He's the One (38 page)

‘Easy-peasy. Harry?’

‘Just a blow dry.’

‘No problem. And Mila?’

There was a pause and Brooke worried that she had got cold feet and would probably say she didn’t want
anything doing, but her friend replied, ‘Um … I was thinking of going a little darker.’

Jez picked up a strand of her hair. ‘I think ultimately you should go for brunette, but I can’t achieve that in a day, so let’s go a couple of shades darker. That will look fantastic with your lovely blue eyes.’

Brooke waited for Mila to come out with a self-deprecating comment but she didn’t. Brooke felt like high-fiving Harry. Finally Mila was becoming more confident in herself.

While Jez was working his magic on Mila, Brooke and the others went and sat on the beach.

‘It’s so cool here,’ Kelly said, taking in the view, ‘I really love it.’

‘Yeah, it’s taken me some time, but I love it too,’ Brooke replied. She reached for her phone again. Still nothing from Flynn. She’d given Kelly the full story, but not confessed to Harry about the kiss – somehow she had wanted to keep that to herself. It felt too precious to be picked over even by him.

‘He’ll text,’ Harry told her, guessing who she was thinking of. ‘I think their flight got in late last night.’

‘I’m looking forward to meeting him,’ Kelly replied. ‘So long as you promise me that he’s not like Christian?’ She looked over at Harry. ‘Our girl hasn’t had the best track record when it comes to picking the right guys.’

‘Flynn is gorgeous and the best guy you’ll ever meet. No contest.’ That from Harry.

‘You do think he’ll come tonight, don’t you?’ Brooke blurted out.

‘He said he would, so he’ll be here. He never plays games.’

‘What about these complications with Eve he was talking about?’

‘Their relationship has been rocky for ages, I reckon
it’s over. And usually I would say that he would need a break after splitting from her, but not in this case. You and Flynn are perfect for each other.’

Brooke looked across at Harry, lounging in a pair of denim shorts and a turquoise shirt unbuttoned to get maximum rays. Was he telling the truth?

‘You’re not just saying that because it’s my birthday, are you?’

‘Nope, cross my heart.’ He lifted his Prada glasses so she could see his eyes, and smiled at her. ‘So stop looking so worried, he’ll be here.’ And then Jez called out from her balcony that it was Brooke’s turn.

Jez was hugely entertaining, exactly as Brooke had thought he would be, swapping celebrity gossip with her – so much so that she almost forgot about her phone. But when it beeped with a message she shot out of her chair in her rush to get it, oblivious to the fact that Jez was halfway through folding in a foil. At last! A text from Flynn.

Happy Birthday Brooke. Things a bit difficult at the moment, but really hope I can see you later. x

Really hope? Not for definite? And by ‘things’ … he must mean Eve. What should she reply to that? Play it cool, say yeah, be great if you could come, understand if not. No. She didn’t want to play it cool. She sat back in the chair, lost in her thoughts.

Really want to see you, Flynn. Have missed you. x
And before she could change her mind, she pressed send.

‘About a boy?’ Jez asked. She guessed he must spend a lot of time listening to his clients talking about their love lives.

‘Yeah, that obvious? I don’t know if he’s going to make the party tonight. He has issues with his ex, or not so ex. I don’t know.’

‘If he’s worth anything, he’ll be here. How could he not for beautiful you?’

And even though she simply didn’t know, Brooke found herself smiling at Jez in the mirror.

The boys were banished from the room while Brooke, Mila and Kelly got ready for the party. Kelly was in charge of doing their make up as by now Brooke was too nervous and her hands kept shaking when she tried. There was a knock at the door and Liberty came in with a bottle of champagne and three glasses. She had dressed up as a sixties girl in a black-and-white checked dress and long white boots. She looked beautiful and sassy, and Brooke felt a rush of pride that she was her mom.

‘Right, it’s six o clock, you can have a drink and then come down and see what we’ve done.’ She smiled at Brooke. ‘Stop looking so worried, it’s going to be the best party ever!’

Brooke managed a smile back. ‘Yes. Thanks, Mom.’

Chapter 41

The champagne certainly helped with the nerves, which was good because Brooke hadn’t had a reply from Flynn. She kept trying to tell herself that it didn’t matter, but it did.

‘Come on, Birthday Girl, I’m dying to see you in that dress!’ Kelly exclaimed. She was dressed as Cleopatra, in a floaty white gown and gold headpiece, and looked drop-dead gorgeous. Mila was in the red fifties-style dress, her hair was now a softer honey-blonde, and Brooke would not have recognised her as the girl she first met two months ago.

Brooke took off the white towelling robe she’d been wearing most of the afternoon and stepped into the gold sequined gown. The material felt cool against her skin and the exquisitely made dress, that fitted perfectly, helped her feel as if she was getting into the part.

‘Wow! You look amazing!’ Kelly exclaimed as Brooke put on the matching gold hair band.

‘D’you really think so?’ she asked. The question had never seemed quite so important before. She had always been confident in her looks but tonight she wanted everything to be perfect.

Both friends smiled at her and Mila said, ‘Beautiful. The golden girl.’

Downstairs her mom had pulled out all the stops. The house looked incredible, huge arrangements of flowers filling the air with the scent of lilies and freesias. Candles were flickering everywhere; pretty tea lights were arranged around fireplaces and windows. Everything looked so elegant and tasteful, but her mom hadn’t been able to resist hanging up a huge pink banner with ‘Happy 18th Birthday, Brooke’ splashed across it. The living room was now the dance floor, and surrounded with pink and silver balloons. A mirror ball was spinning, casting discs of silver light against the walls and floor, and a DJ was set up, along with a stage for karaoke. The cinema room was now a chill-out space where there was going to be a fortune-teller, a magician, and a make-up artist to create temporary tattoos. Waiters were busy setting up food and drinks in the dining room. Liberty was looking anxiously at Brooke as she took her round. ‘Well, what do you think?’

‘It’s brilliant, Mom! Thank you so much.’ She didn’t even stop and compare it with what might have been at Chateau Marmont. This felt so much more personal; her mom had chosen all her favourite things. It meant so much more to Brooke.

Harry, Jez and Rufus were sitting on the verandah, making inroads into a bottle of champagne. Harry whistled when she walked out. Well, Harry aka a blond Richard Gere. He’d gone for the
Officer and a Gentleman
look. Possibly Richard Gere’s trousers hadn’t been quite so figure-hugging and his jacket was buttoned up rather than being left artfully open to show off maximum chest, but those were minor details. Jez had changed into a dinner jacket and come
as a sexy vampire complete with fangs and black-tinted contact lenses. But he’d kept the tan, so rather ruining the effect. Rufus made a very handsome Tom Cruise out of
Top Gun
.

Liberty had promised the neighbours that the party would be over by midnight, so guests started arriving from half past seven. Everyone had made a real effort with their costumes. There was an Indiana Jones, a Mad Hatter, two Dorothys, a Lara Croft, Minnie Mouse, Cruella de Vil, Captain Jack Sparrow, Austin Powers, a couple of zombies, vampires, and a pair of Ghostbusters. Back in LA everyone’s costume would have been hired or bought from the best possible places, and would have rivalled the real thing. Brooke liked the fact that here so many guests’ costumes looked home-made or put together from vintage or charity shops.

Every time the doorbell rang she kept hoping it would be Flynn, but it got later and later and there was still no sign of him. She had this hollow feeling of disappointment inside that she tried to block out by knocking back glasses of champagne and hitting the dance floor with her friends. Liberty had been determined that people weren’t going to stand round the edges of the room while the music played so she had enlisted Jez and Harry – two natural-born entertainers – to get everyone up, but after dancing wildly for an hour Brooke was in need of a rest and she and Kelly wandered into the chill-out room.

‘Why don’t you get your fortune read?’ Kelly commented.

‘Okay, I will if you will.’

Brooke took a seat opposite the dark-haired fortune-teller, who was dressed in a long black evening dress with flowing sleeves and had perhaps OD’d on
the purple eye make up. Brooke saw it as a bit of fun, but the woman – whose name was Marnie – was very serious as she got Brooke to shuffle the tarot cards and then hand them back to her. She dealt three out on the table, and even though Brooke didn’t believe in it, she still felt a shiver of alarm when she saw one of the cards was the Hanged Man. Marnie smiled at her.

‘There is no cause for concern. This is a good card, all about change and embracing change. And I think you have been through a big change yourself, haven’t you?’

Well, that wasn’t rocket science, she probably knew that Brooke had recently moved to the UK. Next card was the Lovers, which seemed more promising, and finally the Queen of Cups. As Marnie described the significance of each card, and how it related to her life, Brooke had a kind of parallel, so-what dialogue going on in her head. She was too busy wondering when Flynn was going to arrive.
If
Flynn was going to arrive … But then Marnie asked her to hold out her palm and looked intently at the lines.

‘I see a man coming into your life.’

He’d bloody better hurry up
, Brooke was tempted to reply.

‘This man is strong but he has been hurt.’

Not by me …

‘He is wondering what to do for the best. He is torn and conflicted, but he knows he has to act.’ She closed her eyes and Brooke was tempted to mouth WTF at Kelly. This was so lame!

‘I see blue eyes. Brown, no, blond hair.’ Marnie opened her eyes again. ‘He’s on his way.’

Yeah, right, on his white charger … She hadn’t expected Marnie to know about Flynn, but to get it so wrong was frankly disappointing. Brooke was
just about to mutter a quick thank you and escape when she sensed that someone was behind her. She glanced round. There at last was Flynn, breathtakingly handsome in a black tuxedo. He had come as James Bond and he was definitely licensed to thrill, given the rush of butterflies Brooke experienced.

‘Happy birthday, Brooke,’ he said, thankfully not in a bad Sean Connery accent that would really have ruined the moment. Actually, he could have said it any way he wanted and it wouldn’t have lessened the desire pulsing through her.

She stood up and said shyly, ‘I thought you weren’t going to come.’

‘I wouldn’t have missed it.’ And he ducked down and kissed her lightly on the lips. The butterflies fluttered even more wildly.

Chapter 42

Liberty

Liberty and Em surreptitiously watched Brooke and Flynn on the dance floor. It was the first time Liberty had felt that she could relax with some champagne; she had been rushing around all day, overseeing everything.

‘Look at them, Libs!’ Em exclaimed. ‘Dancing like love’s young dream. Isn’t it sweet?’ Em made a very striking Catwoman in a black rubber suit, though she had been complaining about how hot she was. Noah was Batman and currently deep in conversation with Nina, who was the Queen of Hearts. Only Liberty’s mum could have got away with that tight red corset at her age.

‘Yes, she looks lit up from inside, doesn’t she? I mean, she looked beautiful before he arrived, but now she has that extra glow.’

The party was going even better than Liberty had anticipated. All Brooke’s college friends were so sweet and appreciative; they had none of that sense of entitlement that used to infuriate her in
some of Brooke’s LA friends. The food was delicious, the music fantastic, and her daughter had never looked happier. All in all it was exactly how Liberty had wanted it to be. So much had happened to them both in the last couple of months and they’d had so much to adjust to. But not for a second did she regret leaving Zac and her acting career. Her new UK agent was hopeful that there would be some projects soon. In the meantime Liberty was happy to have this time with her daughter. It made up for all the times in the past when they’d barely seen each other. ‘So she’s sorted – we just need to fix you up,’ Em said. ‘Have you thought any more about contacting Cory again?’

Liberty shook her head. ‘Nope, that ship has sailed.’

‘I still think you should do something,’ Em said stubbornly, adjusting her Catwoman mask.

‘Well, I’m not going to,’ Liberty replied, equally stubbornly. She watched as Flynn took Brooke’s hand and the pair of them slipped out of the room.

‘I’m going to check on the caterers. We’re going to have mini fish and chips in an hour or so.’

Em curled her lip. ‘Queen of Avoidance. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. And don’t let me eat any fish and chips or I’ll burst out of this suit! Not something that Anne Hathaway ever had reason to say.’

Liberty was halfway down the hall when the doorbell rang. Thinking it would be some late-arriving guests, she opened it. And did a double take, because standing there was Cory. For a moment they simply looked at each other.

‘I know that this is the worst possible timing, but I had to see you,’ he said quietly. There was no sign of the cold disdain she had seen in his expression at
Angel’s party. His blue eyes were no longer like chips of ice, but flooded with warmth. She should reply that anything he had to say to her must wait until tomorrow, but she couldn’t, she just couldn’t.

The small office was the only room downstairs that hadn’t been taken over by the party. Liberty stood by the desk, Cory by the door. He was still the most handsome man she had ever seen. A man now, not the boy he had been at nineteen, broad-shouldered and tall. He had lines round his blue eyes. Getting older suited him. She hardly dared breathe, feeling that this was going to be one of the most significant moments of her life. She waited for him to speak.