taken his unrequested complimentary welcome basket up while he was in the shower. ‘Now go try on the Léger.’
‘I’m too skinny for Léger,’ Tessa whined, heading back into the tiny room. ‘He makes me look like a toothpick.’
‘That’s why you’re trying on the bustier style, it’ll give you the illusion of curves,’ Jenny yelled through the door. ‘No jewellery and go with the strappy Louboutins. Oh, and try the leather jacket with that one too.’
‘Jenny, you’re really good at this,’ I said, catching her off guard with a side hug. ‘She looks amazing.’
‘I know, right?’ She flushed and hugged me back. ‘And it’s so much fun. I’m shopping with someone else’s credit card, telling them what to do and they’re listening and paying me for it. I think they call it “living the dream”.’
‘Yay you.’ I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. The car must have arrived. ‘Look, I’m going to go. You have fun and I’ll call you later.’
‘As long as you know I’m not happy about this,’ she yelled as I walked away. ‘You tell that dick that I’m going to beat his ass when I next see him.’
James had clearly decided it wasn’t safe to be in the car with me and had sent his driver alone. I couldn’t help but wonder about all the things he had seen, all the things he must know. James must be paying him a fortune not to spill it all. That, or he was actually a decent person. Wow, I did not love the fact that the idea of him just being a good person was my second thought.
We drove south in silence for about ten minutes before pulling up outside what looked like a park. A park with an animatronic mammoth sinking into a pool of stinking black goo.
‘Here?’ I asked the driver, trying to spot James and Blake. And there they were, sitting on a bench just inside the gate.
‘Here,’ he confirmed, turning off the engine. ‘Try not to push them in.’
The pair of them stood when they saw me walking across the grass. I stopped short of the hug that James offered and folded my arms, mirroring Blake’s barely restrained fury. Who thought we would ever have something in common?
‘Tar pits?’ I asked, looking around at the groups of tiny school children running around us. They were too tiny and high on being out of the classroom to recognize or care about James, but their teachers were all trying very hard not to stare.
‘No one’s going to think we’re shagging round the back of a museum, are they?’ James shrugged. ‘There are children everywhere and, you know, tar isn’t exactly an aphrodisiac.’
‘Whatever.’ I tried to prepare myself. This wasn’t going to be easy and I hadn’t reckoned on my resolve weakening on seeing how awful James looked. Well, awful for James. His hair was rumpled and his dark circles were as pronounced as mine, but he still looked as though he was just playing the part of heartbreak, while I looked more like Amy Winehouse after a particularly bad night out. And even if he looked like shit, he still smelt awfully pretty. ‘Can we just get this over with?’
Blake led the way and past the tar pits to a large deserted expanse of park around the back of the museum. He leaned against what was, according to a small inscription on its base, a plastic sculpture of a giant prehistoric sloth and looked the other way. James sighed and sat down on the grass a few feet from him. I looked from one to the other. Blake’s face was frozen, impossible to read. Maybe James’s lack of sleep was down to more than just worrying about what I might say or do.
‘Angela,’ James started, pulling at my hand. I sat down beside him, not really knowing what else to do. ‘First, can I just say I’m sorry?’
‘You’ve actually said that a couple of times already,’ I said, my eyes still trained on Blake. ‘And I think it’s best if I talk first. Sorry if you’d been rehearsing.’
‘Go for it,’ he said, squeezing the hand I’d forgotten he was holding.
‘I spoke to my editor this morning.’ I pulled my hand away and paused to see his reaction. Stupid bloody actor didn’t bloody have one. He should absolutely play professional poker. ‘The magazine doesn’t want to run your interview any more.’
‘What?’ He looked shocked. ‘What did you say?’
‘Calm down, I didn’t tell them anything. Yet …’ I noticed we’d almost got Blake’s attention. ‘They want us to do a “we’re so in love” interview in Icon next week instead. Apparently, I’m no good as an interviewer any more because everyone thinks I’m a great big slag who came out here solely to seduce you.’
‘Seriously?’ James shook his head.
‘Seriously.’
‘Well, thank fuck for that,’ he laughed, pushing me back in a giant bear hug. Too shocked to do anything but worry about grass stains on my T-shirt, I lay staring helplessly up at Blake.
‘That’s brilliant!’ James roared. ‘This is going to solve all our problems. We’ll do the interview, you’ll move here, everyone will think we’re dating. This is perfect. We’ll get an apartment – how about Los Feliz? You liked it there, didn’t you? Or would you rather be near the beach? Oh, Angela, this is fantastic. Why didn’t you tell me on the phone?’
Finally finding some strength, I pushed him off me and shot up to my feet. ‘Because we’re not doing it! I have a life and a job and a boyfriend and I’m not giving that up to cover up for you.’
‘But it’ll be perfect.’ James looked confused. ‘I’ll pay for everything. And you’ll have your own room in the apartment and everything. It’s not like we’ll really be dating after all, is it?’
‘Can you hear yourself? I’m not doing this, James. You have to tell the magazine the truth.’ I span round to Blake. ‘And you, you can’t seriously be OK with this?’
He shrugged but his face was ashen, eyes burning. And, oh my God, were they red around the edges? Had he been crying?
‘Angela, do you think this is the first time this has happened?’ James jumped to his feet, his hands on my shoulders. ‘We get on well, don’t we? We’re friends? And it would be great for your career. Think of how cool it will be, living in LA, in the sun, going to parties, premieres – it would be a dream.’
‘But not mine,’ I shrugged off his hands. ‘James, listen to me. I have a life. I have a boyfriend. And if you don’t come out, tell the truth, I’m going to lose it all. If we’re really friends, you’ll do it.’
James rubbed his hands down his face. ‘You don’t even know what you’re asking. You’re being so bloody selfish.’
‘I’m being selfish? You don’t actually know anything about women, do you?’ I snapped.
‘Doesn’t know much about men either,’ Blake muttered.
I carried on regardless. ‘All I’m asking you to do is to tell the truth and you’re asking me to lie and give up absolutely everything. Which sounds more reasonable to you?’
James threw his hands up in the air. ‘But think about what I’m offering you.
