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Gracie stood up and fetched Thea’s handbag. She returned to the sofa, and handed it to her.
Thea threw her a questioning look.
‘He is only going to keep texting and leaving you voice messages,’ Gracie said. I think you should reply now – make sure he knows there’s no coming back from this. You’re ending it. It’s over.’
Thea stared at her.
Gracie took her handbag, opened it, and found her phone. She handed it to her. ‘Do it now. You don’t want him texting and calling anymore.’
Thea nodded and took her phone. She hesitated.
Gracie said, ‘You’re still so very young, Thea. This might seem like the end of the world right now. Your trust has been betrayed, and you can’t imagine trusting anyone again, let alone opening your heart to anyone. But there is someone else out there – someone you will meet who is right for you, who is your soulmate.’
She caught Thea’s sceptical expression. ‘Think of it this way; if this hadn’t happened, it could have gone on for years.’
Thea shook her head. ‘No, it wouldn’t.’ She was thinking of that young security guard who Miles had flirted with at work. She looked as though she was in her early twenties – almost ten years younger than Thea. When would he have got bored of her and start to look for someone younger? It seemed like he was already well on his way to doing so.
‘Yes, you would have found out sooner or later when he refused to move in with you.’ Gracie smiled. ‘So, read those texts, listen to that voicemail, and send him packing!’
Thea smiled at Gracie. ‘What would I do without you?’ She leaned over and gave her friend a hug. She picked up her phone, took a deep breath and scrolled through her messages. ‘Oh, it’s not him – it’s my sister.’
Gracie grinned. ‘All the better.’
But it wasn’t, not for Thea. Although she’d said to Gracie that she didn’t want to be the other woman and break up a family, Miles had said he loved her and that things weren’t going well with his wife. He had said he was going to leave her. Gracie had said that such men never left their wives, but her sister’s husband had. He had left his first wife for her sister. Who was to say, despite what Gracie had said, that Miles wouldn’t leave his wife for her, now she’d found out the truth?
She recalled what he’d said. That he’d spun an absurd lie because when they’d first met, he just hadn’t thought he’d be good enough for her, so he’d come up with some stupid, insane lie about himself that had got way out of hand.
Thea bit her lower lip. She realised that despite everything that Gracie had said, deep down there was a part of her that believed him.
Gracie said, ‘Was it your sister who left you a voice message too?’
Thea nodded. She’d listened to the message; her sister had asked her to phone back straight away as she had something really important to discuss. Thea sighed. She expected Jenna needed her kids babysitting. She guessed a babysitter had let them down at the last minute. The twins weren’t little anymore; they had started secondary school a month earlier and had just turned thirteen. She was just wondering whether they were old enough to spend one evening at home alone when Gracie said, ‘Do you want me to stay with you tonight?’
‘No, it’s all right. I’m going to make myself a hot chocolate, curl up on the sofa and watch Bridget Jones. He never did like those movies. He thought Darcy was a loser.’
‘Well, it’s not Darcy who’s the loser, is it?’ Gracie’s face broke out into a wide grin. ‘Well, if you need anything, you let me know, all right? And if you need some time off work …’
‘Oh, I’ll be in work on Monday. I’m not going to sit around my flat and mope, feeling sorry for myself.’
‘That’s the spirit.’ Gracie got up and walked to the door. ‘Now, remember what I said – there’s someone else out there for you. Just you wait and see.’
But how will I find him?thought Thea.
As if reading her mind, Gracie said, ‘Serendipity will bring you together, I’m sure of it.’
Chapter 9
‘You’re my agent – why can’t you tell me why the work is drying up?’ Callum walked over to the window, his mobile phone to his ear, and gazed at the view from his luxury penthouse apartment. It was a home he could no longer afford; he’d missed two months rental payments, and the bill reminders for the utilities were stacking up. He was only there because the electricity had been cut off at his mansion in Beverley Hills.
It was the same story there, except that it wasn’t rent he’d missed paying; he had a mortgage on it. He’d put it up for sale the previous month, hoping a potential buyer could be found quickly. That was why he’d moved out and taken on this rental instead, hoping the house would sell quicker if he wasn’t there. In hindsight, he should have just stayed in the house and not taken on more financial commitments with the rental. But he hadn’t been able to abide the thought of staying in that mansion – which he knew he shouldn’t have bought in the first place – while watching his Hollywood dream descend into a nightmare before his eyes. The worst part was that it was all of his own making.
He stared across the road to where he could see some young people roller-skating along the wide boulevard and others enjoying themselves on the white sandy Malibu beach. He sighed heavily and turned his back on the window. If only he had listened to his agent ten years earlier. Instead, here he was anxiously calling him, worried about work and money. It was the weekend, and he should have been relaxing on the Malibu beach and doing a bit of surfing – not desperately hoping some work would turn up.
‘I heard about your last audition.’
‘Who from?’
‘How many times have I told you that Hollywood is a small place? Besides, I’m your agent. I set it up, don’t you remember? So, of course I’m going to know about it.’
