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May gave a shaky sigh. ‘These sort of surprises I can well do without.’
The humour left Jude’s eyes as he looked down at her searchingly. ‘You really don’t look well, you know,’ he finally murmured.
Her head went back challengingly. ‘Maybe I’m just overwhelmed—’ to use David’s word! ‘—at finding myself in such exalted company!’ she bit out scathingly.
This was awful. Terrible. Any second now she knew that David was going to introduce her to April Robine. What would the other woman’s reaction be to such an introduction? Would she be as horrified as May was? Or something else? Whatever April Robine’s reaction to meeting May, May had no doubts that the actress would hide it much better than she could.
Jude gave a slow shake of his head. ‘I don’t think too much overwhelms you, May,’ he murmured frowningly.
He was right, it didn’t. She had decided long ago that she was as good as anyone else, that she could do anything she chose to do, that nothing and no one had the power to unnerve her.
With the exception of April Robine…
‘May—’ David turned to lightly clasp her arm, drawing her to his side ‘—I would like to introduce you to April Robine. April, this is May Calendar,’ he introduced happily.
May looked the other woman full in the face for the first time, the actress’s beauty indisputable, her hair a short black cap surrounding flawless features, very slender in a deep green cashmere sweater and fitted black trousers, looking nowhere near middle-aged, which May knew the other woman to be.
There was also no hint of recognition in the other woman’s eyes as she calmly returned May’s gaze.
Jude watched May concernedly as the introductions were made, her cheeks unnaturally pale, green eyes appearing huge against that paleness. He was convinced, no matter what she might claim to the contrary, that something was seriously wrong with her.
‘Miss Robine,’ she was greeting now, the words forced through her clenched jaw.
‘Oh, please do call me April,’ the beautiful actress requested with her usual warmth. ‘And may I call you May?’
Jude was still watching May, saw the nerve pulsing in her throat as she swallowed convulsively. What on earth—?
‘I would rather you called me Miss Calendar,’ she answered the other woman abruptly. ‘As I would rather call you Miss Robine,’ she added dismissively.
What on earth was wrong with her? Jude finished his earlier thought incredulously in the tense silence that followed May’s rude statement.
May had been annoyed with him when they’d first met, had plenty of reason to dislike him, but even so she had never spoken to him in this coldly dismissive voice. From the little he had come to know of her the last few days, he doubted she had ever spoken to anyone quite like this before.
Maybe he should have prewarned her about this meeting, after all; it would certainly have given her time to get used to the idea.
She was probably just nervous, he allowed. After all, April had been an internationally acclaimed actress since she’d taken Hollywood by storm almost twenty years ago, was recognised wherever she went, was highly respected by her fellow actors and the public alike. This must be a little like meeting an icon, someone you had thought untouchable as well as unreachable.
Yes, that had to be it. As soon as May realised how warm and friendly April was, she would start to relax. She might even start to enjoy herself…
‘That’s a ridiculous idea, May,’ he dismissed lightly as he moved to hold back a chair for April to sit down. ‘If we’re all going to have lunch together—’
‘Oh, but we aren’t,’ May answered him tautly, her bag clutched between tightly clenched fingers now. ‘I’m afraid I’ve just remembered something else I have to do, so if you’ll all excuse me—’
‘No, we won’t excuse you!’ Jude was the one to answer sharply, David Melton looking on in mute shock, April appearing a little less than her normally composed self, too.
As well she might!
It was perfectly natural for May to feel nervous about meeting April; it wasn’t acceptable for her to continue to be rude about it!
Jude drew in a deeply controlling breath, aware that the four of them were attracting a certain amount of attention now from the other people in this lounge bar—and not all of it was because they had recognised April. It must be obvious to even the casual observer that there was a definite air of tension between the four of them.
‘Look, let’s just all sit down and have a drink together,’ Jude suggested lightly. ‘We can discuss then whether or not we intend eating lunch, hmm?’ He looked at May encouragingly.
She returned his gaze unblinkingly, her expression completely unreadable, her eyes cold. ‘As I’ve already told you, I have something else I need to do.’ Her cold mask slipped slightly as she turned to look at David Melton. ‘I’m really sorry about this, David.’ She spoke huskily. ‘But I—you should have warned me!’ She turned on her heel and almost ran across the room.
As if the devil himself were at her heels.
‘May—’
