Angel Uncovered (16 page)

'That's because we'd just eaten something,' Angel put
in. 'Whereas those three are surviving on a lettuce leaf
and a cup of hot water and lemon.'

'So now for the really important thing – who's going to
come shopping with me this afternoon?' Candy asked. 'I
need something for the game tomorrow.' The other
three looked askance at her.

'Candy, you brought so many clothes with you!' Suki
exclaimed. 'You can't seriously need anything else?'

'Need, no. Want, yes,' Candy corrected her.

'Candy, you are turning into a such a cliché WAG,'
Madison told her.

'Like, what's the problem with that?' Candy
demanded, though she was smiling. 'So who's going to
come with me? Will you, Angel?
Please.'

Angel laughed. 'Okay, I'll come, but I'm bringing
Honey and I want to go to Kitson's on Robertson
Boulevard.'

'Ha, I knew it!' Candy said gleefully. 'You pretend not
to be bothered about shopping but you love it really.'

'Actually, it's not for me, I want to get something for
Cal.'

'Whatever,' Candy replied. 'I bet you'll get something
for yourself too.'

England were playing Portugal the next day and the
reason Angel had agreed to go shopping with Candy was
to take her mind off the match. Even with Cal playing as
well as he had done so far, she was anxious for him,
praying that his knee would hold out . . .

'Come on, Cal!' Angel screamed from the stand, causing
Gabrielle, Simone and Lauren to turn round and look
down their St Tropez-ed noses at her as if she was dirt.
What were they like! Angel thought. She was at a football
match, how else was she going to behave? She certainly
wasn't going to sit statue still like those three, more concerned
with maintaining their sophisticated appearance,
as if they were at a fashion show, than with whether their
team did well.

Angel by contrast was concentrating all her attention
on the match, willing England to win. It was their fourth
match of the tournament and it had been a heartstopping
game. For a tantalising time it looked as if
England were going through, with Cal scoring one of the
goals, but five minutes before full-time Portugal had
equalised. Neither team scored in extra time so it was
penalties.

Angel felt sick with nerves. She had chewed off half of
her fake nails in her anxiety. 'Oh my God!' she
exclaimed, clutching Candy's arm. 'I don't know if I can
bear to watch this!'

She knew that Cal would be one of the players to take
a penalty. Usually he was one of the team's best penaltytakers,
but she worried about the pressure on him and
about his knee. Several times during the match she had
seen him limping slightly. She looked at her husband, in
a huddle discussing tactics with his team mates and Jack.
Please let him score,
she prayed.

And then the whistle blew. Portugal were first to take a
penalty and the player easily scored. Connor Carter was
next for England. He strode confidently towards the ball.
At any other time Angel would have been willing him to
miss, but as England's fate hung in the balance she tried
not to think negative thoughts – tempting as it was. The
Captain tricked the goalie into thinking he was aiming
the ball left, before shooting to the right and scoring.

'Flash git!' Candy muttered so only Angel could hear.
She whole-heartedly agreed though she was glad he had
scored. She managed to chew off another nail while the
opposition scored another penalty and then it was Cal's
turn.

You can do it, Cal
, she willed him on. She watched him
walk up to the penalty spot, place the ball down then walk
back several paces, getting ready to take the shot. And
then he ran and kicked the ball. The goal-keeper flung
himself towards it – and to Angel's absolute horror
managed to save it. There was a deafening roar from the
Portuguese supporters while the English fans sat stunned
and silent.

Angel looked at Candy, her eyes wide with horror. 'Oh
my God! He'll never forgive himself for this.'

Cal, his shoulders bowed, walked despondently back to
his team mates who all rallied round him. Angel's heart
went out to him.

'Don't worry, Angel,' Candy put in. 'Maybe the other
team will miss.'

Madison was sitting on the other side and put her arm
round Angel, to try and comfort her. Naturally Cal's
failure also drew a reaction from Gabrielle and Simone
who turned to look at Angel as if she had somehow been
responsible. Angel itched to give them the finger but
resisted, knowing it wouldn't look great to have that
image of herself beamed round the world. And then to
her delight Portugal missed their next penalty while
England scored theirs. Portugal missed again and
England scored. When Portugal scored again it was all
down to Liam who blasted the ball into the back of the
net.

The England supporters went wild! Shouting and
singing filling the stadium with what felt like a wall of
sound, but though Angel joined in her heart felt heavy
for Cal. She knew that, despite England's victory, he
would be beating himself up over his own failure.

Phil was very strict about how long the players could
see their wives and girlfriends for, and after the match
they were allowed only the briefest of meetings in the
lounge.

Angel bit off her last remaining nail as she waited for
Cal to come up from the changing rooms, ignoring
Candy's comments that her hands looked minging. She
really didn't give a toss right now. Cal was the last player
to enter the room. Usually so confident, he walked in like
a defeated man, head bowed. Ignoring all the reassuring
comments from his team mates he went over to where
Angel was standing.

She immediately hugged him. 'Please don't be too
hard on yourself,' she whispered.

Cal gave her the briefest of embraces and then pulled
away. 'I don't want to talk about it,' he said in a voice
drained of emotion.

Angel longed to reassure him but she knew what Cal
was like, knew how uncompromising he could be, knew
that there were places he went sometimes where she
couldn't reach him. So she simply took his hand and said,
'I love you, Cal.'

His automatic 'Love you too' was so dismissive she
almost wished he hadn't said it at all.

On the coach journey back to LA the other women were
in high spirits, laughing and chatting. But Angel was
quiet, simply gazing out of the window. She still felt
concerned for her husband.

'You look thoughtful,' Madison said, sitting down next
to her. 'Thinking about Cal, I expect?'

Angel nodded and bit her lip.

'He's bound to feel bad today but he'll get through it,
they always do, and at least England won,' Madison
continued.

'Yeah, I know. It's just, I wish I could be with Cal right
now. I know what he's like, I know he'll be beating
himself up about missing that penalty.'

'He'll be all right, the others will look out for him. They
understand because they've all been there.'

Just then Candy popped her head over the seat in
front. 'Angel, you're still going to come out tonight,
aren't you?'

'I'm not sure,' she replied.

'Oh, come on. Tonight of all nights you don't want to
stay in your hotel room on your own, it will do your head
in. We're going to have dinner at the Ivy then check out
one of the clubs,' Candy went on.

Angel wavered; she really didn't want to stay alone in
her hotel suite, brooding about her husband.

'You don't think Cal will think it's really callous of me
to be going out?' she asked Madison.

'No! Anyway, we're celebrating England's victory.
There's no point in obsessing over one mistake.'

'You promise the WWWs won't be there?' Angel
whispered.

'I doubt it,' Candy replied. 'And even if they just
happened to be at the Ivy at the same time, they'd ignore
us so no worries.'

'Okay.' Angel finally gave in. 'But do I have to get
really dressed up?'

Candy looked at her as if she was deranged. 'Yes,
obviously!'

Angel groaned. 'Can't I just wear jeans and a tee-shirt?
The LA look is supposed to be much more relaxed than
back home.'

'Angel, you're representing your country!' Candy
teased her. 'It's got to be full on designer or you'll be
publicly stripped of your WAG title.'

'I hate that expression anyway,' she grumbled. 'I'm not
a WAG, I'm a human being!'

'God, Angel, you do realise that thousands of girls
would give anything to be a WAG and there you are,
dissing the honourable profession! I'll tell you what, I'll
come to your room and help you choose what to wear. I
know you've got loads of designer stuff really.'

Angel gave up; she did have designer gear with her.
True to her word, Gemma had acted as her personal
shopper/stylist and had pulled together a number of
stunning outfits, none of which she'd worn so far even
though she had promised to.

Usually Angel would have Gemma help her get ready
for a big night out, especially if she was going to be
photographed. However much Angel didn't want to
be photographed here she knew there were bound to be
paparazzi in LA just like there were in London. She
realised the others would spend hours getting ready but
still felt too sad about Cal to go to too much effort, so kept
her own hair and make up simple.

Candy had been through her wardrobe and chosen a
pink halterneck dress for her to wear but Angel wasn't
in the mood for something so girly. She wanted to look
more feisty. So she decided instead to wear a short black
satin jumpsuit which was sexy but understated. She
teamed it with a pair of black patent Jimmy Choo
sandals. The only jewellery she wore was her wedding
ring.

In contrast Candy, Suki and Madison were decked out
in their finest designer labels – Cavalli, Prada, Chloe and
Gucci – and sported a dazzling array of bling. They all
looked exactly like Premiership WAGs were supposed to
look.

'Why aren't you wearing the pink dress?' Candy
demanded when Angel met them in the foyer.

She shrugged. 'I'm just happier in this.'

'What is it? Marc Jacobs?' Candy went on.

'House of Topshop, I believe.'

'You look amazing, Angel,' Suki told her. 'I think you
make the rest of us look a bit over-WAGGed.'

They had a great time at the Ivy, sitting outside in the
pretty garden with its sweet white picket fence, gossiping
and star-spotting. They all tried to be subtle about it but
none of them could stop doing double takes when they
saw Cameron Diaz, Mischa Barton, Paris Hilton and
Simon Cowell, though not together!

'So, I bet you're looking forward to seeing Cal
tomorrow night?' Suki said to Angel as they waited for
their main course.

She looked blank. 'What do you mean? Why would I
be seeing him?'

The three other women looked at her in surprise and
Suki said, 'Because Phil has given the team the night off
and they can come and see us at the hotel.'

'Oh,' Angel replied, stunned that Cal hadn't told her.
Maybe he didn't want to see her.

'I got a text from Reece just before I came out. I expect
Cal will call you tonight. He's probably still brooding.'
Madison said diplomatically.

'Probably. I don't know how he feels because he
wouldn't talk about it,' Angel answered, trying not to
show how upset she was.

'You know what men are like,' Madison continued.
'Just give him time, he'll be fine.'

'And shag his brains out tomorrow night!' Candy put
in cheekily. 'That ought to do the trick. Men are simple
creatures.'

Angel put on a smile, remembering only too clearly
what had happened when she and Cal last made love.
Maybe he just didn't love her anymore? Maybe that's why
he had been so distant with her. Maybe he was just
waiting for the right time to tell her it was over between
them. The thought was unbearable to her. She knew she
couldn't keep sitting at the table without speaking to him.
Muttering about needing the loo, she excused herself
and headed for the privacy of the bathroom.

For once Cal had answered his phone.

'Hi, its me.'

'Hi, how are you?' he said.

Ignoring his question Angel went on, 'Why didn't you
tell me that you've got the night off tomorrow?'

'Sorry, I meant to text you.' He sounded as distant as
ever.

'Cal, you do still love me, don't you?' she burst out.

'Of course I love you!' Now he did sound passionate,
more like the Cal she knew.

'It's just that all the other wives knew about tomorrow
night and I was the only one who didn't.'

'I'm sorry, I was going to tell you. And I am looking
forward to seeing you, I really am.'

Angel wanted to say something flirtatious, like she
couldn't wait to see him either or to get his kit off, but it
seemed inappropriate saying something like that at the
moment; there was too much distance between them.
Instead she played it safe. 'I'm looking forward to seeing
you too.'

She walked slowly back to the table, feeling exhausted,
not so much physically as emotionally, worn out with
keeping up the pretence that her marriage was the fairy
tale everyone else believed it to be. Maybe she was being
over-sensitive about Cal? Of course he was on edge and
worried at the moment – all his life he'd dreamed of
playing for England at the World Cup and he didn't want
to blow it. Was that all it was then? Angel could only pray
that it was, and that when the tournament was over she
would get her husband back.

'Alright, Angel?' Suki asked her when she rejoined the
others.

She nodded. 'Yeah, I just wanted to speak to Cal, check
he was okay.'

'Well, just think, this time tomorrow night you'll
actually see him. I bet he'll whisk you straight off to bed!'
Candy exclaimed.

Suki and Madison both seemed slightly more sensitive
to Angel's mood and obviously realised something was
not quite right between her and Cal. They were older
than Candy and had probably experienced their share of
marital ups and downs. But Candy was oblivious – she
was young, wildly in love with Liam, and assumed that
Angel and Cal were in the same loved up state.