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‘From now on, I trust no one. From now on, I’m going to be in charge of my life. Me.’
Jose put his head around the door. His eyes were sparkling and his cheeks were flushed. It was obvious he was loving every moment of the drama.
‘Is everything okay in here?’ he asked. ‘Is just we’re ready to shoot again.’
Jess inhaled sharply and looked at her mother.
‘Barbara’s just going,’ she said, ignoring the other woman’s sobs and stepping out into the sunshine. ‘But I’m ready when you are. And why don’t we try a few shots with that blue shirt?’
Jose clapped his hands with delight.
‘Oh darling, that’s a marvellous idea.’
Jessica went into the pool house they were using as a changing room and slipped out of her clothes. Naked except for her lace thong, she stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror. Long tanned legs, flat stomach, toned arms and the best goddamn tits in the business. Ha! Tragic Jess? Such crap. She had never looked more beautiful in her life.
She pulled on the shirt the stylist had left for her and rolled up the sleeves. The tails just skimmed the top of her thighs and, at the back, gave just a hint of her ass. She had to admit, that dorky guy Daniel was right: she did look pretty hot.
‘Oh honey!’ purred Jose as she stepped out. ‘You look soooo beautiful.’
He came over and positioned her next to the pool, before stepping back to fire off some shots. ‘Give me more tiger, baby.’ He bent to check the shots on his laptop. ‘Wow, you’re sensational, Jessie.’
Jessica looked across at Daniel and fingered the material of the shirt.
‘But is it sexy enough?’
‘Oh yeah.’ Daniel blushed, unable to take his eyes from her. ‘You look great.’
‘Only great?’ she said. ‘I think we can do a little better than that, don’t you?’ She reached up and, one by one, undid the shirt buttons.
As Jose carried on shooting, Jessica shrugged the shirt off one shoulder, flashing her golden flesh at the camera. She felt sexy, liberated. For once, she was in control, and that was all that mattered.
‘How about a little more?’ she laughed, turning away from the camera and letting the shirt slip from her arms and on to the floor.
‘That’s it!’ said Jose. ‘Give it to me, baby!’
She crossed her arms across her chest and looked back at the camera with a toss of her hair and a mischievous smile that said ‘Come and get me.’
Tragic Jess? she thought, laughing. This would be the hottest, sexiest shoot of the decade. No one would be pitying her now.
41
‘Pow, gotcha! Pow! Argh no, you’re dead, you’re dead. Haha!’
Matt groaned and threw down the video game handset in disgust.
‘You’re too good for me, Jonas,’ he said, genuinely embarrassed at how easily his son had beaten him.
‘Well if you come round more often, you can practise,’ laughed Jonas. ‘So long as you remember that I am still the king!’ he added, leaping in the air and landing on Matt’s back.
‘Oh yeah?’ chuckled Matt, wrestling the boy to the ground. Gosh, he was getting big. Matt remembered the days when rough-and-tumble tussles like this had been a daily occurrence. He would lift Jonas in the air and Jonas would pretend he was Superman, squealing, ‘Higher, Daddy, higher!’ Now it was all Matt could do to wriggle out from beneath him.
‘Come on. Bedtime, young man,’ said Matthew, ushering Jonas out of the playroom and up the stairs towards his room, a shrine to cartoon character Ben 10. Matthew had agreed to babysit in a moment of weakness, but h
e was glad he had. Initially he had been nervous about it; partly because he’d never been inside what he still thought of as David’s house, having always dropped Jonas off at the doorstep, but mainly because he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea giving Jonas all these mixed messages. For three years, David had been playing Daddy to his son, and as much as he had hated it, Matthew had been forced to accept the status quo, watching Jonas grow from a distance. But just because David had gone, that didn’t mean Matthew would be stepping straight back into his old role. Indeed, Carla was out at some fancy party tonight and could well come home with another substitute daddy for Jonas – and there would be nothing either of them could do about it. Even so, he had loved spending quality time with Jonas in his own home, rather than at some café or playground. It was wonderful to see how he lived.
Matthew bent to tuck Jonas in and kiss him on the forehead, surprised but grateful when he didn’t protest. His little boy’s face was beginning to take shape; he had his mum’s nose and mouth, but he had Matthew’s eyes. Matthew liked that.
‘I’m glad you’ve seen our house, Daddy,’ said Jonas.
