bahamas, although a holiday from her life would certainly be nice, and not because in one fell swoop he’d solved her housing issue.
No.The real reason was because he needed her, and she was a sucker when it came to people needing her.
Chapter Nine
Alex had just finished his post-show talk when Isaac raised his hand and asked, ‘Will you be watching tomorrow night’s performance?’
He thought for a moment, and realised that it was time to let go. His tweaks had been in place for a week now and the show was running smoothly. ‘You know what? I think you guys are doing brilliantly without me watching every night.’ He chuckled at the relieved sighs, but understood it was more because they feared the reason he stayed was because he wasn’t happy with the show.
Deciding to lavish some more praise on his hardworking actors, he added, ‘Sasha and Louise have really taken on board my suggestions and run with them. There’s a real depth and authenticity to your characters now that blows me away – it’s fantastic. The whole production is doing an incredible job. You should all be proud, I know I am.’
Sasha, who played Myrtle, brightened at his words. ‘I hope you thanked Ellie for that,’ she teased.
Alex grinned. ‘You got it.’ He’d ordered flowers for his leading actors through Jones Floristry and told Ellie’s nanna to ensure that there was an extra bunch for her granddaughter, as her insight had really lifted the production to a whole new level.
He stood up from his seat on one of the set chairs. ‘Well, break a leg. I’ll come to a couple more shows here and there, just to check in and keep in touch. But either way, I’ll see you all at the Olivier Awards.’
The cast and crew cheered. The Oliviers were a highlight for many of them who had never been invited before as they were still so early on in their careers.
As he was walking offstage, Russell appeared from behind one of the giant party sets – a huge sparkly clamshell – not exactly the Aphrodite he’d want or hope for. ‘Hello, Alex. May I bend your ear for a minute?’
Instantly suspicious, Alex nonetheless moved out of the way of the rest of the cast as they hurried to their dressing rooms so he could stay behind with Russell.
‘Well, I’m pleased to tell you, we’ve had a little uptake in sales recently. YourArts Reviewinterview certainly piqued public interest. I have to say, it seemed a nicely balanced write-up, despite some of the leading questions.’ He gave an awkward chuckle, aware of how sore that issue was for Alex – he’d kept his word about no more interviews and not done another since. ‘Many of our patrons seem keen to spot you in the audience again.’
‘I was with a friend that night,’ Alex said coldly. He was aware from Richie that there was at least one grainy picture of Ellie and himself watching the performance. Snapped on someone’s cell several rows behind them in the interval, the photo only showed his side profile and the back of Ellie’s head. Richie had forwarded him the post asking if it was his date, and Alex had ignored him.
‘Yes, well. If you are so inclined, feel free to do so again.’
‘Like I said, I’ll come and see a few more shows during the run. But I don’t want my presence to distract from the performance.’ It was a polite way of saying that Alex wouldn’t be sitting in the auditorium again, and Russell’s hopeful expression faded.
