‘Erm, hi,’ I said awkwardly.
Laura stepped closer to me, her arm brushing up against mine. ‘Who are you?’
Ever the protective sister.
‘I’m a fan. Just a fan,’ the woman said with a broad grin. ‘Patrick, what a rockstar, eh?’
She didn’t seem intoxicated or anything, just … just fixated. A prickle of discomfort warred with my wish to be polite. I mean, I got it. Hadn’t I acted the fool when I’d first met Patrick at Maria’s?
God, that felt like a lifetime ago.
But this woman seemed a little older than the usual age of Patrick’s fans. These Exiles were a popular band, but their core fanbase was under thirty. This woman was closer to being middle-aged.
‘How is it going between you two? It must be so exciting, being with a celebrity. Do you love him?’
My laugh was awkward and damned uncomfortable. ‘Erm …’
What the hell was I supposed to say to that?
‘Can I get a selfie?’ The woman pulled a phone from her pocket and smiled brightly. ‘Or your friend could take it for us?’
What was it Patrick had said – it was important fans always walked away with a positive experience.
My shoulders relaxed. Someone happy to hand their phone over to a stranger probably wasn’t going to do something weird. ‘Yeah, sure. Why not. Laura, do you mind?’
My twin gave me a look that said quite clearly that this was not what she’d signed up for, but she took the phone from the woman anyway and nodded. ‘All right, smile, you two.’
The woman threw an arm around me and held me close, far closer than was comfortable, but she was grinning at the camera, so I smiled as hard as I could and tried not to breathe in her sharp jasmine perfume.
‘Thank you so much, Jessy,’ she said with a grin. ‘I hope he’s treating you well, petal. Showering you with jewels, that sort of thing.’
‘Yeah,’ I said, my stomach twisting. ‘Well, it was nice to meet you.’
Thank goodness she got the hint, walking away with another quick thanks over her shoulder before turning the corner, her gaze fixed on her phone.
‘Weird,’ Laura muttered. ‘But I guess you are now with Patrick Tetlow, international celebrity. Bound to happen eventually.’
‘Yeah.’ No wonder Patrick wore those ridiculous hats and pulled them low over his face. If that was just one person, and it made me feel that uncomfortable …
‘Right, I gotta go. Those analysis spreadsheets won’t review themselves,’ Laura said, pulling me into a hug before glancingup at the Phoenix Hotel for a last time. ‘Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, yeah?’
This time my smile was natural. ‘No promises.’
‘Yes?’ The doorman’s gaze flickered over me in barely veiled disapproval as I stepped forward.
It was all I could do not to roll my eyes. I mean, what the hell did he think I was doing, other than walking towards the door? ‘I’m meeting someone. A friend.’
A friend.
The doorman raised an eyebrow. ‘Indeed.’
OK, fine, this was a fancier place than I had thought, and I definitely wasn’t dressed for it. The sudden downpour of summer rain as I’d left my hotel meant I’d thrown on an old raincoat that had definitely seen better days, but underneath I was wearing a pretty passable sundress.
‘Right. In y’go.’
It wasn’t the warmest of welcomes, and it was perfectly matched by the unimpressed expression on the receptionist’s face as I stepped towards the front desk.
‘Are you lost?’ he asked with a look of pity.
