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Diana beamed, and her eldest son basked in the approval. “I’d love to. Feel free to give your teacher my number so we can discuss it. Perhaps your friends would like to meet me too?”
He nodded. “Yeah, they’ve never met someone who’s been in movies before.”
“That settles it then. I simply must come to your school.”
Dylan grinned, and for his sake, Faith hoped Diana kept her word. It was obvious how much he adored her.
Diana turned to Shane. “I suppose I could visit your school too, if the students would like that.”
Shane’s expression soured. Everyone at the table knew they absolutely would. “Unfortunately, I doubt the principal would allow it.”
“Pish, I’m sure I could talk him around.”
At this, Faith hid a smile. The principal, Michael Briggston, was a close friend of Shane’s, and he was involved with their mutual friend, Bex. Michael would refuse Diana on principle because he cared about Shane, and he wasn’t the kind of man who could be cajoled into anything.
Their dinner arrived, and they started eating. Faith noted that Diana only picked at the edges of her food. That annoying sympathy reared its head again. While Shane’s ex was a talented actress—Faith had seen her films—a lot of her success was down to her beautiful face and figure. As a result, she supposed the other woman could scarcely afford to eat anything other than vegetables lest she put on weight. Then Diana spoke again, and her sympathy evaporated.
“Dylan, darling, how is rugby going this year?”
The tips of Dylan’s ears reddened. “Rugby season is over,” he mumbled, hunching his shoulders. “It’s cricket season at the moment.”
Something his mother ought to know.
“Right,” she said, smiling and nodding as though she hadn’t unwittingly inflicted an emotional wound upon her vulnerable son. “And how is it? Is your team doing well?”
He shrugged. “We mostly win.”
She flashed teeth that had been chemically whitened. “That’s my boy.”
“Remember, it’s not all about winning, though,” Shane said. “It’s about having fun.”
Diana rolled her eyes. “All of life is a competition, and pretending otherwise doesn’t help anybody.” She turned to Hunter. “Do you play any sports?”
“He’s four,” Shane exclaimed, setting his cutlery down with a clang. “So no, he doesn’t, and if you’d been paying attention, you’d know he prefers creative outlets.”
“An artist, eh?” Diana watched Hunter with interest. The little boy squirmed in his seat. “There are a lot of options for people like you in Hollywood.”
Shane’s scowl was thunderous, and Faith imagined she could hear his teeth grinding from two feet away. “He’s four, Diana. Let him be four.”
Diana cut a minuscule piece of salmon and raised it to her lips. “They’re never too young to start thinking about the future.”
“You don’t know Hunter, so don’t pretend you do.”
For a prolonged moment, the only sounds were cutting and chewing. Diana seemed to have taken his rebuke to heart. But then she leveled her gaze on Faith.
“I’ve finally figured out who you remind me of,” she said, as though it was a mystery she’d been pondering for days. “When I worked with the Hemsworth brothers, they had a personal assistant. Same orange hair and strange fashion sense.”
It didn’t escape Faith’s notice how casually she’d name-dropped the Hemsworth brothers, probably for the combined purpose of belittling her and reminding her of how superior Diana’s connections were.
“You’ll have to introduce me,” Faith replied. “I bet she has some great stories to tell.”
Diana waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, I don’t know her name.” She laughed. “Why would I?” Pushing back her chair, she stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be back soon.”
As she headed to the restroom, Faith leaned close to Shane and spoke quietly. “On our date, I expect dessert and plenty of wine.”
“Done,” he replied grimly. “I appreciate you being here.”
Faith nodded, but she couldn’t help wondering exactly what purpose she was supposed to serve. Diana had to know that there could be no competition between the women. Diana was glitz, glamor, and self-assurance. Faith was retro outfits, excessive volume, and plentiful curves. Pretending there was any question who a man would prefer made her feel like a fraud, but then Shane smiled, and her heart sang bow-chicka-wow-wow. There was no question of her leaving. She wouldn’t abandon him with the woman who’d broken his heart. So she ran through a few self-affirming mantras in her mind, bolstered her self-confidence, and somehow made it to the end of the evening.
