Angel Uncovered (5 page)

'Thank you but I really want to get home and see
Honey. I feel like I've hardly spent any time with her
lately.'

Flavia looked at Angel as if she were mad. 'But don't
you have a nanny?'

'Yes, but I want to see my daughter,' Angel insisted.
Also, the thought of shopping with these women was
hardly her idea of fun.

'Okay.' Flavia shrugged dismissively. 'But I thought
you might want to see the new Cavalli collection. Cal said
you don't have many designer clothes at the moment.'
And she couldn't resist giving Angel the once over, as if
she wouldn't have been seen dead in what Angel was
wearing.

'I'm more of a shoe girl,' she replied, not wanting to
rise to Flavia's bait. She said her goodbyes and with a
huge sense of relief got into the car waiting outside –
spending time in Flavia's company was just like being
back at school. But at least then she'd had Gemma to
protect her.

Angel had really hoped that now Cal knew he had made
the short list for the England squad he would open up to
her again, and that in turn she would be able to confide in
him. Instead, after a day of seeming happy, the shutters
came down once more and when Angel asked him what
was wrong, he insisted that now he had to train harder
than ever. Just because he had made this first selection
there was no guarantee he would make the final pick.

She hardly saw him, and all that kept her going in the
week that followed was the prospect of seeing Gemma
and Jez and his boyfriend Rufus, who were flying over to
spend a couple of days with them. Angel found herself
practically counting the hours until they arrived. She was
still finding every day a struggle – her depression seemed
to be getting worse, nothing made her feel better. So she
was really hoping that a weekend with her friends would
cheer her up.

'Darling Angel! It's so fantastic to see you, we've missed
you so much,' Jez exclaimed, enveloping her in a huge
hug the minute he'd dashed through Arrivals
at Milan airport, closely followed by Gemma and
Rufus.

'I've missed you all!' she cried, and thought Jez
really
must have missed her as usually he was strictly a doublekiss
type of guy.

'Are there any paps around?' he asked hopefully,
glancing about. 'I'm wearing my new Gucci shirt and
Tom Ford glasses, just in case.'

'No, there aren't,' laughed Angel, taking his arm.

'Oh,' Jez replied, sounding disappointed. 'Well, maybe
later, if we go out clubbing?'

'What is he like?' Rufus asked, rolling his eyes. While
Jez had dressed up, Rufus, as always, was dressed down
in faded jeans and a hoodie.

'A show off!' Angel exclaimed. 'Now come on, the car's
outside. Let's get back to the house – Cal's making lunch
and there's champagne!'

'How are you, Babe?' Gemma asked her as they drove
away from the airport. Angel sighed. 'I've been feeling
low, but I'm sure that's just homesickness, isn't it?' she
answered, thinking privately that 'low' didn't even begin
to describe it.

'I'm sure it is,' Gemma replied warmly, but Angel was
aware of her best friend looking concerned as she took in
Angel's slimmer than usual body. She still hadn't been
eating much – she'd force herself when Cal was around,
but when he wasn't she'd end up skipping meals.

'So what have you been up to?' Jez demanded. 'Come
on, I want to know everything – which famous people
you've met, what designer clothes you've bought, and
what the Italiano WAGs are like?'

'Same old Jez,' Angel said fondly. He was obsessed with
designer clothes and labels – he would have made a
wonderful WAG. His hair and nails were always
immaculate and recently he'd had his very own spray tan
booth installed in his house, so he could keep up his
perfect tan. Jez put the
high
into high maintenance. And
since he'd started seeing Rufus he'd grown even more
obsessed with his looks as his boyfriend was younger than
him and extremely good-looking with a very fit body to
go with it from his work as a personal trainer.

Her friends were very impressed with the villa and
Angel tried to see it through their eyes, but to her,
luxurious as it was, it just wasn't home. Cal had told her
that she must make her own mark on it, put up pictures,
buy some new furniture, but she didn't feel inspired to.
Although the villa was built in the nineteenth century and
from the outside looked like a period house with its pale
yellow stucco walls and elegant shutters, inside it was
ultra-modern and every room looked as if it could be in
the pages of a glossy magazine. Jez adored the living
room, which was decorated with stylish black-and-white-patterned
sofas, sleek black coffee tables and huge glass
lamps. It was stunning but Angel felt it was too perfect.
She longed for her Brighton home where she could just
curl up and listen to music in her cosy living room.

As soon as he saw her friends Cal was on full charm
mode, pouring glasses of champagne for everyone. They
drank it on the beautiful stone-paved terrace with its
terracotta pots overflowing with vivid red geraniums.
There were further exclamations of delight from her
friends as they took in the view of the lake.

'Where's George Clooney's
palazzo?'
Jez wanted to
know.

'His what?' Angel asked, looking puzzled.

'His mansion!' Jez exclaimed. 'You really must learn
the language,
bella
.'

She rolled her eyes while Cal said, 'I'm sure when
Angel's been here a little longer she'll be fluent.' She bit
her lip in concern. Just how much longer did Cal have in
mind?

'It's great you made the team, Cal,' Gemma said,
sensing her friend's unease and changing the subject.

'It is, but I've still got to make the final selection,' he
replied, looking serious. Angel felt herself tense up as she
willed him not to go on a downer.

'Oh, but you will!' Jez exclaimed.

'I wish I could share your optimism,' Cal said dryly.
'And I don't mean to be rude, but do you actually know
anything about football at all?'

'Football, no,' Jez replied. 'Footballers, yes. I know all
the good-looking ones!'

And Angel breathed a sigh of relief as Cal smiled.

Her friends all made a big fuss of Honey, especially
Gemma who bombarded Angel with questions about the
baby's development and then spent ages playing with her
and commenting on how beautiful she was. Gemma's
open adoration of her daughter only made Angel feel
worse. She was relieved when Jez and Rufus asked to see
the infinity pool and Gemma said she would stay and
help look after Honey.

'Poor Gemma,' Jez said as soon as they were out of
earshot. 'She wants a baby so much.'

'I know,' Angel replied, her heart aching for her
friend. 'And she'd make a much better mother than me.
It's not fair, is it?'

'Angel, you're a great mother, why do you say that?'
Jez stopped and looked at her in surprise.

She shrugged and said, 'Sometimes I feel a bit crap,
Jez, like I'm not up to the job. And, of course, I can never
say that to Gemma.'

'I'm sure you could,' Rufus said quietly. 'I think she'd
understand. She's your best friend, you should tell her
how you're feeling.'

Angel was stunned; she'd never heard Rufus speak so
much before. He was usually painfully shy.
Hi
and
Howare you?
were as far as his conversation went. Not that it
mattered as Jez spoke more than enough for both of
them. She appreciated his comments, but didn't know
whether she would act on them.

That night Cal had arranged for them all to go to Diana
Garden, an exclusive bar in Milan. While it was sweet of
him, Angel would have been just as happy chilling out at
the villa. But Jez was hugely excited at the prospect – the
bar was frequented by AC Milan players and Jez fancied
the pants off at least three of them, plus it was where the
fashion elite went for their aperitifs, so Angel knew they
would have to go or he would never forgive her.

She enjoyed the first part of the evening, getting
ready in her bedroom with Gemma, listening to music,
gossiping, trying on different outfits and letting her
friend do her make up. They'd spent many nights like
this in the past. But she didn't like it so much when
Gemma started interrogating her about what she was
eating.

'Look, Gemma, we had this conversation before. I'm
eating fine, you don't need to keep going on about it,'
Angel couldn't help snapping. 'You saw me at lunch. I ate
most of it, didn't I?'

'Yeah, but that was just one meal. You don't look like
you've been eating enough generally, that's all I'm
saying.'

Angel sighed and changed the subject, 'Do you think
this looks okay?' She was wearing a purple Dolce &
Gabbana cocktail dress – a present from Cal – which was
way more sophisticated than she would usually wear. But
as she was in Italy she figured she had better raise her
game.

'You look great,' Gemma replied, appraising the dress
with her practised fashionista eye. 'How do I look?' She
had teamed her bang on trend midnight blue silk tunic
dress with high patent heels and wore her long shiny
black hair down. She looked extremely pretty.

'You look the bollocks!' Angel exclaimed, and to stop
her friend asking anymore questions, added, 'Come on.
Let's go downstairs and find the boys.'

Cal and Rufus were in the living room drinking Peroni
and watching the football. Angel couldn't help smiling
when she saw Cal – was it possible that her husband had
grown more handsome? He looked fresh from the
shower, and she could smell his Dolce & Gabbana
aftershave. Even after nearly four years together it was
still her favourite smell.

'You girls look gorgeous!' he exclaimed when they
walked in. When Angel walked over to him, he took her
hand and pulled her down on the sofa next to him. 'I'm
going to be fighting those Italian stallions off you in the
bar.'

Angel shook her head. 'No, you won't.' She turned to
Gemma and Rufus and added, 'Cal's a total babe magnet
here. If I didn't trust him, I'd wonder what he got up to
when I wasn't around.'

He kissed her. 'I'm a one woman man,' he whispered.
'You're all I want.'

'Get a room!' Gemma exclaimed in mock disgust. 'I
hope you're not going to be so lovey-dovey all night!'

'You can talk!' Angel teased her friend back. 'How
many times have you texted Tony since you've been
here?'

'A few,' Gemma answered coyly, and everyone laughed
because Gemma's phone had barely left her hand.

Half an hour later, when they were all getting restless,
Jez finally made his entrance. He marched to the centre of
the room like a cat walk model, then stood, surveying his
audience, hands on hips. 'Suit by Armani,' he declared.

'Bling by Theo Fennell. I like to wear my heart on my
sleeve,' he continued, holding out his arms and showing
off the white gold and diamond heart-shaped cufflinks:
'Aftershave by Dior and hair by Jez Jones. Will I do?'

Cal laughed and said, 'Jez, if I wasn't a happily married
straight man, I'd be tempted.'

'Be still my beating heart,' Jez replied, fluttering his
eyelashes at Cal, but then sat down on Rufus's lap and
gave him a kiss. They'd been a couple for four years – a
record for Jez – and Angel really hoped that they'd stay
together. Rufus seemed to give him the stability he
needed. Before they'd got together, Jez's anecdotes
about his many conquests had certainly been entertaining
and often eye-opening . . . but Angel knew that
deep down he craved the love and happiness he had
found with Rufus.

For the first time in ages Angel was actually enjoying
herself – although that might have been down to the
number of champagne cocktails she'd been knocking
back since they hit the bar. But she knew it wasn't just the
drink that had lightened her mood, it was being with her
friends again. The depression which was always with her
and never seemed to lift, whatever she did, wasn't so
overwhelming for once. She gossiped and giggled the
night away. At one point, when everyone else was deep in
conversation, Cal turned to her and said, 'You look so
happy, have I got my girl back?'

'What do you mean?' Angel replied. 'I haven't been
anywhere.'

'Haven't you?' he asked, a little sadly Angel thought. It
was hardly the place to reveal how depressed she had
been and still was, though, so she shook her head, not
wanting to pursue the conversation. She was just about to
give Cal a hug and suggest they should talk about it later
when Flavia sidled over to their table.

She kissed Angel, murmuring how lovely it was to see
her, then Cal. Angel expected her to move on but she
stayed talking to him. In Italian, naturally. Finally Cal
said, 'I must introduce you to our friends, Flavia, they've
been dying to meet an Italian WAG.'

She gave a tinkly laugh, that irritated the hell out of
Angel, and simpered, 'Of course!' While Gemma and
Rufus were polite to Flavia, Jez was clearly awe-struck as
she revealed that she was close friends with several top
designers and he proceeded to interrogate her about
them.

Traitor,
Angel thought bitterly, scowling.

'Chill, babe,' Gemma said quietly, sensing her bad
mood.

Angel rolled her eyes and whispered, 'I just don't like
her. You watch her with Cal – she's all over him like a
rash.'

Gemma was about to reply when Flavia said, 'Angel,
you look gorgeous in that dress like I knew you would. I
helped Cal pick it out for you.'

'Really?' she replied, looking at him with a what-the-fuck's-
going-on? expression.

'I bumped into Flavia when I was shopping for
something for you,' he quickly explained.

'Oh,' was all she could find to say. She wanted to go
home right now, rip off the dress and never wear it again.
She didn't want something Flavia had chosen – she
couldn't stand the woman. Flavia was smiling at her now
but Angel turned away. She was about to suggest to
Gemma that they should go to the ladies' room so she
could vent her anger in privacy but then Alessia turned
up at their table and Angel was forced into making
another set of introductions. But at least with her Angel
didn't feel threatened. Alessia was as charming and
friendly as she had been at lunch.