‘Ethan, I don’t know how to say this, but I’d hate that. Not you, I don’t mean that. I love my job and I really want to do my very best and get ahead. I know you’d look after me, but I would miss it and I don’t want to give it up.’ Sensing that she needed to give him more, she took a deep breath and added. ‘And there’s something else. The thing is, you were right – I can’t stop thinking about Mark. It’s never happened to me before, but I get goosepimples just looking at him. I can’t explain it.’
She felt his fingers squeeze hers again. ‘I can, Emma. It’s a thing called love.’ He looked up from the water and turned towards her. ‘I know what that’s like.’
Emma didn’t know what to say. ‘I’m so sorry, Ethan, but you do understand, don’t you?’
‘Hell, yeah.’ She could hear that he was doing his best to put on a brave face. ‘Of course I understand. Let’s just hope for your sake that Mark realises what’s at stake here. You’re a great girl. He doesn’t want to throw that away for the sake of a roll in the hay with Laney.’
Chapter 17
It took Emma quite a long time to get off to sleep that night and when she woke in the morning she wasn’t feeling as bright as normal. She glanced at her phone and saw it was just six thirty, but the sun was already up and the sky once more a clear blue. In an attempt to kick-start her brain she decided to go for a swim. So she slipped into her bikini, wrapped herself in a bath towel and set off for the pool. When she got there, she found the wooden gate open and heard the sound of splashing from within. For a moment she hoped it might be Mark having an early morning swim and she hurried down the path towards the water. She was almost there when the thought dawned on her that this might be Laney and Mark indulging in a bit of post-coital skinny-dipping. She almost turned back, but gritted her teeth and decided to press on.
When she got to the pool, she found that the swimmer had four legs and a tail. Carmen was swimming about in the clear water, snuffling happily as she did so. Emma stopped and looked around, but saw nobody.
‘Mark! Are you there?’ There was no response so she went over to the side and crouched down. ‘Ciao, Carmen. Enjoying yourself?’
The Labrador doggy-paddled towards her and scrabbled at the tiles, a broad smile on her face. Emma remembered that the dog had trouble getting out of the pool, so she slipped off her towel and sandals and lowered herself into the water. It was cool at this time of day, but very refreshing.
‘So what’re you doing here on your own, eh, dog?’
Carmen came across to nuzzle her and Emma swam with her for a few minutes, enjoying the sensation of having a happy dog alongside her and doing her unsuccessful best to banish the thought of who might currently be alongside her master. Was he still in bed? And if so, was he alone?
Although the dog was clearly still full of energy, after a while Emma decided it was time for the two of them to get out of the water. She enticed Carmen to the shallow end and, aping what Mark had done, got behind her and shoved her up the steps and out of the water. She swilled herself off and followed along behind, narrowly avoiding being sprayed with Eau de Labrador as the dog shook herself vigorously. She was standing under the outdoor shower when she heard his voice.
‘Hi, Emma. Thanks for looking after Carmen for me.’
She turned off the shower and shook the water out of her eyes. As she did so, she felt a touch on her hand. It was her towel, being offered to her by Mark. He looked apologetic.
‘I’m so sorry you had to do that. We were out for our early-morning walk and she suddenly disappeared. It took me a while to realise where she’d gone. I’m going to murder that carpenter next time I see him. It’s a nice gate, but if the damn thing doesn’t close, what’s the point?’
Emma wiped the worst of the water off her hair and face before wrapping the towel around her once more. ‘No apology needed. We had a lovely swim.’ She glanced across at him and risked a direct question. ‘Good night?’
She saw him smile sheepishly. ‘Now I know what the fox feels like with a pack of hounds after it. That Laney’s like a little terrier when she’s after something.’
‘Or somebody.’
‘Indeed, or somebody.’ He sat down on the same bench she and Ethan had sat on the previous night and absently stroked the damp dog who settled down at his feet. Emma followed suit, a discrete distance away until she heard his story.
‘So, did the pack of hounds manage to get their teeth into their quarry?’
He shook his head and she felt a surge of relief. Doing her best to sound casual, she queried what had happened. His reply was reassuring.
‘I didn’t know what to do. I’m not the most observant of men when it comes to women, but even I worked out pretty early on that for some reason she had me in her sights. It put me in an uncomfortable position.’
‘I’m sure being the object of desire of the world’s most beautiful woman must be extremely uncomfortable.’ There was a distinctly ironic note in her voice and he didn’t miss it. He glanced over at her.
‘Just about as uncomfortable as finding yourself kissing the sexiest man in the world.’ There was a smile on his face, but she thought she could spot a glimmer of insecurity in there as well. She gave him an answering smile.
‘Indeed. You tell me yours and then I’ll tell you mine. How about that?’
‘Okay, well, like I say, I found myself in an awkward position. One thing was clear. There was no way I was going to end up in bed with Laney Travers.’ This sounded pretty good to Emma, but she just nodded, reserving judgement until she heard the whole story. ‘But I knew I couldn’t just turn her down flat or she might blow a gasket and maybe even storm off and leave the movie without its big star. So, after a bit of hard thinking, I told her I was already involved with somebody else.’
Emma’s ears pricked up. ‘And are you?’
‘No, or rather, maybe.’ Emma didn’t have time to digest this as he carried on. ‘She wasn’t in the least bit interested at first. I’m sure I could have told her I was married with half a dozen kids and she wouldn’t have batted an eyelid, but I persevered and she gradually came round to accepting I was already taken.’
‘That’s what’s called thinking on your feet. So she didn’t storm off?’
He shook his head. ‘No, she wasn’t very happy, but definitely no storming.’ He caught her eye. ‘I’ve shown you mine. Now it’s your turn to show me yours.’
‘Ethan’s a sweetie. I’ve known him ever since he was a bit-part actor and I think of him like my brother. It now appears that he thinks of me in a different way, so we came for a walk down here to the pool after dinner last night and I set him straight.’ She looked up for a second or two and shot him a little smile. ‘And, no, I didn’t take a leaf out of your book and tell him I was engaged to be married to somebody else. I told him the truth. There’s a clause in all JMGP contracts making it clear that relationships with other employees are strictly verboten. I told him I want to keep him as a friend and, hopefully, we parted amicably. He’s probably a bit disappointed, but he’s a big boy. He’ll get over it.’