Angel Uncovered (24 page)

'Jez!' Angel ordered in frustration, 'Get on with it!'

'Anyway Rufus comes over all dominant and insists
that I open it. He opens his first and pulls out a slip of
paper which says, "
I hope the answer is yes.
" I still don't get
it so just to keep him happy I crack mine open . . . and,
fuck me, there's a ring inside! I look at Rufus and he says,
"Is the answer yes?"'

'It was an incredible moment,' Rufus put in. 'For once
Jez was totally speechless.'

Everyone laughed at that and then Jez said, 'So I
shouted, "Abso-fucking-lutely!" And snogged the face off
him!'

'So let's see the ring then,' Angel demanded.

Jez held out his hand, showing off a simple platinum
band with a single diamond. It wasn't the usual kind of
jewellery he wore, but Angel guessed that was all Rufus
could afford on his salary as a personal trainer.

'Very stylish,' she said, trying to be diplomatic.

Jez vehemently shook his head. 'Forget about being
nice. We've had the ring conversation and Rufus is cool
about me taking this back and getting another one.'

Rufus nodded and rolled his eyes. 'Yes, I'm cool with
it.'

'Here's a picture of the one I want,' Jez continued,
getting out a photograph of a blingtastic diamond. 'I
think you'll agree that's more up my street, isn't it?'

Angel could only nod in agreement. 'Okay, so now you
have to tell us about the wedding.'

For the second time that day Jez and Gemma
exchanged meaningful glances.

'It's
okay
,' she insisted, 'I'm fine about this, really.'

'Obviously I wanted something very low key and
understated,' Jez joked – and the whole table erupted
into laughter.

'You're right, I want the works!' he said, and launched
into a blow by blow account of his dream wedding day.

Angel smiled away and nodded, but every word he said
awoke painful memories for her – her own hopes of
renewing her wedding vows and the dream day that was
shattered. At the end of his wedding plan which included
a stately home, an Arabian Nights theme and a honeymoon
in Morocco, she said, 'So I hope I'm going to be
your best woman?'

Jez sniffed, 'Well, even though I wasn't
yours
–' Gemma
had been Angel's best woman at her wedding, with Tony
as best man '– yes, you are!'

'Fantastic!' Angel exclaimed. 'That means I get tomake
a really embarrassing speech.'

'No way!' he shot back. 'I want my wedding day to be
classy all the way.'

'So who are you going to have as your best man?' she
asked.

A third meaningful glance between Jez and Gemma
left Angel with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

'We wanted to ask Cal, if that's okay with you?' Jez said
quietly.

'Oh,' Angel replied, feeling at a loss to know what else
to say.

'But if you really don't want us to, then we won't,'
Rufus put in.

She shook her head. 'No, of course I wouldn't stop you
from asking him.'

'And who knows?' her brother put in, always the
sensible, calm one. 'Maybe by then you guys will have
sorted things out between you.'

'Maybe,' Angel replied, trying to blink back the tears.
She picked up the empty bottle of champagne to divert
everyone's attention away from her and held it up. 'Shall
we get some more?'

But just as she was looking round the bar for their
waiter she noticed a familiar couple sitting at one of the
other tables. It was Connor and Gabrielle. Angel
shuddered inside – they were the last people she wanted
to see, now or at any other time. Gabrielle had a face like
thunder when she noticed Angel but Connor smiled
straight at her and then, to her horror, he got up and
started walking towards her.

'Pervert alert,' muttered Gemma when she saw him.

'Maybe he's going to proposition all of us for a gang
bang!' Jez added cheekily.

'Shh!' Angel warned, steeling herself for his approach.

'Hi, Angel, looking beautiful as ever.'

Connor was standing by her chair and she was forced
to acknowledge him. She made as if to stand, but he bent
down so that his face was just a few inches from hers and
Angel winced as she caught a waft of his over-powering
aftershave. He kissed her on the cheek and she had to
fight an impulse to wipe clean her skin.

'Why did you send all those gifts back?' he said quietly.
'I really wanted you to have them. It was my way of
saying sorry.'

He was staring right at her, and instead of his usual
cocky expression, Angel was unsettled to find that he had
a look of what she could only describe as longing on his
face.

She was about to reply when Gabrielle appeared beside
him. 'Connor, we've got to go.' Her voice was like ice and
she totally blanked Angel.

Very reluctantly he stood up, but before he followed
Gabrielle, who had already marched out of the bar, he
said, 'I really need to see you, Angel. Here's my number,
please call me.' He slipped a card into her hand then left.

Angel's friends were staring at her in shocked silence.
Jez was the first to speak.

'I think the England Captain may well have become
your Number One fan, darling.'

'Oh, God,' she groaned, putting her head in her hands.
'Someone please pour me another drink.'

Angel didn't get back home until four but she wasn't
tired. Connor and his infatuation with her seemed the
least of her problems now. She thought about Jez and
Rufus, and about how much in love they were, and was
so happy for them. But a small voice inside her said,
What
about me? Am I ever going to be happy again?

She went into the lounge, walked over to the mantelpiece
and picked up one of the photographs displayed
there. It was of her and Cal, taken when they were in the
garden one summer day having a barbecue with their
friends.

Cal had his arms round Angel and they were both
laughing. She'd been five months pregnant with Honey
at the time, and she and Cal had just found out that she
was having a girl and were both so incredibly happy at
the news. Angel had felt truly blessed. Now, less than two
years later, she felt as if her life was in ruins. She gazed at
the picture of Cal – his handsome face so familiar and
precious to her. 'How could you do this to me?' she said
out loud.

She put the picture back face down then went round
the room putting all the pictures of the two of them face
down – she couldn't bear to look at him. And suddenly
the anger she felt about what he'd done boiled up in her
again. She knew she should go to bed but instead she
poured herself a large Bailey's to numb the pain. The
hurt was so intense it was almost physical – she felt as if
she was being torn apart inside, piece by piece. 'How
could you do this to me?' she said again. Then drained
the glass and poured herself another . . .

She was woken the next day by the ringing of her mobile.
Blearily she reached for it, checking to see who was
calling. It was Carrie. No way was she up to speaking to
her so early in the morning with a stonking hangover;
Angel switched the phone off. Then somehow she
managed to get up, all the while berating herself for
having drunk so much. She pulled on her silk robe and
staggered downstairs to the kitchen where Lucy was
getting Honey ready to go out. 'Morning!' the nanny said
brightly. Too brightly for Angel in her current delicate
state.

'Morning,' she mumbled back, and bent down to pick
up her daughter and give her a hug.

'I'm just going to take Honey to her singing group. Do
you want us to get you anything?' Lucy continued.

'No, I'll just have some Paracetamol,' Angel replied,
walking over to the medicine cupboard.

'Oh, there aren't any, I'm afraid. Cal took them last
time he was here,' Lucy said, sounding embarrassed. 'He
was worried about leaving them . . .' Her voice trailed off.

'It's okay, Lucy, I may be angry with him but I'm not
suicidal. So could you get me some when you go out?
Because I don't think Infant Calpol is going to cure a
hangover, is it?'

After Lucy and Honey had left, Angel sat down at the
kitchen table. She felt like shit and hated herself for
having drunk so much. She knew from her drug
addiction a few years ago that getting off her head didn't
solve anything and since then had vowed never to let
herself get out of control. The house phone rang and she
let it go on the ansaphone. It was Carrie, babbling
something about Angel calling her back urgently.
Oh,God, what did she want now?

Angel forced herself to get up and call her agent. Two
hours later she was sitting in Jeanie's beauty salon in the
Brighton Lanes, getting her nails done. It turned out
Carrie's message
was
urgent. Angel had to fly to LA the
following day for the calendar shoot as that was the only
time the photographer had space in his diary for the next
six months.

Fortunately her hair still looked good from her last
appointment with Jez. Angel tried not to think about the
fact that it had been done for the day when she was
supposed to be renewing her vows. She was certainly slim
enough for the shoot since lately she'd hardly eaten
anything, but her nails looked like shit as she'd chewed
them off, and she could do with some colour – luckily
Jeanie had fitted her in for a nail appointment and a
spray tan. Now they were both sitting at the nail booth as
Jeanie got to work on her hands and she was telling
Angel off for not looking after them. 'Honestly, I've only
just done them!' she said jokingly. 'It's not as if you work
down a mine! I've never known anyone to trash their
nails the way you do!'

'God, I can see where your daughter gets her bossy
streak from,' Angel answered, but she didn't mind. She'd
known Gemma's mum all her life and felt like she was
part of her family. So much so that Jeanie was one of the
few people who knew about Cal.

'Gemma'll be sorry she can't come to the States with
you,' she continued, filing away at Angel's nails, 'but she's
got a job on that she can't cancel.'

'I know it's very short notice but I do wish she was
coming. I hate doing modelling jobs without her as my
make-up artist. I never trust anyone else the way I trust
Gem.'

'You'll be fine,' Jeanie replied, used to Angel's
insecurity. 'So, how are you feeling?'

She shrugged and said bleakly, 'I feel awful, Jeanie.
This is just the worst thing ever. I never in a million years
thought Cal would be unfaithful to me. I feel so
betrayed.'

'I know, babe,' Jeanie said sympathetically, 'but can I
give you some advice? Don't let this break up your
marriage. I know you feel like it's the end of the world,
but it doesn't have to be.' She sighed and continued, 'I'll
let you into a secret, if you promise not to tell Gemma?'

Angel nodded, wondering what Jeanie could have kept
from her daughter – they usually told each other everything.
Jeanie continued, 'I'm telling you this because I
think it might help you with your situation. You see, I
know exactly what you're going through.'

Angel looked at her in astonishment. 'Bill had an
affair?'

Jeanie shook her head. 'No, it was me.
I
had an affair
before Gemma was born. It was at the time when I was
getting over another miscarriage. Bill was so wrapped up
with his business and I was feeling so low . . . It's not an
excuse for what I did, and I'm not proud of myself, but I
met someone else and it just sort of happened. Anyway,
after a month I knew I'd made a terrible mistake and
ended the affair, but Bill found out. He was so angry and
upset that I was sure he was going to leave me, but he
didn't. It was really, really hard but we worked through
it.

'It would be easy for you to leave Cal now and everyone
would understand; no one would blame you. You would
have to be really strong to stay and work things out . . .
but you've always been a fighter, Angel. If anyone can
save their marriage, you can. I just know that you and Cal
are meant to be together.'

Was she strong enough to save her marriage?
The trouble
was Angel didn't feel strong anymore, she felt crushed by
what Cal had done.

Angel sat cross-legged on the bed in her LA hotel suite.
Spread out in front of her lay her mobile phone, the card
Ethan Taylor had given her all those months ago, and
her laptop. Her dilemma was: should she ring Ethan?
She hadn't spoken to him since last summer and had
ignored the messages he had left with her agent. But now
she was back in his city she was intrigued by the prospect
of seeing him again.
He won't even remember who I am
, she
tried to tell herself. But she was on her own in LA, not
knowing what the state of her marriage was or even if she
had one anymore. She felt so lonely . . . more lonely than
she'd ever been before.

She reached for her laptop and Googled Ethan.
Recently he'd been the face and body of an underwear
campaign. And what a body – it was even better than she
remembered it in the hot tub.
Seriously sexy,
she thought
as she clicked through the images of him, pausing at one
which had him lying on a bed, a beautiful young model
straddling him.
I wouldn't mind doing that . . .
Angel found
herself thinking, against her better judgement.

Then she quickly closed down the window, feeling
almost guilty that she'd been eyeing up another man in
cyberspace. She checked her emails next. She had a
message from Cal, another one telling her how much he
loved her and saying that he hoped the shoot had gone
well. Seeing his name aroused a sudden burst of anger in
her and she reached for her mobile, biting her lip and
hesitating for a few seconds before keying in Ethan's
number.

What the hell? She had nothing to lose, did she? And simplyphoning another man didn't begin to compare with what Cal haddone to her.
Ethan's phone went straight to voicemail.
Nosurprise there,
Angel thought. She left a short message,
trying to sound as confident and casual as possible, as if it
was perfectly natural for her to be phoning him after so
many months. Then she took a shower. She'd been
shooting pictures for her calendar all day and still felt jetlagged.
On her return from the bathroom she couldn't
resist picking up her phone. There was another message
from Cal but nothing from Ethan.
See,
she told herself,
Iknew he wouldn't call.

Wearily she pulled on her silk pyjamas and climbed
into bed. She should really phone Cal but she didn't feel
like it. They were still in this horrible limbo where Angel
didn't know what she wanted to do.
Let him wonder whatI'm up to for a change . . .

She didn't know how long she'd been asleep when the
ringing of her mobile woke her. She reached for the
phone, worrying in case it was a call from Lucy back
home about Honey, but an unknown number flashed
across the screen. 'Hello,' she said sleepily.

'Is that
the
Angel Summer?' said a man with a sexy
American accent. It was Ethan.

'It might be,' she replied, suddenly feeling wide awake.

'This is Ethan Taylor. But you know that, right, seeing
as how you called me? Lucky I'm not like you – I actually
return calls. God, you like to keep a man waiting, don't
you? How many months ago was it since I saw you?'

'I'm not sure . . . about seven?'

'It was nine months, three days and seven hours,' he
replied.

'Oh, and I'm supposed to think it's cute that you
remembered and not at all freaky?' Angel was sitting up
in bed now, smiling.

'You think it's cute,' Ethan said confidently. 'So . . . you
want to meet up?'

'Yeah, if you're not otherwise engaged with all your
lady friends,' she teased him.

'No, now that I know you're in town, I've given them
the week off,' Ethan shot back. 'So how about dinner? I
could do Wednesday night, and if you let me know what
hotel you're staying at, I'll get my driver to come by and
pick you up.'

'Hold on!' Angel said. 'You mean dinner at a
restaurant, right? Not dinner at your shag pad!'

'Angel, you're wounding my feelings. Of course Imean
dinner at a restaurant. We can go to Spago
.
'

'Great!' she exclaimed. 'Can you really get a table
there?' It was one of
the
places to eat in LA, where lots of
celebs dined.

'Yes, I can get a table there,' Ethan said dryly. 'I'm
famous out here, remember? I play this game with a stick
that's real popular.'

'Oh, yeah, I remember. It's a bit like rounders, isn't it?'
she teased him.

'There's way more to it than that, and if you're not
careful I'll make you come to one of our home games and
test you on the rules,' Ethan bantered back.

The rest of their conversation was taken up with
arranging a time to meet. When the call ended Angel
snuggled down in bed, still smiling to herself. She
couldn't help feeling a little excited about the prospect of
seeing him again. And, after all, it was just for dinner . . .

'Okay, Angel, now I want you lying on the sand, sideways
to the camera but looking right at it.'

Ashton the photographer was calling out instructions
to her as he clicked away on the beach shoot. Obediently
Angel lay down and gazed provocatively at the camera.
She was wearing a tiny gold bikini, her hair was
deliberately tousled, her make up had been kept natural
and sun-kissed. This was sexy beach babe Angel. She'd
already been photographed emerging from the sea in the
iconic Ursula Andress white bikini pose.

'Great . . . that's fantastic!' Ashton exclaimed clicking
away. Angel tried to focus on the pose and giving the
camera the smouldering-eyed stare to the max, ignoring
the unpleasant sensation of cold wet sand on her body
and the curious stares from other people on the beach.
And she tried not to think about the next shot that
involved her being completely naked and photographed
from behind as she sauntered towards the sea. She just
prayed there were no English paps around to get a
cameraful . . .

Eventually Ashton was happy and Angel was free to get
up. The stylist and make-up artist fussed over her,
removing the sand from her body with mineral water, retousling
her hair and touching up her make up.

Angel scanned the beach anxiously. It was still early-morning
and there weren't too many people around, she
supposed, but it wasn't exactly private. She slipped on a
white towelling robe and took off the gold bikini. As she
walked towards the sea, she called out to Ashton, 'I'm not
doing this for long, so make sure you get the shot
quickly!'

'I will,' he assured her.

Angel took off the robe and handed it to the stylist. She
shivered and put one arm across her breasts, then turned
and smiled playfully at the camera while Ashton shouted
out encouragement as he clicked away.

'Hurry up!' Angel called back after he'd taken a roll of
film. 'I'm freezing my tits off here!'

'Great ass!' a familiar voice called out.

Shit!
That voice sounded just like Ethan's . . . She
craned her neck round.
Shit! It was Ethan. What the fuckwas he doing here?

'Don't come any closer!' Angel ordered, trying to cover
as much of her body as she could with her arms.

'Don't worry, I won't. I'm just enjoying the view.'

'You cheeky bastard!' she shot back.

'Sorry, Angel, can you just give me the smile for a few
more minutes then I promise I'm done,' Ashton
interjected.

Angel did her best to pull herself together and pose
with her best sultry smile.

'Oh, yeah, baby! That's the one,' Ethan called out.

Angel ignored him and then, thank God, Ashton said
he had the shot and the stylist quickly handed Angel her
robe.

Once she'd put the garment on, and done the belt up
tightly for good measure, she marched up the beach to
where Ethan was standing, chatting to Ashton. His blond
hair was shorter now which looked even sexier and she'd
forgotten how blue his eyes were, but she wasn't going to
be sidetracked by that. She went straight on to the attack.
Without even saying hello, she folded her arms across
her chest and launched in with, 'How did you know I'd
be here?'

Ethan gestured to Ashton. 'He's an old friend of mine
and just happened to say that he was photographing a
gorgeous British model. I instantly thought of you. I
promise I only took a little peek. The rest of the time my
eyes were trained on the horizon, cross my heart. I was
thinking serious thoughts about the economy and
nothing at all about a certain model's beautiful
derrière
.'

Angel playfully swiped a punch at his arm. 'I really
don't know if can go to dinner with you tomorrow night
now.'

'Well, actually, I was hoping you might spend the rest
of the day with me. Ashton told me you had the afternoon
off. I thought we could drive further along the
beach and hang out.'

'I'm not sure,' Angel replied, thinking it was arrogant
of him to imagine she wouldn't have plans of her own,
even though she didn't.

'Well, while you're thinking about it, how about a kiss
hello?'

Angel swished back her long hair while Ethan ducked
his head down to kiss her on the cheek. In spite of feeling
wrong-footed by his unexpected appearance at her shoot,
she couldn't help experiencing a flash of attraction. He
was
fit.
Just then, Ethan was surrounded by a gaggle of
female fans all clamouring for his autograph and wanting
to have pictures taken of themselves with him. He
certainly wanted to please his fans, Angel noticed, as he
patiently posed and signed away.

While he was otherwise engaged Ashton sidled up to
her. 'I hope you didn't mind me telling Ethan? I had no
idea he was actually going to turn up.'

Angel shrugged. 'It's fine, I'm not going to go all divaish
on you.'

Ashton looked relieved. 'Thanks. And I have to say, he
seems seriously taken with you. I've known him for years
and I've never heard him sound so into a woman he's just
met.'

'I thought he quickly got
into
most women he met?'
Angel replied teasingly. 'I know about his reputation,
Ashton, and I'm only going out for dinner with him. I'm
married, remember?'

'Okay, I'm sure you know what you're doing,' he
replied tactfully.

'What's she doing?' said Ethan, rejoining them.

'Nothing, we're just discussing work,' Angel replied,
not wanting to inflate his ego any further by letting on
they were talking about him.

Ashton left the two of them together while he and his
assistant packed up the photographic equipment.

'You're not really mad at me, are you?' Ethan asked.
Angel stared back into his wickedly gorgeous blue eyes
and shook her head.

'So will you spend the afternoon with me?' he asked
hopefully.

'Okay, but I need to get dressed now,' she said sternly.

'I'll leave you to it – my car's just over there.' He
pointed over at the road to a silver Porsche Cayenne. 'I'll
wait for you. And, I promise, no peeking!'

He blew her a kiss, waved goodbye to Ashton and
headed for the road, leaving Angel looking at his
retreating figure and thinking that his arse wasn't bad
either . . .

In spite of herself and in spite of everything she'd been
through lately, or maybe because of it, Angel had a great
time with Ethan that afternoon. Although she'd only met
him once before, she found him incredibly easy to talk to.
Her natural inclination was to be quite shy with people
until she really got to know them and felt that she could
trust them, but with Ethan she felt an instant connection.
So when he asked her how she was feeling, she was able
to talk openly about her depression and how she'd got
through it.

'And I haven't said thank you, have I?' she said,
coming to the end of her story.

'For what?' he asked.

'For talking to me about it and helping me to see that
it was just an illness.' Angel left out Cal's furious reaction
and her own suicide attempt.

'I'm just happy that you're okay now, Angel,' Ethan
said softly. 'You are okay, aren't you?' he added.

'Oh, I'm totally fine now,' she replied breezily, feeling
that she had revealed enough about herself, and then
changed the subject by saying, 'Isn't Santa Monica beach
where they filmed
Baywatch?
I used to love that programme
when I was little, I always wanted to be like
Pamela Anderson'.

'You're way better looking than her,' Ethan replied,
and Angel found herself blushing at the compliment.

He drove them to a quieter part of the beach. It was a
beautiful location: an expanse of white sand fringed by
palm trees. Angel had imagined them lounging on the
beach, maybe going for a walk, and was completely taken
aback when Ethan unloaded two surfboards from the
roof of the car and handed her a wet suit.

'You're joking!' she exclaimed when he told her he was
going to teach her to surf.

'Nope, I remember you're a really good swimmer. Just
think how proud you'll be when you go home and tell
everyone that you can surf,' he replied.

Angel shook her head stubbornly. 'I'm never going to
be able to do it.'

'Have faith,' he told her, 'I'm a great teacher.'

Even though Angel kept protesting that she would be
rubbish, she still wriggled into the wet suit. The truth was
she loved a challenge. And she had actually surfed
before, several times in fact, so she was hardly a novice.
But she thought it would be fun to tease Ethan and
pretend that she couldn't and it would serve Ethan right
for thinking a Brit girl couldn't surf.

Once they were both in the water, she allowed him to
take her through the basics – how to lie on her board and
paddle and ride the waves. She made Ethan show her
several times how to surf the waves, acting like a complete
novice. Then, tentatively, she got on the board herself
and body surfed a wave.