A Starlit Summer Read online

  Jenna took his hand in hers. She really felt for him, having to keep his feelings secret, and his relationship with Milo reduced to them creeping around in the middle of the night to see each other. Carla had been right; it must be exhausting to keep up the pretence. And for how long? What if they wanted to take their relationship to the next level? Move in together or even get married? It would never happen, not while Milo clung on to his lies to keep himself firmly in the limelight.

  Jenna squeezed his hand. ‘You okay?’

  He nodded. ‘It is what it is.’

  A slight breeze swept in off the sea. The water glimmered red and gold from the fading sun. The terrace was edged by solar lights, and warm light spilt from the hotel.

  ‘How’s things with your builder?’ Timothy asked.

  ‘He’s not my builder.’

  ‘You know what I mean.’

  ‘They’re non-existent. He won’t talk to me; he won’t listen. He’s been shown up in front of his friends and family because of everything in the media.’ She stopped and frowned. ‘You know this already. Why ask if Milo’s not going to put the record straight?’

  ‘I just really hoped you’d made up with him, that’s all.’

  ‘Fat chance of that, but it doesn’t matter now. I’ll be heading home tomorrow.’

  ‘He lives round here, does he?’

  ‘Yeah, in Mullion with his parents, so not far from here. He wants to move out but it’s expensive. He’s kinda got a good thing working with his dad, and they live in this amazing new-build in a quiet little cul-de-sac on the edge of the village. I’m not sure I’d want to move to some crappy little flat miles from the sea either.’ She looked at Timothy and shook her head. ‘Why the hell am I even talking about him? It’s over. It was over before anything really started.’

  ‘He’s still with his parents, huh?’

  ‘Circumstances. His folks are lovely though.’

  ‘You’ve met them?’

  ‘Had Sunday dinner at their house. Pretty certain that’s why he’s so pissed at me – one day he’s introducing me to his parents, the next day I was splashed across Hot Now Magazine in a bikini with Milo. He’s had his heart broken before and I know he thinks I’ve made a fool of him.’ Jenna pulled her hand from Timothy’s. ‘I’m fed up talking about it, the whole situation makes my blood boil and I want to enjoy tonight.’

  ‘I’m sorry, truly I am.’

  Jenna grabbed her drink and stood up. ‘Timothy, it’s really not your fault. Don’t beat yourself up about it; Milo sure as hell isn’t.’

  Jenna clocked him sidling on to the terrace with Heidi. So she’d kept her promise of returning after a casting in London, back for more photo opportunities with Milo. It must be heartbreaking for Timothy to watch the person he loved cosying up with a woman he didn’t actually fancy. Milo had his arm around Heidi’s waist and a beer clutched in his other hand as they chatted to the first assistant director and one of the producers. Timothy was watching them. A frown darkened his handsome face. Jenna wanted to slap Milo on Timothy’s behalf. Not that it would do any good. Timothy was fully aware of what Milo was doing, and if he wasn’t comfortable with it, he was old enough to deal with it himself. She just couldn’t help feel sorry for the guy, a far more sensitive and thoughtful person than Milo deserved.

  She squeezed Timothy’s shoulder. ‘I’m going to see Lily and Amanda.’ She motioned to the lawn. ‘Want to join us?’

  ‘I will, in a bit... I just need to do something...’ He stood abruptly and walked across the terrace, away from Milo and Heidi, and disappeared through the open doors of the hotel’s bar.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  It felt strange, wandering around the cottage for the last time after calling it home for two months. She wondered if Aunt Vi would have approved of the changes made to her home. Jenna ran her fingers along the oak mantel that Finn had uncovered when he knocked the fireplace out. The thought crossed her mind that she could end up growing old on her own just as her great aunt had. She wiped away a tear. She was being silly and emotional; it wasn’t like she’d never meet anyone else or never come here again. It belonged to her parents and she could have a holiday down here whenever the place was free. And it would be ready to rent out soon. The outside was finished, the upstairs too with its beautiful new bathroom, spacious landing, freshly plastered and painted bedrooms, and polished wooden floors. Downstairs the fireplace in the living room had been restored to its former glory, ready for a wood burner to be bought and fitted. Jenna had a flashback to the argument in the dust-covered room, the lump hammer clutched in Finn’s fist while he’d been hacking away at the old 1960s tiled fire surround. Jenna wiped away another tear and closed the living room door with a bang.

  There was only the kitchen left to do and that was scheduled for next week when she was back in London. The old kitchen was being ripped out and replaced, but the lovely old butler sink and the flagstone floor were remaining, the old married with the new.

  Her head thumped with a wine and gin hangover from the night before. She’d already had two strong black coffees and the thought of driving all the way home didn’t fill her with joy.

  Jenna placed a bottle of wine and chocolates on the kitchen table, along with two envelopes; one for Gary, the other for Finn. Gary’s was to thank him for all the work they’d done on the cottage, and Finn’s, well Finn’s had taken most of the morning to write. In the end she opted for something short and truthful. She ran her fingers across Finn’s name. She was being bloody soppy over someone she’d barely got to know, someone she’d only spent a couple of days with in a summer filled with new friends and film stars.

  She leant the envelopes against the bottle and went outside. She wished it was raining; it would make it easier to leave if it was miserable. Instead, it was a charmed day, warm yet fresh with blue sky and sunshine. Tears welled again as she wandered around the garden and took in the neat lawn edged by a defined border; the jumble of undergrowth and brambles tamed to reveal the beauty of what lay beneath; lavender, hebes and gladioli bringing splashes of colour to beneath the trees which cast long shadows over the sunny lawn. There was still lots of work to do; she hadn’t had the chance to tackle the wooded area of the garden, but the transformation was immense.

  Her suitcase and bag were packed, but as she stood in the middle of the lawn with her hands on her hips, eyes closed, head tilted back relishing the warmth of the sun on her face, she was reluctant to leave. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to go back to the monotony of castings, auditions, long filming days and working on a different job from one week to the next. She’d loved the stability of the summer, knowing where she’d be each day and what she’d be doing. Despite the drama that had ensued over the last few weeks, she’d got to know the cast and had made new friends. But it was over. It was back to her tiny flat with no garden and a road choked with traffic, all the things this summer had promised an escape from.

  Birds twittered in the trees and she watched them swoop across the garden. She’d hung a bird feeder on a branch of a tree close to the cottage, so she could watch the birds from the kitchen window.

  Jenna shoved her hands in the pockets of her denim skirt and walked round to the front. She’d feed the birds, then go. She found the birdseed tub in the cupboard below the sink and took it outside. She started to fill one of the feeders when a vehicle pulled into the drive. She frowned. It was Saturday. She wasn’t expecting anyone, unless Lily had decided to call in on her way home but that was unlikely, and Amanda’s boyfriend wasn’t driving down until later. A car door slammed, just one. A tingle shot across Jenna’s shoulders. Footsteps crunched over gravel. She dumped the birdseed tub on the grass and raced around to the front of the cottage. There was no one there.

  ‘Hello?’

  Finn’s voice from inside the cottage made her heart falter.

  ‘Out here!’

  He appeared in the doorway, his blonde hair ruffled, and a familiar cream Ripcurl T-shirt hug
ged his chest. ‘I thought I wouldn’t get here before you left,’ he said, breathlessly.

  ‘Oh?’ Jenna shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand.

  ‘You’re about to leave?’

  ‘Uh huh.’ Jenna met his blue eyes. He seemed to be less angry than the last time she’d seen him, his face more open, happier, like he’d be willing to talk. ‘I was just feeding the birds.’

  They looked at each other, their silence only interrupted by birdsong and a breeze rustling branches.

  Jenna put her hands in her pockets. ‘Why are you here?’

  ‘An actor from your film came over last night. Timothy.’

  ‘He did what?’

  ‘He was feeling massively guilty about you.’

  Jenna remembered back to the night before and how conflicted he’d been. He’d said he needed to do something. Is that what he’d meant? She’d been too wrapped up in celebrating with Lily and Amanda to notice if Timothy had been there or not. ‘How did he even know where you lived?’

  ‘He found out from the pub landlord – it’s a small enough place, everyone knows everyone.’

  Jenna wasn’t used to that. Where she lived, she only knew the person who lived in the flat opposite to say hello to, and she had no clue who lived above her.

  ‘Why did he want to see you?’ She hoped she knew the answer but she held her breath anyway.

  ‘To explain everything – the whole situation with you and Milo. Or not as it turned out.’ He watched her intently and her heart thudded faster at his words. ‘He said the whole thing had been a set-up, from Milo handpicking you for the role, all the flirting, and a photographer being paid to take suggestive photos.’

  Jenna bit her lip in an attempt to contain her emotions. ‘Did he tell you why Milo did it?’

  ‘He was totally upfront to the point he had bloody photos on his phone of him and Milo together.’

  ‘Woah, he showed you them?’

  ‘Not like that.’ Finn laughed. ‘A selfie of them kissing. Pretty bloody persuasive though. I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you. It just seemed so definite – I couldn’t unsee those photos of you two and that’s obviously why Milo did it, because people believe what they see, don’t they? Even something that’s not real. I get it now that there was no photo of you actually kissing. I saw you in a bikini with Milo Blake half naked, his hand on your bum, looking like you were about to kiss and I saw red. You were everywhere – friends kept messaging me with stuff from Twitter and photos from Instagram... I bought the story the same way everyone else did...’

  Jenna stepped closer and took his hands. ‘I’m sorry about everything too, Finn. But you’ve got to understand you hurt me just as much by not believing I was telling the truth.’

  He nodded. ‘I’m so sorry. It’s just I’ve been hurt before... And the thing with Milo...’

  ‘I know. It’s what he does, plays the fame game and he’s epically good at it. He just picked the wrong person to spin a lie around – to begin with at least; he’s having a ball with Heidi.’

  ‘Does she know he’s gay?’

  Jenna shrugged. ‘I have no idea, but either way I doubt she’d care. She wants the fame as much as he does.’

  ‘And you don’t?’

  Jenna ran her thumbs along Finn’s. ‘No, not like this, not at the cost of friendship or a relationship.’ She met his eyes again. His smile lit up his face, making the tension in her chest disperse. She shook her head. ‘I can’t believe Timothy went round to yours to put the story straight. He’s a decent bloke; I knew he felt guilty for everything Milo had done.’

  ‘I kinda felt sorry for him. I mean, his boyfriend refuses to be honest about their relationship and feels the need to pretend he’s with women.’

  ‘And yet Timothy stays with him. He must trust you not to say anything. I wonder if Milo knows Timothy spoke to you?’

  ‘I’m not going to say a word. You’ve got more risk of a story getting out because of my mum. She had a bloody fit.’ Finn laughed. ‘I had no clue who Timothy was until he introduced himself but Mum recognised him straight away from that Jane Austen series she’s been watching. She was totally giddy that someone famous was in the house.’

  Jenna smiled at the thought of Finn’s mum telling all her friends about a famous actor popping over for a cuppa. And then sadness washed over her at the memory of the evening she’d spent with Finn and his parents and how it had all been so brief and was now over.

  ‘Hey, don’t look so sad.’ Finn lifted her chin. ‘Are we good? I don’t want you leaving with us still being on bad terms.’

  ‘We’re good. I’m just sorry that what we had got ruined over gossip.’

  ‘What I don’t get is why you didn’t tell me right at the beginning that you weren’t with him in that way? You know, the morning I saw him in the cottage?’

  ‘I tried to but you were adamant that he was my boyfriend. He was walking round the cottage naked – I totally understand how you could jump to conclusions. I figured me trying to deny things further would make me seem guiltier. Except I had nothing to be guilty about. It’s not like we were actually together.’

  ‘But did you want us to be?’ His hands tensed in hers. ‘Do you want us to be?’

  His words hung heavy in the brightness of the morning.

  ‘That weekend we had together, you know, before that bloody magazine article, was the best couple of days of this summer.’ She wiped away a tear from her cheek. ‘I live hundreds of miles away from you, Finn, my whole life, most of the work I do is in London... I don’t know how we could work...’

  He put a finger to her lips. ‘But if it wasn’t for that. If there weren’t any obstacles...’

  ‘Then I’d be with you in a heartbeat.’

  His grin said it all.

  ‘Do you have to go today?’

  ‘I’ve got an audition in London on Monday.’

  ‘But that’s Monday. You could go tomorrow instead...’

  His blue eyes didn’t move from hers. One more day. One more night. One night with Finn. Jenna swallowed; heat flushing the top of her chest. Wouldn’t that make it even harder to leave tomorrow? She knew she was overthinking, like she’d been overthinking everything for the last couple of weeks, getting herself into a mess emotionally. But it was also only ten in the morning. They had the rest of the day together, so why rush back.

  She stood on tiptoes and closed the distance between them with a kiss. He kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her until she was cocooned in his embrace. The sun warmed them both. Those butterflies Lily had talked about in the pub the other evening were back, along with the desire to stay wrapped in his arms forever.

  Jenna took his hand and led him inside, past the kitchen table with the bottle, chocolates, and the card for him that was no longer needed. She’d been staying in the cottage long enough to know where all the creaks were as she led him upstairs. Her heart beat faster as they reached the landing, now a peaceful uncluttered space. The walls were a calming fern-green and there was a comfy armchair by the window that looked out over the garden and the wood.

  Her room was finished too with a deep sunshine-yellow on the walls. The old wrought iron bed had a new mattress and a colourful bedspread which injected warmth into the room unlike the first time she’d walked in here, when the place looked sad and grey. It was as much Finn’s room as it was hers; he’d repaired the cracks in the walls, repapered and painted, sanded the floors and stained them. There were still finishing touches to do, things to buy like a rug and new curtains to replace the faded flowery ones, but that would happen in good time.

  The bedsprings groaned as they tumbled on to the bed together. Jenna kicked off her shoes and pulled Finn’s T-shirt over his head, and he kissed her while helping her to wriggle out of her skirt.

  ‘I’ve been dreaming about this moment all summer,’ Finn said. His hands explored her body, his lips kissing her neck and the top of her chest. He unhooked her bra with one hand and grinne
d. She ran her fingers slowly across his chest, tracing the outline of his tattoos, down to the defined muscles of his stomach until her hand reached the button of his shorts.

  Jenna had dreamt of this moment too, the perfect end to her summer.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Leicester Square was bathed in light, from the restaurants and bars, the cinemas and street lights, and it made no difference that it was an overcast autumnal evening. A sea of people clutched their mobiles as they stood waiting behind barriers lining the square outside the Odeon. Milo Blake’s handsome face beamed down over the square from the poster above the entrance, a 1940s fighter plane in the sky above him, the backdrop a Cornish setting.

  Jenna was blinded by flashes from the photographers as she slowly made her way down the red carpet. People shouted her name in an attempt to get her to look their way. The nervous fluttering in her stomach intensified with each photo taken, and each autograph she signed. Up ahead she spied Milo charming the crowd, happy to take selfies with adoring fans. Heidi was not far behind him, lapping up the attention, a star in her own right after the year she’d had. Timothy was signing autographs further down the red carpet. It was a bizarre set-up they had, but one that was seemingly profitable for them all.

  Jenna squeezed Finn’s arm tighter and he squeezed her back. If she felt this nervous in front of all these people and the bank of photographers, she could only imagine how nervous he was. He didn’t show it though and looked as much a film star as anyone. She was certain the pictures the girls in the crowd were taking were more about him than they were for her. Even so, as Jenna stopped to sign a couple of autographs and pose for selfies, she still couldn’t get over the fact that people knew who she was. Finn didn’t stray far from her, yet he held his own, laughing and joking with the crowd. He looked so different in a suit instead of his usual casual surf-wear. And she’d spent a small fortune on a long and sparkly designer dress that hugged her slender curves. She knew she looked good and she knew her and Finn looked good together.