more because the time she’d spent with Flynn had been one of the happiest times of her life. He was such easy company, funny and relaxing to be around. He settled her nerves by getting her to go through her part numerous times. He had even gone to the trouble of downloading and printing the script so he could take Kate or Greg’s part when needed.
Kat couldn’t stop herself thinking what an amazing partner he would make. The way he supported her, encouraged her, challenged her to give more than she thought herself capable of giving. The evenings, they’d spent lingering over dinner and chatting over current affairs or life in general. His sharp mind kept her on her toes; he saw the flaw in any argument and had the mental flexibility to adopt any other position and argue from that corner with just as much skill as from the opinions he held himself.
But it was the nights in his arms she enjoyed the most. Not just the wonderful sex, which seemed to get better and better, but the closeness she felt to him. The sense of him understanding her on a level no one had taken the time or effort to do before.
Even the way he had rescheduled his first client so he could have breakfast with her on Monday morning made her realise how well he knew her. How had it happened? How had the man she had seen as her mortal enemy now become her biggest ally?
Kat could still taste his kiss when she walked through the back door of the theatre. Elisabetta was already there, talking with the director Leon and the other cast member playing Greg. There were stagehands about, as well as the costume designer called Ruby, whom Kat had met on the day of the audition.
It was clear from the moment they began the rehearsals that nothing Kat could do would please Elisabetta. She kept insisting on Kat redoing the scene, even though Leon had been reasonably happy with it. But apparently Elisabetta’s demands overruled his opinion and he meekly allowed his biggest star to call the shots.
It was beyond exhausting but Kat hadn’t fought this hard and for this long to be bullied by a woman who should have been professional enough to put personal issues aside for the sake of the theatre company and the sponsors. Kat called on every bit of determination she possessed to get through the session without biting back. She withstood the stinging criticism, she turned a deaf ear to the insults and she channelled her frustration into her acting.
‘That’s it for the day,’ Leon finally announced. ‘We’re back on set at ten tomorrow. Well done, everyone.’
Elisabetta gave Kat a haughty look. ‘You’ll have to work harder. I’m not impressed by what I’ve seen so far.’
‘You liked what I did in the audition,’ Kat said. ‘What’s changed?’
Elisabetta’s gaze could have stripped three decades of wallpaper off a wall. ‘You think because you’re his bastard child you can talk to me like that?’
Kat aligned her shoulders. Raised her chin. ‘We’re not on set now. I’ll talk to you any way I like.’
Elisabetta’s black eyes flashed with venom. ‘He doesn’t want you in his life, you know. He’s only doing it for the publicity. To make his fans think he’s a good man.’
‘I know,’ Kat said. ‘That’s why I don’t want anything to do with him.’
Elisabetta’s brows snapped together. ‘You’re not coming to his party?’
‘Nope.’
Something hard in the older woman seemed to give way. It was visible in the small almost imperceptible sag of her shoulders, in the way her tautly held features ever so slightly relaxed. ‘Why not?’
‘Would you want to meet someone who paid to get rid of you?’ Kat asked.
Elisabetta shifted her mouth back and forth as if she was shuffling words like cards inside her mouth. ‘What’s going on between you and Flynn Carlyon?’
‘Nothing.’
Elisabetta smiled—the smile of a cat standing beside an empty birdcage. ‘So he’s managed to do it, then.’
‘Do what?’
‘Get you into his bed.’
Kat ground her back teeth together to try and control her temper. ‘My private life is none of your business.’
‘Don’t get too cosy in his bed,’ Elisabetta said. ‘He won’t offer you anything but a quick tumble when it suits him.’
‘You know something, Ms Albertini?’ Kat said. ‘You’re a wonderful actor, one of my all-time favourites. I’ve admired you from afar for as long as I can remember. But as a person? You’re a bitter disappointment.’
At first Kat thought Elisabetta was going to slap her. The colour rose in the older woman’s face in twin spots on her regal cheekbones, but then she tossed her glorious mane of salt-and-pepper hair back and laughed. Kat stood there waiting for it to end, sure another insult would follow and mentally preparing for it. Had she gone too far? Who in their right mind would insult one of London’s most adored theatre actors? Was this the end of her career? Was it over before it had even begun?
An apology was forming on Kat’s lips when Elisabetta stopped laughing and smiled at her instead. ‘I like you, Kat Winwood,’ she said. ‘You’ve got G and D.’
Kat frowned in puzzlement. ‘G and D?’
‘Guts and determination,’ Elisabetta said. ‘Believe me, in this business you’ll need it. I’ll see you tomorrow. Ciao.’ And with a wave of her hand and a swish of her plush velvet coat she disappeared through the stage curtains.
KAT HAD JUST returned from walking Cricket and was hanging up his lead when Flynn came in from work.
‘How did today go?’ he asked.
It occurred to her then how comforting it was to have someone to debrief with at the end of the day. Under normal circumstances she would have gone home to an empty bedsit. Sure, she could have called a friend or have a friend call her, but to have someone on site who was genuinely interested in her made her feel supported. Grounded. Safe. Protected. ‘It was...interesting,’ she said.
‘Did Elisabetta behave herself?’
Kat took Flynn’s coat from him and held it against her. She could easily have hung it up next to hers but she wanted to savour the warmth and smell of his body still trapped in the cashmere. ‘She was hell on wheels during rehearsals, but after everyone left we sort of came to an understanding.’
One of his dark brows lifted in an arc. ‘That sounds intriguing. Tell me what happened.’
Kat gave him a quick run-down on the conversation she’d had with Elisabetta. ‘Mind you,’ she said. ‘I wouldn’t trust her, for all her charming friendliness. She’s like a chameleon. She changes when it suits her.’
‘That’s why she has the reputation she has as an actor,’ Flynn said. ‘She can morph into any character she wants. But you did well to stand up to her. Not many people do. They’re too frightened of her celebrity to connect with the person under the façade.’
Kat
