His father raised an eyebrow in question. ‘But?’
Alex shook his head, and sucked in a deep breath. ‘I don’t need it – thanks to you, I can do whatever I want, and that’s not what I want. I want London and Ellie. You probably think it’s too soon—’
His father interrupted him with a raised hand. ‘No, you boys are like me. When you fall, you fall hard. I was the same with your mother. She wanted to work in LA, so I worked in LA. Best decision I ever made.’
Alex nodded. His parents had always balanced their careers according to their relationship. It was one of the reasons they’d moved so much when he was younger. He’d never appreciated it, but they’d moved so that they could stay together.
Now he understood what he never had before. Home meant nothing without the right person.
‘Have you seen Ellie?’
His dad shook his head. ‘No, but your mother and I were playing tennis first thing – she’s determined to get better. So, we haven’t been in the house much.’
‘Okay, thanks.’ Alex was about to leave when his father reached over and rested a hand on his forearm, stilling him.
‘You know we are proud of you. Sometimes, in this business, we forget that not everyone wants to be a star. When you went into directing, we worried it was because you felt…’
‘Inadequate?’ Alex suggested, and his father winced. Alex shrugged and returned to his seat. ‘I mean, you’re not wrong. That’s why I wanted to try something else other than acting. Theatre directing suits me.’ He took a deep breath, and confessed the truth. ‘I never liked acting. I did it because it was the obvious choice, and I wanted to prove to you that I could beas good as you and Liam. But the truth is, I’ve always hated being in the public eye. I’m much happier behind the scenes.’
His dad sighed, heavy with regret. ‘I’m so sorry. Looking back, I realise how much we pressured you into acting. Liam was doing so well, we forgot that not everyone wants the same life we have. And we weren’t sure how to support you without seeming like we were interfering – you were always so sure of yourself compared to Liam. We thought that by taking a step back we were allowing you room to grow. But now I see that only made you think we didn’t care… and we do. We’ve booked tickets for your show, if you’ll have us?’
‘Of course I’ll have you.’ Alex leaned back, shocked by the contrition in his father’s tone. ‘I’m the one to blame. I should have talked to you about how I felt, rather than getting all bitter and twisted over it. I would love for you to come and see my work. Always. It’d be an honour.’
His dad gave his arm a squeeze and patted it, his eyes shining with raw emotion. ‘Go find that gorgeous girl of yours.’ He picked up the franchise movie script. ‘Maybe I’d be interested in being…Tanko, alien-lion-man from the Planet Kelton… What do you think?’
Alex laughed. ‘You’d be great, Dad. He’s an awesome character.’
Alex followed the path that ran a circuit around the island.
Maybe she’d gone for a walk? She’d done that a couple of times when she’d grown bored of reading and sunbathing. Ellie was never still for long and he loved that about her. She was a woman of action, always optimistically moving forward no matter the struggles she faced.
He didn’t see her, so he headed back towards the house via the pool area. Worry began to itch and crawl up the back of his neck when he still couldn’t find her.
Had they missed each other and she was already back at the house? The pool, sun room and kitchen were all empty of her.
There was no sign of her in their bedroom suite, but something about the rooms seemed strange, although it took him several moments of standing and staring at the bathroom to realise what was so disturbing about it.
Where was Ellie’s stuff?
Ellie was messy, tended to leave her hair and make-up products all over the counters. Eddie’s team always tidied up – much to her chagrin, they arranged all of her clutter in neat piles. But today every surface was clean and empty.
He walked into the bedroom and checked the wardrobes. Her suitcase and clothing were all gone. He stood in the lounge area, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
Where the fuck was she?
Had she gone on an overnight trip with one of the bridesmaids? But why wouldn’t she mention it, and why take everything with her?
Had something terrible happened, news from back home? A surge of adrenaline rushed through his bloodstream, and he lurched forward, only to come to an immediate stop.
She’d have told him if something had happened to any of her family.
Wouldn’t she?
He noticed a hastily written note on the coffee table, held down by a glass.
The holiday is over. No need to call me.
Ellie
