When he grabbed her arm to stop her, she shook him off. ‘Oh, relax!’ she snarled. ‘The engagement’s off!’
‘What are you talking about?’
She turned to him. ‘I know, okay? I know you were doing all this to get me to dump Brian. Well, Ihavedumped him. Your work is done!’
‘What?’ He was clearly shocked, but the guilt etched on his features was unmistakable. ‘That’s ridiculous!’ he protested, when he had recovered a little. ‘I love you, Kate. I’m crazy about you.’
‘Oh, stop it! You’ve achieved what you set out to do. You don’t have to pretend to— to like me any more.’
‘You can’t honestly believe that! Christ, what do you think last night was all about?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe you decided to make the best of a bad job. “Overstepping your brief” was how Rachel put it,’ she said bitterly.
‘Rachel? What’s she said to you?’
‘Nothing. I heard her and Mum talking – I know they put you up to it.’
‘Kate, come back inside and we can talk about this – please!’
‘There’s nothing to talk about.’
‘You don’t know what you’re saying,’ he said dully. The look of hurt on his face made Kate want to scream. ‘Kate, I love you. I’ve never felt like this about anyone before in my life. And you love me too,’ he said.
‘Yeah, well, that was the general idea, wasn’t it?’ she said bitterly.
‘I can’t believe you think I’d do that to you.’
Just then the taxi driver got out of his car. ‘You coming or not, love?’ he shouted impatiently at Kate. ‘I can’t wait all day.’
‘Good – fuck off!’ Will bellowed at him savagely.
‘No, I’m coming.’ Kate turned and ran before Will could stop her.
‘Kate, this is insane,’ Will called after her. ‘Wait?—’
She sprang into the taxi, and slammed the door. ‘Go!’ she hissed at the driver, as Will hopped down the gravel drive after them, his shouts fading as they drove away.
‘Looks like you had a lucky escape there, love.’ The driver chuckled. ‘I, Claudiusthere looks like a right nutter.’
And just in time, Kate thought, as another taxi turned into the driveway and she glimpsed Tina in the passenger seat. Jesus, no wonder Will had been so anxious to get rid of her this morning. Thank God she’d found out in time and hadn’t hung around to be thrown out by Tina.
‘So, where are we going?’ The driver looked at her in the mirror. ‘Airport?’
‘Oh no, just…’ Kate stopped short. Why not? she thought. She still had her passport in her bag, she was packed and had plenty of money in her bank account. And there was no one she wanted to face right now.
‘Yes, the airport, please,’ she said, sinking back against the seat.
‘Where are you going? Anywhere nice?’
‘Mmm, yes, anywhere nice,’ she murmured.
* * *
Rory sat in a limousine outside the celebrity jail on the outskirts of London, waiting for Tessa to emerge. He felt as if he was going to his execution, dreading the moment when the gates would open to disgorge Tessa – and his life would be over. At the same time, he was racked with guilt for thinking like that – after all, there was the baby to consider. It wasn’t the poor little thing’s fault that he had screwed everything up, and he promised himself he would never make it suffer for his mistakes. He would make sure that his child never felt unloved or unwanted. He would just have to devote himself to being a good father, and be content with that.
He looked out through the darkened windows at the press and theCelebrity Cell Blockcameras. Finally, the huge gates swung open and Tessa emerged, small and vulnerable, one hand resting protectively on her stomach. The assembled paparazzi snapped and yelled, and theCelebrity Cell Blockcameras followed her the few short steps from the gate until she was bundled into the car by a member of the production team. The second the door was closed, they drove slowly up the hill and away.
‘Oh, I’m so glad you’re here, baby,’ she smiled tearfully, throwing herself into Rory’s arms. ‘It was awful in there.’
