Angel Uncovered (31 page)

'Gabrielle, how nice to see you,' Candy said insincerely.
Gabrielle ignored her and looked at Angel, saying
snidely, 'Not much fun reading about what your
husband's been up to in the press, is it?'

'Well, I'm not as used to it as you are,' Angel snapped
back. 'It must be a weekly event for you.'

'Shut up!' Gabrielle hissed, her composure cracking.
'And don't go near my husband.'

'I wouldn't go near him if you paid me!' she replied.

Gabrielle was visibly shaking with anger and was
clearly about to reply when her huge bodyguard walked
over to the table.

'Everything all right, Mrs Carter?' he asked, giving
Angel a menacing look.

'I think Gabrielle was just leaving,' Suki put in, and
though Gabrielle looked as if she had plenty more to say
she turned and walked away, with her bodyguard closely
behind her.

'What a bitch!' Candy exclaimed when Gabrielle was out
of earshot, while Angel put her head in her hands and
said, 'I've had it with that woman! Maybe it would be better
if Cal was dropped from the team and then I wouldn't
have to meet her or her vile husband ever again!' She
looked up to see the shocked expressions on her friends'
faces. 'Okay, I take that back, of course I don't want him to
be dropped, but you know what I mean?'

'We do, babe,' Madison agreed grimly.

At that moment the players walked into the lounge and
Angel couldn't believe it when she saw Cal laughing and
joking with Connor as he walked over to them. So much
for him being angry about Connor's pervy little
invitation! She was expecting Connor to go straight over
to Gabrielle, sitting at the opposite side of the room, but
instead he stayed at Cal's side and came over to Angel's
table.

'I don't know what you two are smiling about,' she
couldn't stop herself from saying, 'that was a shit game.'
Usually she would never be that critical, but Cal had just
made her very angry.

'Now you can tell us what you really think!' Connor
joked back, then he said to Cal, 'I wouldn't take that
attitude from my missus!'

Angel glared at Cal, thinking that if he said anything to
piss her off then she was out of here, but she didn't hear
his reply as they were joined then by Liam, Reece and
Bradley.

Connor hung around a little longer, chatting to his
team mates, and made sure that he was standing
where he could keep staring at Angel, something that
only increased her fury at her husband who seemed
completely oblivious. Finally, to her relief, Connor said
his goodbyes, but his parting comment left her reeling.

'By the way, Cal's up for that dinner we never got
round to arranging so I'll see you soon, Angel.'

That did it! Angel abruptly got up and said, 'Cal, I want
to go. Now.'

'Oh, come on, babe,' he replied. 'Liam's just got the
drinks in. Let's stay for one more round.'

She couldn't believe he was behaving like this, after
everything that had happened and after what they had
agreed. He seemed more interested in looking good in
front of his team mates than he was in her feelings.

'I'll meet you in the car then,' she said, quickly made
her goodbyes to her friends and marched out of the
lounge. In the players' car park Angel headed for Cal's
Bentley and then did a horrified double take when she
saw what she was convinced was the same 4x4 that had
pursued her so dangerously on the motorway. She
walked towards the vehicle, determined to get a closer
look, but just as she did Gabrielle's bodyguard opened
the door and stepped out of it.

Shit! It was the Carters' car!

Angel walked swiftly to the Bentley and got in,
activating the central locking system so that no one could
get in. She was really shaken but made herself watch the
bodyguard's every move as he lit a cigarette and stood by
the car smoking. Then she almost jumped out of her skin
when Cal rapped on the window and she had to let him
in.

'You didn't have to walk out like that, I felt a right
idiot,' he said, sounding pissed off.

Like she cared about that now!

'Cal,' she said urgently, 'I think I've seen the car that
chased me.'

'What!' he exclaimed. 'Are you sure?'

Angel nodded. 'I'm pretty certain it's that 4x4 over
there.' She pointed out the Carters' car.

Cal shook his head. 'No way! That's Connor's car. You
can't seriously think he would do something like that?'

'Not him!' Angel replied angrily. 'His wife, or more
likely her bodyguard. You should have seen the look he
gave me in the lounge, and he practically assaulted me
that time in Portugal. I reckon he'd do anything
Gabrielle asked him.'

Cal shook his head in disbelief. 'Angel, I can't believe
Gabrielle would have anything to do with something like
this.'

'You don't know anything of the sort!' Angel was
raising her voice now, furious that Cal wouldn't take her
accusations seriously. 'She's been funny with me ever
since her pervy old bastard of a husband wanted me to
have a threesome with them – and
he's
been chasing me.
She's really jealous. She could be the one who took that
picture of you and Alessia. Or if she didn't, I bet she
knows who did.'

'Come on! I don't believe it,' Cal replied.

'Don't or won't? Because you can't upset your precious
team mate!' Angel shot back.

'Well, it wouldn't do me any favours if I went around
shooting my mouth off about the team captain,' he
answered. 'I'd probably be dropped from the squad, for
Christ's sake.'

'And we can't have that, can we?' she said bitterly.

'Look, babe,' Cal said, 'this has been a really stressful
week for both of us, and I know you didn't want to come
today either. I think you're just really over-sensitive at the
moment. You need to put this all behind you. Whoever it
was has got what they want. It's over now. Let's get home.'

Angel had to drive as he had been drinking and
neither of them spoke during the two-hour journey. She
was deeply hurt by Cal's attitude. And there was still no
escape from the press. When she drove up to the gate,
they were still camped out there in force.

'Why won't they leave us alone?' she said despairingly.
'How much longer can this go on for? I don't want
Honey seeing all this – it's not good for her!'

'I know,' Cal told her, 'but it will burn itself out soon,
I'm sure. The worst is over.'

But he was wrong; there was worse to come. At one
a.m. they were both woken by a call from his agent. Angel
sat up in bed, clutching the duvet to her as she studied
her husband's drawn expression, heard him say, 'Are you
sure it's going to come out tomorrow? And there's
nothing we can do to stop it?' while the all too familiar
sick feeling of dread grew inside her.

'What is it now?' she asked as soon as the call ended.

Cal's face had turned ashen. He couldn't look at
her.

'There's another story coming out about Alessia and
me tomorrow,' he said quietly.

'See!' Angel exclaimed. 'I knew she'd sell her story.'

Cal shook his head. 'She hasn't, but the paper have
found out that . . .' He hesitated, clearly reluctant to carry
on.

'Cal, just tell me!' Angel cried out.

He sighed heavily and said quietly, 'We didn't just have
a one night stand.'

'Oh my God! You lied to me!' She sprang out of bed.
'How long did you see each other for?' she shouted.

'Three months.' Cal's voice was barely above a whisper.
'I thought you'd leave me if I told you the whole truth,'
he said, hanging his head in shame.

Angel felt as if she'd been struck. She stood rooted to
the spot, twisting her wedding ring around her finger.

'I know how bad it looks,' he continued. 'All I can say
is that it was a terrible mistake and I will never be
unfaithful again, never. I swear.'

'I can't believe you lied about it!' Angel shouted. 'Were
you ever going to tell me?'

'I don't know,' he replied. 'I just didn't want to hurt
you.'

'It's too late for that, isn't it!' Angel finally pulled the
wedding ring off her finger and threw it at Cal. It struck
him on the cheek, leaving an angry red mark. Then she
turned and ran out of the bedroom, locking herself in the
guestroom. Cal came after her and begged her to listen
to him, but she refused and curled up on the bed
sobbing, her hands over her ears to block out his voice.

When she walked into the kitchen the following morning
Cal was already reading the paper. He looked as if he had
aged ten years overnight.

'Let me see it,' she demanded.

'Please don't read it, Angel.'

'Give it to me,' she repeated, holding out her hand.
Reluctantly Cal gave her the paper. Alessia was plastered
across the front page, looking sensational in a black
evening dress, with a smaller picture of Angel, taken
recently, looking less than hot in a baseball cap and
shades, under the headline: '
Cal Plays Away!
' The paper
went on to reveal that Cal and Alessia had met secretly for
three months to carry on their affair. The paper had
details of the hotel suite the couple had met in, with
photographs of the bed where they were said to have
enjoyed all night 'romps'. Alessia's 'friend' gave more
details: this time of Cal's prowess in bed, how he was a
'three times' a night lover; how he had lavished on Alessia
gifts of expensive jewellery and sexy lingerie; how he'd
been infatuated with the beautiful Italian model.

'I'm really sorry,' Cal said quietly. 'They're making it
out to be something it wasn't. We probably only saw each
other seven or eight times.'

'Perhaps I should phone Alessia for some tips,' Angel
said bitterly. 'It's been a while since you've been a three
times a night lover with me.'

'I'm so sorry, Angel . . .'

'Will you stop fucking saying sorry!' she shouted. 'It's
not enough, don't you understand? It's not going to
make everything better.'

'I know, but it's the only thing I can say.'

Suddenly she realised that she just couldn't go on
living like this. 'I've got to get away,' she said, all the fight
gone from her.

'Please, Angel, I love you more than anything else in
the world,' Cal cried passionately, trying to hold her, but
Angel backed away.

'I believe you love me, but I just can't be with you at the
moment, I really can't.'

She was crying now and so was Cal. He was begging
her, 'Please, Angel, stay. I can't live without you.' She had
never seen him so desperate.

'I can't think straight at the moment, so please, Cal, go
back to Italy. I can't see what else we can do at the
moment,' she said through her tears. 'I thought I was
strong enough to give you a second chance, but now I
don't know. I just need to be on my own for a while.'

And as she said the words she felt as if her heart was
breaking.

'Darling, I think at last we've got your big break in the
States!' It was Carrie on the phone and she sounded
beside herself with excitement.

'Go on,' Angel said, not caring what her agent came out
with. It had been three days since Cal had left for Italy,
three long days of crying and misery. Carrie's phone call
found her still in her pyjamas at eleven o'clock in the
morning, mindlessly eating cereal straight from the
packet.

'You've got a part in film! They start shooting in two
weeks' time!'

'Really? How did that come about?' Angel asked, still
not sharing Carrie's excitement.

'Because of my contacts, darling, and your good
looks!'

'So what's the part?' Angel asked. 'You know I've never
acted before.'

'Never say never!' Carrie said perkily. 'You can be an
MTA just like all the others. Think of Kelly Brook!'

'Yeah, but I don't want to make a complete tit of
myself. Shouldn't I have some acting lessons or
something?'

'Don't be silly! You're a natural in front of the camera.
They just want you to look pretty. You haven't got to say
very much, just a couple of lines. You're playing the
girlfriend of some kind of megalomaniac in an action
film,' Carrie continued. 'Doesn't it sound fantastic?'

Totally predictable,
Angel felt like answering. Instead she
said stubbornly, 'I'm not doing any nudity. I want that
written into my contract.'

'Oh, Angel,' Carrie sighed, 'when did you get to be
such a prude? No, there is no nudity. I think you have to
wear a bikini and parade around a bit. Do you think you
can manage that?'

There was a pause while Angel weighed up her
options.
She had nothing to lose and maybe it would be good tobe out of the country for a while. At least she would be free fromthe media scrum and might be able to think more clearly aboutwhat she should do next.

'Okay, Carrie,' she said finally.

And her agent gave her more details. She would be out
in LA for just under three weeks. At the mention of the
city Angel thought of Ethan and almost changed her
mind; she didn't think she could ever face him again.
Then she reasoned that surely LA was such a big place
there was no way she would run into him.

'Are you sure you'll be okay?' Angel asked Lucy for the
twentieth time. She was getting ready to go out to one of
Larry T. Chance's legendary pool parties, leaving Honey
and her nanny in the luxurious house they were renting
in Bel Air.

'We'll be fine,' Lucy reassured her, used to Angel's
worrying. 'Just go and enjoy yourself.'

Angel shrugged, thinking that it was unlikely. They
had been in LA three days now and Carrie had pretty
much ordered her to socialise, telling her it would be
good for her profile out here. She had hoped that being
away from home would help clear her head, help her
decide what she wanted to do, but she felt more confused
and conflicted than ever – and on top of that had to put
on a brave face and show the world that she couldn't have
been happier.

The limo arrived to take her to the party and she gave
her appearance one last check. Knowing that there
would be eye-popping amounts of female flesh on display
at the party, and knowing too that as one of the former
centrefolds of Larry T. Chance's magazine
LA Dreams
she
would be expected to bare some flesh herself, Angel had
found what she thought was the middle ground. She'd
put on a black bikini and over it wore a loose black teeshirt,
which hung off one shoulder, pulled in at the waist
with a silver belt, which just about covered her bum and
a pair of killer-heel black ankle boots.

She knew the LA models would all be in girly colours
and usually Angel would be the first to go for pink, but
she also liked to be unpredictable and anyway black
suited her mood right now. Without Gemma to do her
make up, Angel kept things simple but dramatic with
thick black eyeliner and several layers of mascara and
wore just a dab of sheer lip gloss, so the look said 'just got
out of bed sexy'.

As she sat back in the limo, Angel wondered what to
expect from the party and whether she would know
anyone at all. Maybe she'd see one of Larry's girlfriends
whom she'd met before? And she meant 'one' because he
had seven girlfriends who shared his pink mansion.
Angel had posed for his magazine – a mix of sports
features and naked models – several years earlier, in what
had been her most revealing shots ever. She had bared
everything. Since then Larry had wanted her to do
another shoot, but so far she had resisted. She knew that
while Cal might just about accept her going topless for
the occasional glamour shot, if she went any further he
wouldn't be happy. But a voice inside her said that maybe
it didn't matter what Cal thought anymore . . .

*

'Angel! How lovely to see you again, and how gorgeous
you look!' Larry kissed her hand while his babes looked
on. He owned up to being sixty-five though Angel was
sure he was way older, but the fake tan and dyed black
hair, and no doubt regular face lifts, did a pretty good job
of disguising his real age. She smiled and took the
compliment graciously.

'Why don't you take Angel round the party?' he said to
Cindy, one of the babes who was sitting next to him,
sucking a lollipop.

'Cool,' she answered, slipping off the bar stool and
taking Angel's hand. Cindy looked like the stereotypical
LA girl, all bleached blonde hair, silicone implants and
perfect tan. She was wearing a silver bikini top which left
little to the imagination and bottoms which made a
Hollywood wax absolutely essential. They walked round
the party, Cindy smiling and fluttering her false
eyelashes at any famous men and Angel taking in the
sights – and there were many – topless girls playing volley
ball in the pool; topless waitresses circulating with trays of
exotic-looking cocktails; topless jugglers, fire eaters and
acrobats performing; topless girls pole dancing on a stage
on one of the lawns. Cindy chatted away, asking Angel
the usual questions about how long she was out for, had
she been here before and what she was doing, to which
Angel gave fairly short answers – she didn't exactly see
Cindy as her future soul-mate.

The other girl was seriously impressed that Angel was
going to star in a movie and said that she had been in
several herself, though she was very cagey when Angel
asked what they were, saying that she couldn't remember
the titles.
Or didn't like to,
Angel thought to herself,
convinced that Cindy was talking about starring in porno
flicks. The girl then asked her if she wanted to check out
the games cottage which was hidden away in a small
wooded area. Angel remembered it from her last visit –
one of the rooms was devoted to a pool table and fruit
machines, while the other was for more adult entertainment.
All it had in it were cushions, a luxuriously thick
carpet, a mirrored ceiling and a wide-sceen TV occupying
an entire wall. But people didn't go in there to watch
TV . . . Angel shook her head.

'What about the Jacuzzi?' Cindy asked. 'There are
some really big stars hanging out there.' And she
whispered the name of a famous movie star. Angel shook
her head, knowing perfectly well that when guests
weren't being naughty in the games room, they were
playing sex games in the Jacuzzi. Cindy shrugged and
gave her a look as if to say 'Loser' and Angel suddenly
thought that she would rather be on her own.

'Cindy, I'll be fine if you want to go,' Angel told her.
Cindy perked up, and after saying she would hook up
with her later, tottered off in the direction of the Jacuzzi.

Angel made her way to the poolside and took a cocktail
from a tray offered to her by a topless waitress then sat
down at one of the many candlelit tables. Carrie had told
her to go to the party and see Larry, which she'd done,
and the way Angel saw it she would have her cocktail then
slink off. She just wasn't in the mood for making small
talk and no doubt every man she met would think that as
one of Larry's former models she would be sexually
available to them. There was someone heading towards
her right now, a tall good-looking African-American.
Angel frowned, trying to work out where she'd seen him
before, and then she remembered: it was Logan, Ethan's
friend and fellow baseball player. Her heart suddenly
skipped a beat. Did that mean Ethan was here too?

'It's Angel, isn't it?' Logan asked. 'We met last
summer.' He reached out his hand and Angel shook it.
'Hi, Logan,' she replied and couldn't help checking over
his shoulder to see if Ethan was there too. But there was
no sign of him.

'So what are you doing here, Angel?' Logan asked, and
she gave a very edited version of why she was out in LA.

'Ethan's here somewhere,' he said, scanning the
partygoers around them. 'I'm sure he'd like to see you
again.'

'See who again?' Suddenly Ethan was at his friend's
side, but the look of complete surprise on his face
revealed that he hadn't been expecting to see him with
Angel.

'Hi,' she said quietly, feeling very shy and selfconscious
in his presence and remembering all too clearly
how they had parted.

'Hi,' Ethan replied, and the initial shock had been
replaced by his usual cool knowing look.
He wasn't goingto let her in again,
Angel thought, and despite herself she
felt regret.

'So who's this?' A blonde in a bright yellow bikini top
and thong appeared at Ethan's side, wrapping her arms
possessively round him.

'She's a model, just like you, Kasey,' Ethan said, in a
way which Angel was sure was supposed to antagonise
her. And Angel was sorely tempted to say that no way
would she parade around in public with her arse cheeks
on display, but she zipped it. She probably deserved that
dig from Ethan.

'Oh,' replied Kasey, clearly not liking to see any
competition near her man. 'Shall we go to the cottage?'

Angel couldn't stop her mouth from twitching into a
smile which Ethan saw. 'We're playing pool, if you must
know, Angel.'

'Oh, right,' she said sarcastically. 'I'll bet Kasey's got
very good ball control.'

'You could always come along and watch,' he replied,
and his blue eyes which had looked so full of warmth all
those months ago were now as cold as ice.
She had seriouslypissed him off.

Angel shook her head. 'I'm fine here, thanks.' Ethan
gave her a barely perceptible nod, did that super-cool
hand touching thing with Logan and left, with Kasey
clinging on to him.

Logan was staring at Angel, almost open-mouthed in
surprise. 'I had no idea he was going to be so rude to you.
Are you okay?'

'Believe me, Logan, worse things have happened tome
than that,' Angel said ruefully, hoping she could sneak
out of the party right away. 'Well, I'm sorry he was like
that. Listen, you should come and meet my wife and
family while you are here, can I take your number?'
Angel hurriedly gave it to him. Seeing Ethan again had
unsettled her more than she could ever have anticipated.
But just then a young woman in her twenties who was
wearing a dress, a real novelty as nearly all the other
female guests were in bikinis or thongs, came over and
introduced herself. She was Camilla, assistant director on
the film Angel was going to appear in. So instead of
leaving Angel found herself spending much of the
evening with her.

Camilla was English which was both welcome and
unwelcome news to Angel. On the plus side it meant she
didn't feel like quite such an alien talking to her; on the
downside Camilla knew all about what had happened
between her and Cal. Fortunately she only asked how
things were and Angel simply replied 'fine'. Camilla
seemed perfectly nice but that didn't mean Angel could
trust her and she didn't want anything she said to come
out in the press. Camilla knew quite a few other people at
the party, several of whom were actors who were going to
be in the film with Angel, including Parker, a quirky-looking
young actor who was playing Angel's brother. He
was funny and flirtatious and she instantly hit it off with
him.

'Do you think it's okay if I fancy you? Seeing as you're
my sister?' Parker asked after a couple of cocktails.
'Couldn't she be my adopted sister?' he added, turning to
Camilla, who shook her head and laughed.

'Don't worry,' Angel put in, 'I'm only in for a couple of
scenes and then I die, so you won't have to suffer for
long.'

'Maybe we could add a scene where I get to do mouth-to-
mouth resuscitation?' Parker persisted hopefully.
Camilla and Angel laughed and at that moment Ethan
walked past. He turned and looked at Angel and their
eyes locked for a fleeting second before he walked swiftly
away.

Whatever!
Angel thought. She had way too many other
complications in her life to worry about Ethan, didn't
she? But that night when she lay in bed, unable to sleep,
she did think about him. She remembered that connection
between them, remembered the undeniable
sexual chemistry.
He hates me now,
she told herself sternly,
recalling the way Ethan had looked at her so coldly, and
tried to silence the voice inside her which said she wished
it wasn't so . . . And then almost immediately she felt
guilty for even thinking about another man in that way.

The following morning as she was relaxing in the house
with Honey, Parker called her to invite her to his birthday
party that night, which was being held at Tropicana.
Angel's first reaction was to say no, but Parker was so
sweet and she realised it would be good to know a few
more people in LA.

She spent the rest of the day with her daughter and
Lucy. First of all they strolled down Rodeo Drive, one of
the most exclusive shopping streets in the world, as Lucy
was desperate to do some celeb-spotting. She was over
the moon when she saw Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton.
Then Angel took her to the Beverly Center, a trendy
Indoor mall. But her own heart really wasn't in shopping,
she was just doing it for Lucy who had been so brilliant
during the nightmare with the press in the UK. Angel
ended up buying her several hundred dollars worth of
clothes as a thank you, plus a few things for Honey, but
nothing for herself. New clothes were not going to make
her feel any better about her marriage. And even in LA
she was followed by the paps – news of Cal's affair was still
hot in the British press, with daily speculation about
whether Angel would stand by her man or dump him –
which made the shopping trip more of an ordeal than a
treat.