‘Just something to complete your outfit, sweetie – a little arm candy,’ he said, taking mugs out of the cupboard.
‘Is he an escort? Do I have to pay him?’
‘Oh no,’ Freddie said. ‘Don’t worry, he’s not a gigolo or anything – he’smuchlower down the food chain than that.’
Kate looked at him enquiringly.
‘He’s a model “slash” actor – and you know whatthatmeans.’ Freddie raised his eyebrows.
Kate had no idea what that meant.
‘Will work for food!’ Freddie hissed, as if stating the blindingly obvious. ‘Seriously, just feed him some soup and crackers and he’s all yours.’
‘But where would I even meet someone like him?’ Kate fretted. ‘If everyone knows I’ve just hired some random bloke for the day, I’ll look sadder than ever.’
‘You’ve just been away for three months, haven’t you? You can meet all sorts travelling around the world. Jonathan could easily be a backpacker – he has that kind of slacker look, don’t you think? And he’s already got a tan,’ Freddie said dreamily, as Kate made the coffee and loaded a tray with mugs, sugar and milk.
‘We need biscuits,’ he said and flung open the cupboards. He found a packet of shortbread, emptied it onto a plate and then picked up the tray. ‘Come on, we’ll get to work on your cover story.’
* * *
‘So, how do you know Freddie?’ Kate asked, as they sat on the sofa drinking coffee and Jonathan laid into the biscuits.
‘I used to go out with his friend Matthew.’
Kate froze. ‘Youwhat?’ she gasped. ‘Oh my God, you’re… you’re?—’
‘Gay? Yeah, is that a problem?’ Jonathan looked at her innocently.
‘Yes! I mean no,’ she faltered. ‘I mean, no offence but, well, you’re supposed to be coming to this wedding as my boyfriend. This isn’t going to work,’ she said, in a panicky voice.
‘No one will know,’ Freddie said calmly. ‘Youdidn’t know until he told you. He can totally pass. Besides, he’s an actor.’
‘Yeah, I can play it straight.’ Jonathan smiled nonchalantly. ‘It’ll be good experience for me, playing the romantic lead. Got any more of these?’ he asked, as he polished off the last biscuit.
‘Are you sure?’ Kate asked apprehensively.
‘Oh yeah, I work out a lot – and I have a really fast metabolism.’
‘I don’t mean about the biscuits. I mean are you sure about playing my boyfriend?’
‘No problem,’ he said affably. ‘I’ll even snog you, if you like.’
Kate felt trapped.
‘So, what’s the dinner going to be at this wedding?’ Jonathan asked.
Freddie shot her a told-you-so look. ‘I’ll get some more biscuits,’ he said. ‘You two can start on your back story.’
‘Where are we going to say we met?’ Jonathan asked.
‘Well, I’ve just been away for three months, travelling, so perhaps we ran into each other somewhere then.’
‘Okay,’ Jonathan nodded, ‘sounds good.’
‘I was in India, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia – have you ever been to any of those places?’ she asked hopefully.
‘No,’ Jonathan said.
