Angel Uncovered (33 page)

But then she had no more time to brood as the rest of
the evening was taken up with trying to settle Honey.

Angel ended up lying by her daughter's cot and holding
her hand to comfort her and then must have fallen asleep
herself. She woke up at midnight with a stiff neck, tiptoed
out of the room and collapsed into her bed. She only had
four hours before she was due to be picked up again for
the second day's filming.

This time her scene was being shot in a casino and she
was relieved that she'd get to wear a dress, though when
she put on the jade green slinky gown she realised it was
only slightly less revealing than the bikini as it had
cutaways at the side, revealing most of her stomach,
cleavage and back. Most of her body, come to think of it.
A fact which she was quick to point out to Parker.

'Well, Angel, I don't mean to be rude, but I think that's
kind of why you got the part, wasn't it?' he teased her.

'Okay, I know,' she replied; he was right, she shouldn't
take herself so seriously. She didn't even have any lines to
say in the next scene, she just had to sit there looking sexy
and sultry, which took far fewer takes. Angel realised her
gut feeling that she couldn't act was spot on, but at least
she was under no illusions – unlike some stars who
thought that just because they had excelled in one area
they could shine in another, even with no discernible
talent whatsoever. She made a vow to herself there and
then to stick to glamour modelling.

A day later and she and Honey were being dropped off
at Logan's mansion in Santa Monica. She took a moment
to take in the view of stunning sandy beaches, palm trees,
and the diamond glint of the Pacific Ocean. It was quite
breathtaking. Two boys – one around ten, one eight –
opened the door to them and with impeccable manners
introduced themselves as Logan's sons, Jermaine and
Roscoe. They then led the guests through the beautiful
house to the vast garden. Angel had been expecting to
see lots of people and was slightly taken aback to discover
that it seemed to be just Logan's family. She also couldn't
help feeling disappointed that there was no sign of Ethan
. . . However she soon felt more relaxed when Logan
introduced her to his wife Alisha, who was lovely and
welcoming to Angel and Honey.

'What a beautiful daughter you have, Angel!' she
exclaimed, reaching out and touching Honey's cheek.
'But then, I wouldn't have expected anything else with
looks like yours.'

'Actually she looks exactly like her dad,' Angel replied.

'Dada!' Honey exclaimed again. It was lovely that she
kept saying it, but every time she did it was like a punch
in the stomach to Angel.

'Well, he must be one good-looking man,' Alisha
continued.

'He is,' Angel replied, desperately wanting to change
the subject. She was saved from further questions as
Alisha's two-year-old, cute as a button son, Cody, toddled
up, wrapped his arms round his mum's leg and started
chanting, 'Swim, swim, Cody want to swim!'

Alisha laughed and scooped him up in her arms. 'How
about it, Angel? Do you and Honey want to go in the pool
before lunch?'

'Honey would love that, wouldn't you?' she replied.

For the next half-hour Angel played in the pool with
Honey, Alisha and the boys while Logan busied himself
with the barbecue. Seeing her daughter's blissful
expression as she splashed about in the water, in her
favourite Little Mermaid armbands and costume, helped
lift Angel's spirits no end.
This is what matters,
she thought
to herself,
that Honey is so happy.
And then she thought of
Cal and how much he would have loved to have been
here with his daughter.
Was she being selfish? Was shehurting Honey, by wanting to have some time to herself?
Angel
didn't know; she just knew that she couldn't blindly stand
by her man and appear to accept everything that had
happened.

Suddenly Jermaine shouted out, 'Hey, he's here at last!
Come on, Ethan, get in the water!' And when Angel
turned round she was confronted by the sight of Ethan
standing by the pool looking achingly cool and sexy in
combats, a vest and Aviator Ray Bans.

'No way am I getting in the water, guys!' he replied,
sipping his beer. 'Hi, Angel,' he added, raising the bottle
to her.

'Hi,' she replied, suddenly feeling self-conscious in
front of him and turning her attention to Honey to avoid
further conversation.

'Is Kasey with you?' Alisha called out.

'Nope, and she won't be again. We broke up,' Ethan
replied, sounding perfectly happy about it.

At that moment the two boys crept up behind him and
shoved him with all their strength, and because he was
standing right on the edge of pool, he lost his balance and
went in with a huge splash, much to the boys' delight.
They stood on the side giving each other high fives.
Ethan emerged spluttering from the water.

'You, you – monkeys!' he exclaimed in mock anger.
'I'm going to pay you back. Maybe not this afternoon,
maybe not tomorrow, but one day . . .'

Angel and Alisha burst out laughing. 'You don't really
mind, do you, Ethan?' Alisha asked. 'I'll get Logan to find
you some fresh clothes.'

'No, I'm used to it,' he replied ruefully, wiping the
water from his eyes.

'Ethan is Jermaine's godfather,' Alisha explained, 'and
Jermaine sees it as his mission to make him suffer for it!
Fortunately for Jermaine, Ethan's just about the most
laidback guy around kids that I've ever met.'

More praise for Ethan! To avoid replying, Angel dived
underwater, retrieved Ethan's shades and handed them
to him.

'Thanks,' he replied, smiling, and while Angel was
relieved to see that he no longer looked at her so coldly,
she was completely wrongfooted by the new look in his
eyes – of warmth, and unless she was mistaken desire . . .

But it only lasted a few seconds because then his attention
was taken up by Honey and he spent the next few
minutes entertaining her, making her giggle by
swimming underwater and then popping up to the
surface when she least expected it. And then he got
involved in a chasing game with Jermaine and Roscoe.
Angel was completely disarmed by this side of him; she
hadn't expected him to be so good with kids.

'Food's up!' Logan called from the barbecue, and
everyone exited the pool. Angel tried not to look at
Ethan, tried not to notice how his wet clothes clung to his
body, but when she thought she was safe she sneaked an
appraising glance only to be caught out when he looked
right at her.

She quickly got Honey dried and changed and
dressed, just slipping a long white tee-shirt over her own
bikini. Logan and Ethan disappeared inside to find him
some dry clothes, and while Alisha got the children
settled round the outside table she chatted away to Angel
about her husband's team mate. In the space of five
minutes Angel discovered that he was one of their oldest
and closest friends and that he was an all round great
guy. Angel couldn't help feeling that Alisha was trying to
sell him to her.

'Has Ethan paid you to be so complimentary?' she
asked. 'I hope my friends are as nice about me as you are
about him!'

Alisha shook her head and smiled. 'No! It's just, I
wouldn't want you to be put off by his reputation in the
press – he's really not like that. I mean, sure, he's gone
out with a few women. I mean, a lot of women,' she
added, seeing Angel's sceptical expression, 'but I think
he's just waiting for "the one", if you know what I mean?'

At that moment the two men returned and Logan
enveloped his wife in a huge hug. Angel looked on,
envying their closeness, thinking back to the good times
between her and Cal.

Over lunch she found herself sitting opposite Ethan
and had to steel herself to stay calm. In contrast to the last
two occasions they had met, he was charming, almost
back to how he had been last year – almost, but not quite.
It was as if he was holding something back.
And who couldblame him?
Angel thought. Now he was asking her how
long she was over in LA for.

'Just another week,' she replied. 'I've only got one
more scene to shoot.' At this she rolled her eyes. 'It may
well be my one and only film role.'

'I'm sure you're great,' Ethan replied.

Angel laughed dismissively. 'I won't be picking up an
Oscar any time soon, more likely to be a Razzie!'

He smiled. 'You should stay out in LA a little longer,
you'd soon learn not to be so down on yourself. By the
way,' he added, lowering his voice, 'I was sorry to hear
about what has been going on back home with the press.
It must be hard.'

'I suppose that's partly why I took the film, it was a
chance to get away,' she answered, turning to check on
Honey's progress with her bowl of pasta so she wouldn't
have to look at Ethan.

'Well, in spite of how it must have seemed, it's good to
see you again, Angel,' he said softly.

And when she looked up at him he was staring at her.
She felt his gaze on her like a caress and suddenly
remembered what it felt like to kiss him . . . so damn'
good . . . and was only too aware that her nipples had
hardened in response to the memory and were clearly
visible through her thin tee-shirt.
Damn him for being sogorgeous! She didn't need this complication.

*

After lunch, as Honey was clearly exhausted from all the
swimming, Alisha kindly suggested that Angel put her in
Cody's cot for a nap, assuring her that they could have
the baby monitor on outside. Angel gratefully took her
up on the offer and spent a while settling her daughter
before she returned outside.

She checked her appearance in the mirror in the
hallway. Her cheeks were flushed and there was a sparkle
in her eyes that hadn't been there for a while.
Get a grip,
she told herself sternly. She quickly brushed her hair, still
wet from the pool, and tried to regain her composure.
Maybe she should have taken this opportunity to leave; Ethanwas dangerous to be around. He aroused such strong feelings inher.

'Still the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.' Ethan
appeared from nowhere and leaned against the wall,
staring at her.

Angel shrugged dismissively, but oh, how she wanted it
to be true.

He moved towards her. 'I told you how I felt last time
we met, Angel, and my feelings haven't changed. In spite
of your best efforts to break my heart.' Now he was
standing so close to her that their bodies were almost
touching. He moved closer so his mouth was practically
brushing against hers.

'I still want you, Angel,' he murmured, moving
even closer so that now his lips were on hers, lightly at
first as if he was expecting her to pull away at any
second.

But Angel didn't pull away this time; she kissed him
back, teasingly at first, then with deeper, hungrier kisses,
wrapping her arms round his neck and pressing her
body against his.
God, he felt so good.
She wanted him with
an intensity that she hadn't realised was within her. She
felt lost in her desire for him.

Suddenly it was Ethan who was pulling away. 'I'm
sorry, that should never have happened,' he said, head
bowed, not looking at her. 'I must go.'

And before Angel had the chance to say anything to
stop him, he was walking away. As if in a daze she heard
the front door open and close. He had really gone.

Angel was in turmoil. She didn't know what to think,
what to do. As soon as she got back to the rented house
she called Gemma, desperate for her friend's advice, but
again she sounded so down that Angel realised she
couldn't talk about her own feelings. She called Jez but he
was still in the grip of wedding planning meltdown,
ranting because the florists were unable to provide him
with flowers that exactly matched the pale lilac suit he
was going to wear.

'Honestly! It's not rocket science, is it?' he exclaimed 'I
just want everything to co-ordinate, is it too much to ask?'

'I'm sure everything will look fine,' Angel said wearily.

'Fine!' Jez spat back. 'Fine won't fucking cut it! I want
divine!'

Realising there was no chance of getting a sensible
word out of him, she said goodbye, promising that she
would be back in time for his stag night. And then it was
just her and her thoughts, tumbling round her head like
some insane merry-go-round that Angel longed to get
off.

What were her feelings for Ethan? Was it just lust
because he was so gorgeous? Or was she looking for
revenge because of Cal's infidelity? No, there was more to
it than that. It felt so right when she was with Ethan. And
it was more than a physical attraction, though that was
powerful; she felt connected to him, felt that he understood
her. Over and over the questions went round in
her head, and she felt a sudden surge of rage against Cal
for putting her in this unbearable situation. It never
would have come to this if he hadn't betrayed her. He
had made their marriage, which she had thought was a
beautiful, unbreakable thing, into something tarnished
and she couldn't forgive him for it.

'Okay, that's a wrap, everybody!' Camilla shouted out.

Thank God for that!
Angel thought. She'd finished
shooting her final scene, where she was shot by the hero
of the film who was trying to shoot her megalomaniac
boyfriend. It had taken just the fifty takes to get it right.
She walked wearily back to her dressing room, desperate
to take off the costume which was now stiff with fake
blood. As she walked into the room her heart skipped a
beat because there was Ethan.

'I wanted to apologise again,' he said quietly, his face
serious.

'There's nothing to apologise for,' she said warmly.
'Nothing at all.'

'Yes, there is!' he said passionately. 'You're going
through all this shit with your marriage, you don't need
me complicating things for you.'