Chapter Twelve
Lila
Rowan left just before the sun rose, and five hours later Ruth came home bearing breakfast. Lila admitted that “Colin” had come over the night before and stayed, and that she was heading over to his place in the afternoon and would be staying the night there. They’d made a plan for Rowan to drop her off a short walk from the unit base the following morning, so he could arrive separately from her.
Ruth smiled but patted her hand and warned her to be careful, obviously not entirely convinced that the bump in the road yesterday should be so easily forgotten.
And Lila realised this was just the tip of the iceberg of what Rowan had been saying. It didn’t matter what she said to Ruth, she was going to formulate her own opinion. You couldn’t control what other people thought and when she and Rowan felt they were ready to be more open about their relationship, no one else was going to truly know how it had happened and what they felt for each other.
Maybe that was true of all relationships in fact. Stephen had said something similar in his first letter to her about his bond with Nick – that no one else could ever really know how they had formed that brotherly bond, from the environment that they grew up in, to the way they interacted with each other.
Somehow she was both comforted and terrified by that.
And that seemed to be the theme for Monday too. After spending a relaxing day in the pretty garden of Rowan’s villa, snuggled up on the swing seat talking and then eating pizza and going inside to…do other things, Lila might have been forgiven for thinking the new depth of her relationship with him would leave her floating on air, without a care in the world, but no. All her worries about being crap at her new job came rushing back to her at work. Knowing Rowan was there though, someone who cared for her, who she could talk to at the end of the day, did help somewhat.
She hadn’t told him about the bad day she’d been having on Saturday because first Cassandra had shown up and then…well, then they’d been occupied. She wished she had. Or maybe even had the time to talk to Ruth about it over the weekend. Despite how wonderful her time with Rowan was, she had missed seeing more of Ruth and when she turned up at the makeup trailer on Monday morning, she’d received a massive hug and been made to promise that they’d share all the juicy details once they were sorted.
Sibyl interjected at that point, saying that there would be no gossiping while there was work to be done, and that she doubted Lila would fess up anyway. It sent a cold prickle down Lila’s spine. Did Sibyl know something?
What her boss knew or didn’t know went to the bottom of the pile of worries when she had to get started for work. Sibyl laid it on thick about being efficient and professional and not taking so damn long, looking pointedly at Lila the whole time.
And as they sat around waiting to spring into action between takes, there was obviously some gossip about Rowan circulating. Apparently, it had hit the media already that hewasn’tdating Cassandra – which had given those who had seen her there after filming on Saturday and then leaving so abruptly plenty to add with their own speculations.
The truth sat on Lila’s tongue like a bubble she wasn’t allowed to pop.
When she saw him at lunchtime to take the continuity photos again, he was oblivious though. She mentioned it but he just shrugged it off and said it was for the best, the only thing bothering him was figuring out how to handle Gerrard when he eventually spoke to him.
‘Hey, you know what scene we’re filming tomorrow?’ he asked, changing the subject, and delaying her when really, she should have been heading back to the makeup area for appearances’ sake.
‘No.’
‘We’re back up at the church and I’ve got to break in through one of the windows at the back. Any tips?’
She laughed, her soul immediately feeling lighter, and she wishes she could close the gap between them. ‘I seem to recall that you need a small head and someone to give you a boost.’
‘Snookered on both counts.’
When she left him, they had matching smiles on their faces.
By the time she got back to the makeup area, the mood with her co-workers had shifted significantly. Gone was the easy laughter and chatter. Jackie eyed Lila’s approach and then said she was going to get something to eat, to “leave Ruth to it”.
Lila’s stomach dropped at the sight of Ruth’s face. She was sitting in one of the chairs, legs crossed, her phone clenched in her hand.
‘Hey, is everything okay?’ Lila’s first thought was maybe if rumours were going around about Rowan again, then perhaps something had leaked about Ruth and Stan Gillian too. ‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m in shock really.’ Ruth shook her head and squinted at Lila. ‘Are you sleeping with Rowan?’
‘Wh – what?’
‘Are you sleeping with Rowan?’ Ruth repeated. ‘I just read this—’ she jabbed a finger at her phone ‘—and given that it wasn’t me and it isn’t Jackie – and Christ knows it isn’t Sibyl – that just leaves you. Is it true?’
Lila took the phone and scrolled down through the online article, interspersed with photos of Rowan and Cassandra. It detailed how he had cheated on the supermodel with a makeup assistant.
‘Maybe they just heard the rumour that went around after what happened with Stan, and they’ve put two and two together?’ she suggested, her voice weak and reedy.
‘Jeez, Lila, are you still lying to me? Read to the end.’
She carried on reading and saw the extra bits of information, about how Rowan and the MUA had been caught sneaking off together back before they moved out to Sicily. How he’d insisted that the woman in question be brought out on location so he could continue to see her – even though she was vastly underqualified and pretty much useless.
