Santa Baby (13 page)

So it wasn’t because you wanted to see me?
Tiffany thought, and again there was that flare of disappointment. She had been looking forward to seeing him again, but maybe it wasn’t a feeling he shared.

‘I understand. You can trust me not to say anything,’ she told him.

‘I know.’ And finally Sean smiled. OK, it was a small smile, but at least it was a smile.

He turned down a private road, past several enormous houses or rather mansions. Tiffany gazed at them, thinking of her own tiny studio flat and of her parents’ small terraced house. At the end of the road, beyond a high red-brick wall with some vicious-looking spikes on top of it, and set in several acres of land, was a stunning Edwardian house. Tiffany thought it looked like the setting for a lavish TV costume drama. Her nervousness at seeing her sister again increased as Sean keyed a code into the security pad by the front gate, which slowly opened. She noticed two CCTV cameras mounted on the fence, monitoring every visitor.

An impressive drive swept up to the house, bordered with perfectly pruned shrubs. There were immaculately mown lawns, beautifully maintained flowerbeds, blazing with colour, and a flash of blue from the swimming pool. Yet again Tiffany felt as if she was entering a different world, one that she was ill equipped to deal with. She clutched her bag anxiously as Sean parked the car, and tried to joke, ‘We’re not in Kansas any more.’

‘You’ll be fine,’ he said, catching sight of her slightly strained expression. ‘I’ll see you later.’

And there it was again, disappointment that she wouldn’t be seeing him for longer.

A little girl, who must be Honey, opened the door to Tiffany. She was clearly going to be a beauty like her mother, with long dark brown curly hair framing a heart-shaped face. She had inherited her father’s olive skin and stunning brown eyes.

‘Hi,’ Tiffany said.

The little girl looked at her solemnly then answered, ‘Hi, I’m Honey.’

Tiffany stepped through the door and found herself in an impressive entrance hall lit by an enormous glittering chandelier. The hall was so vast there was room for a hot-pink velvet sofa, a mirrored glass table, a life-sized bronze sculpture of a woman which Tiffany was pretty sure was modelled on Angel, and a large Pop Art-style canvas of Angel and Cal. It still didn’t look at all cluttered.

‘Hiya!’ Angel came racing along the corridor, dressed casually in a white Juicy Couture tracksuit and silver Havaiana flip-flops, her blonde hair worn in two plaits. Instantly Tiffany felt overdressed in her red vintage-style tea dress and high red suede sandals, but she didn’t do tracksuits, not even in her own house, never mind someone else’s!

Angel quickly kissed her, then said, ‘Come on through to the kitchen and meet Cal. You look lovely, by the way. Sorry to be in my trackie, but I always end up slobbing out at home.’

Tiffany handed over the small bouquet of flowers she’d brought, which looked even smaller in this vast house, and tried to tell herself that it was the thought that counted. ‘Pink roses … my favourites,’ Angel said warmly.

Tiffany followed her down the elegant hallway, the
oyster-coloured
walls of which were hung with photographs of Cal, Honey and Angel. They passed a huge dining room that could seat at least forty, a spacious living room, with the largest plasma-screen TV mounted on the wall that Tiffany had ever seen, and ended up in a state-of-the-art designer kitchen/dining room, overlooking the garden, which was filled with sunshine streaming in from the French doors and the glass roof.

It was a kitchen Tiffany’s dad would have absolutely loved, with its vast stainless-steel double oven, black granite work surfaces, and glossy white units. Chris was always complaining about the lack of space in their tiny kitchen, which was straight out of the seventies with its Formica surfaces, brown units and orange tiles. Now Tiffany felt particularly shy as the handsome man standing by the oven came over and introduced himself as Cal.

Like she didn’t already know! She would have to have been living on the moon not to know who Cal Bailey was!

‘Hi,’ she said shyly as he kissed her. Cal Bailey had kissed her! Kara was going to combust with jealousy!

‘It must feel a bit strange coming here,’ he said, sensitive to her feelings.

‘Just a bit,’ Tiffany admitted.
Like the strangest thing that had ever happened to her!

‘Well, take a seat and let me get you a drink – wine, beer, water?’

Tiffany hesitated, not wanting to have an alcoholic drink unless they were.

‘She’ll have a glass of wine, like me, babe.’ Angel replied for her. ‘So come and sit down. We’ve got so much to talk about.’

And very quickly Tiffany stopped feeling self-conscious. Angel and Cal might be wildly famous, live in
a
mansion and be millionaires, but they were completely down-to-earth and friendly.

‘D’you still think Tiffany looks like me?’ Angel asked Cal after they’d eaten delicious mixed antipasti of roasted peppers with pesto, a green bean salad, olives and freshly baked focaccia. He admitted that he had bought it from a deli, otherwise Tiffany would have been even more impressed by him than she already was. The man had been a genius footballer, was stunning-looking,
and
he was making seafood risotto.

Cal considered Tiffany. ‘Definitely. It’s the eyes and the mouth. And you both wave your hands around when you’re talking.’

‘It’s the weirdest thing, isn’t it?’ Angel said to Tiffany.

‘It is,’ she agreed.

‘I always wanted a sister,’ Angel said. She raised her wine glass. ‘Here’s to you, sister.’ They clinked glasses together and smiled at each other.

‘That reminds me, I’ve got something for you.’ Angel stood up and wandered over to a tall pink dresser, where she picked up a white bag with the Chanel logo on it. ‘It’s just a little gift,’ she said as she handed it to Tiffany.

‘Oh, but I haven’t got you anything.’ Instantly Tiffany felt embarrassed, though she had no idea what she could have bought Angel, who could no doubt buy herself anything that she wanted.

‘You brought me flowers.’

Tiffany opened up the designer bag to discover a selection of Coco Mademoiselle products: perfume, bath oil and moisturiser.

‘Thank you, that’s so nice of you,’ she said. ‘I’d just run out of my Coco Mademoiselle perfume.’ She nearly added,
And I can’t afford to buy any more
, but just stopped herself in time. She didn’t want them to think she was angling for anything else.

Everyone had finished the first course by then and Cal stood up and began clearing away the plates. Instantly Tiffany got up to help.

‘Can you call Sean to let him know the main course is ready? He said he was too busy to join us for starters,’ Cal asked Angel.

Tiffany lowered her eyes, not wanting to let on how pleased she was about that news.

Angel reached for the house phone and made the call.

‘He’ll be over in five.’ She stepped through the open French windows on to the terrace and stretched her arms up towards the sunshine. ‘It’s so hot … almost as hot as it was in Minorca. We should hang out by the pool after lunch.’ She looked back at Tiffany. ‘I can lend you a bikini, if you like.’

‘Yeah, she’s only got about a thousand to choose from,’ Cal teased.

Angel walked back in. ‘A hundred and fifty actually.’

Tiffany had two bikinis.

‘What kind of saddo counts their bikinis?’ Cal asked, but he was smiling at his wife.

Angel rolled her eyes. ‘Claudia, the stylist, wanted to do a piece about swimwear so we ended up going through my things.’ She looked over at Tiffany. ‘The point is, I’ve got plenty to choose from.’

Thank goodness Tiffany had had a full-scale removal of body hair that morning … how mortifying would it have been if she hadn’t? And she had painted her toe nails. In fact, she was pool ready.

She was helping Cal bring the plates over to the table when Sean walked in. ‘Can I do anything?’ he asked.

‘Just get some beers out for us, could you?’ Cal asked. ‘And more wine for the ladies.’

Honey held her glass up.

‘Ha-ha, very funny, Honey. Apple juice for you.’

‘She’s so well behaved,’ Tiffany commented to Angel, marvelling at the way the five-year-old had sat so nicely at the table and eaten everything that had been put in front of her without any fuss.

Angel smiled. ‘You should have seen her first thing, having an epic tantrum. So now she’s on her best behaviour, otherwise we’ve said we won’t be taking her to Disneyland Paris for her birthday.’

‘Sit next to me!’ Honey piped up as Sean came over to the table.

‘She adores Sean,’ Angel whispered. ‘Which is just as well as we all see so much of each other.’ She sighed, and for a moment looked anxious.

‘I know Sean told you about the thing … we can talk about it later.’ And then it seemed as if she tried to shake off the negative feeling. ‘So have you forgiven him for stalking you?’

Tiffany glanced over at Sean. ‘I guess, seeing as how he was so good to my family with the press. But I still think he wasn’t being very clever, letting me see him that time in the restaurant and at The Ritz.’ She tilted her chin up as if challenging him.

‘Believe me, if I hadn’t wanted you to see me, you wouldn’t have,’ Sean replied. ‘After all, you didn’t see me that time at the gym or in Tesco.’

‘How can I be sure that you were following me in Tesco?’

‘You bought a packet of spaghetti, a jar of pesto and a bottle of Pinot Grigio. Oh, and a packet of Jammy Dodgers.’

Well, at least it hadn’t been pantie liners! She couldn’t decide if Sean was teasing her or whether he was slightly annoyed that she seemed to be suggesting his skills weren’t all they should be, in front of his employers. But then Cal was serving up the seafood
risotto
and everyone’s attention turned to that and complimenting the chef.

Sean mainly talked to Cal during the meal, while Angel and Tiffany chatted. Angel wanted to know more about Tiffany’s stylist ambitions. The star was so easy to talk to, Tiffany reflected, and just as she was thinking that, Angel said, ‘It’s funny, I don’t usually make friends easily, but I feel so relaxed with you … as if I’ve known you for years.’

‘I was thinking just the same!’ Tiffany exclaimed. The connection that she had felt when she first met Angel was growing stronger.

The two women smiled at each other and then Angel totally floored Tiffany with her next comment. ‘How would you like to come and work on the show as a stylist? We really need to shake things up, and I think you could well be the person to do it. You could work alongside Claudia. She’s always moaning that she has too much to do.’

‘Really?’ Tiffany could hardy believe what she was hearing. It was an amazing offer.

‘Yeah – I’ll have to run it past the producers, but why don’t you come in on Tueday and see how it all works out? We can take it from there.’

This could be Tiffany’s big break, the one she had dreamed of, but she felt slightly awkward as she knew she was only getting this chance because of the connection to Angel. ‘Are you sure people …’ by that she meant the other stylist ‘… won’t be put out? And think that I’m only there because of being your sister?’

Cal and Sean had overheard their exchange and Cal commented, ‘Welcome to the world of showbusiness! But seriously, Angel wouldn’t want you to be part of the show if she didn’t rate you. You would get the job on your own merit.’

‘OK, I just don’t want anyone to think that I’m some
kind
of free-loader. I will make it as a stylist, even without this break.’ She caught Sean’s eye as she came out with her feisty comment and thought he looked as if he approved of what she’d said.

Cal and Angel smiled, and she said, ‘That’s what I thought.’

‘You sound exactly like Angel … stubborn and determined,’ Cal added. ‘And I mean that as a compliment.’

After lunch Angel took Tiffany upstairs to her dressing room. Once more Tiffany was overawed by the sheer size and luxury of the house … a grand wooden staircase swept up to the first floor, past walls hung with a series of vintage James Bond posters; the cream carpets were so thick she felt as if she was sinking up to her ankles in them; everywhere the paintwork gleamed freshly. Angel paused outside what was obviously Honey’s room. The little girl actually slept in a white four-poster bed that was shaped like a castle! One entire wall had a mural painted on it with
Toy Story
characters, there was a beautiful wooden rocking horse, what looked like the entire collection of Sylvanian Families, complete with houses and furniture. How the other half lived … Lily-Rose had one family of Sylvanian hedgehogs and Marie had worked so hard to make her tiny bedroom look pretty.

Angel’s dressing room was also something else. One entire wall was mirrored, floor-to-ceiling, and the other walls all had sleek white fitted wardrobes and drawers. Angel went round the room clicking open the cupboards to reveal the crystal-embellished evening dresses, the everyday dresses, shorts, mini-skirts, every variety of shoe from Converse to Jimmy Choos, and an entire two shelves devoted to her collection of UGGs. She seemed to have a pair in every colour – even silver. She also had one entire wardrobe devoted to jeans and
hoodies,
and another to tracksuits. ‘I love my casual clothes,’ she admitted.

‘And here are the bikinis.’ She pulled open five drawers packed with swimwear. ‘Take your pick!’

Tiffany looked at the array of colours and styles. She wasn’t used to having this much choice. But then her stylist instincts kicked in and, after some deliberation, she plucked out an emerald green halterneck top and matching briefs. It was best to keep it simple.

‘I’m not sure if it will fit,’ she commented, holding it against her. She was a 32B/C and a dress size 10, whereas Angel was at least two cup sizes larger and probably a size 8.

‘Oh, it will. I think that top’s too small for me anyway. I’ll leave you to try a couple on. Grab anything else you want, like a kaftan or maxi-dress.’

She paused in the doorway and looked back at Tiffany. ‘I’m glad you’re my sister. It feels right. I guess we’ve got something to thank Tanya for after all.’