You Had Me at Halo (23 page)

“What, in case they were slipped some pills just before hopping into a fatal bath?”

“No! Of course that’s not what I mean.” Gemma wailed. “Look, you know what it’s like there. If they give you something to do, you just have to do it. I know one hundred percent that you didn’t commit suicide, and the sooner we find out how those pills got into your system, the sooner we can prove to everyone at Baker Colwell that you were tragically taken from us all before you reached the prime of your life.”

Holly sniffed. “I was, wasn’t I?”

“Yes.” Gemma nodded frantically. s NeYes, you were, and we’re going to find out how. No matter what it takes, and then we’re going to say ‘I told you so’ to anyone who thought otherwise.”

Holly gave another little sniff. Gemma always knew how to make her feel better.

“So are we okay?” Gemma peered from under her lashes, her voice laced with concern.

“Yes.” Holly gave her friend a sheepish smile. “We’re cool. To be honest I’m sort of pleased that’s the reason you’ve been acting so funny.”

“What do you mean?” Gemma pushed the flyer back in her purse and widened her eyes.

“I thought it was because you didn’t want to be seen talking to Vince. I thought maybe you were embarrassed.”

“That’s ridiculous. Of course I like Vince. A lot,” she added in a loud, clear voice.

“It’s all right, Gem. He’s not here.”

“What? But I thought—”

“It’s a long story,” Holly said as she explained her impromptu visit by Dr. Hill. “But he should be back sometime in the next few hours.”

“Oh.” Gemma looked relieved. “After everything he’s done for you, I didn’t want to offend him...so is he going to be all right?”

Holly nodded. “Dr. Hill said there wouldn’t be any side effects.”

“You know I think it’s so sweet that he let himself be knocked out like that so you could have your test. I didn’t realize he was so nice. Or so funny.”

Holly shot her friend a startled glance. “Don’t tell me you fancy me...I mean Vince?”

“Please.” Gemma looked hurt. “That would just be weird on way too many levels. Anyway, I’m going on a date with Simon Trimmer.”

“Sorry.” Holly flushed as a jolt of relief ran through her. For some reason she didn’t like the idea of Gemma having a crush on Vince.

Her friend look at her strangely. “I just meant Vince is a nice guy. That’s all.”

“You’re right. He is nice. Not to mention clever and kind-hearted, and I don’t like to boast”—Holly lifted up her shirt and tapped Vince’s rock-hard stomach—“but there’s nothing wrong with his body, either.”

Gemma made a choking noise. “Holly...don’t tell me
you
have a thing for Vince?”

“What?” Holly spluttered. “That’s ridiculous. Of course I don’t. How can you even say that when I’m about to see Todd? Remember him, my almost fiancé?” There was no need to mention the two embarrassing bedroom incidents, since clearly they were only the result of now knowing how to handle all of that testosterone. Boy, it was dangerous stuff when in inexperienced hands.

“I know that; I’m just saying...oh never mind. Anyway, we should probably get going. I don’t want to be late for my date, and I doubt you want to miss Todd.”

Absolutely not
, Holly shook her head. It was all about Todd.
Todd, Todd, Todd.
As for Gemma’s ridiculous idea…well her friend was just confusing admiration and friendship with something else. Again—it was all about Todd.

“Okay.” Holly turned the corner toward the understated entrance of the Pool Palace. “Now let’s go over the plan one more time.”

“Sure,” Gemma agreed. “That would be a great idea except there is no plan, which means we’re going to have to wing it.”

Holly stopped and groaned.

Wing it?

She needed this to work. After all, this was the guy that up until two weeks ago, she was going to marry.

It was going to be a beautiful wedding too. Todd’s nephew, little James, would be old enough to be the ring bearer by then and Holly’s dress was going to be the most ravishing thing this side of...well anywhere.

It was going to be perfect.

The sun would be shining, the birds would be singing. Most importantly of all, s
he wouldn’t be dead.

But now that dream was gone and in its place was nothing but a horrible future in horrible heaven, possibly with no memory of any of this. The only way she was going to get a chance to talk to the love of her life was to...
wing it.

Gemma glanced around to check the coast was clear before reaching over and squeezing Holly’s hand. “It’s going to be okay you know. Trust me.”

“You’re right.” Holly felt a positive surge of energy soar through her. “It’s going to be fine.”

xxx

Everything about the Pool Palace was upmarket and sophisticated, from the tournament-size pool tables to the cutting-edge brown leather couches and discreet lighting.

Also, owing to the fact it was right next to The Fix, Holly and Gemma had spent quite a bit of their time there in the past. But tonight Holly felt completely out of place and she could suddenly see why Vince wasn’t a fan. All around her were young and fabulous things with lots of designer clothes and trust funds. Why hadn’t she ever noticed that before?

Not that Holly had tremendous wealth growing up and any designer clothes she had came from discount outlets, but she had been exposed to this environment from a young age. And she’d taken it for granted.

She watched Gemma saunter over to where Simon and Todd were sitting. Her heart did a little flip-flop. Todd looked gorgeous in a navy polo shirt and a pair of beige trousers and she longed to give him a kiss and snake her arms around his waist, but instead she was forced to slip into an empty booth just near the door.

She glanced over to see what was happening and was pleased Gemma was already standing on tiptoes to whisper something in his ear. Boy, at times like this, Holly wished they’d taught them useful tools in college. Like how to lip-read. It would’ve certainly been more helpful than knowing the square root of pi.

“Hey Murphy, what are you staring at?” a voice demanded and Holly realized Simon was studying her through a pair of narrowed eyes.

Oh great
. Usually she thought it was funny when the guys goofed around like this but tonight definitely wasn’t one of those times. Especially when she recalled the little incident near Todd’s office earlier this afternoon. Had it really only been a few hours ago?

“Just minding my own business.” She gave what she hoped was a casual shrug.

“Yeah, well just mind you keep it that way.” Simon leaned on his pool cue and scowled. “And stop looking at Gemma like that, Todd told me what you tried to do at the funeral.”

Holly rolled her eyes. In the last fortnight she’d been accused of killing herself, talking too much, and having a bad attitude. Now she was being told to stop perving on her best friend
. Just great.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Gemma, who had been deep in conversation with Todd, walked over and put a restraining hand on Simon’s arm while shooting Holly a pointed stare and nodded towards the door.

“The guy’s a jerk and I don’t like the way he’s looking at you. Should I do something about it?”

“You could try,” Holly retorted as she thought of how hard Vince’s biceps were. Not that she knew how to use them, but she was sure she could give it a go.

Gemma glared at her for a minute before turning to Simon and running her hand up his arm.

“Don’t worry about it,” Holly heard her friend coo. “He isn’t bothering me. Though I must admit I think it’s kind of cute you’re jealous...”

“Yeah, you think it’s cute do you?” Simon now lost interest in Holly and puffed out his chest in Gemma’s direction.

Oh please.
Simon was pathetic. Really, she was going to have to have a word with Gemma about her taste in men. Andrew was looking better by the second. And why was Gemma still nodding at the door like that?

Holly tried to send a telepathic message to her friend to clarify the situation, but judging by Gemma’s face, the experiment was a failure and Holly was forced to watch Simon wrap his arms around Gemma’s waist and lick the side of her face.
Gross.
Why didn’t he just club her over the head and drag her back to the Neanderthal cave he’d crawled out from for goodness sake?

She was just about to try and send another telepathic message when she realized Todd was walking towards her. She clutched at Vince’s satchel and tried not to panic. This was it. She longed to put her hand up to her hair and pat it but she didn’t quite think that six-foot guys wearing a leather jacket and steel-capped boots checked their hair on a regular basis.

Which was why, when Vince woke up again, there was no way she was going to tell him about the tiny amount of mascara she had used, just to add a bit more curl and depth. Not that Vince really needed it, but she’d seen the mascara wand in Gemma’s purse and couldn’t resist.

Holly tried to look nonchalant as Todd moved closer towards her. He was so hot. And she loved the way he moved with a slight limp thanks to that broken leg.

So what had Gemma told him?

Did he know everything?

Then she frowned. Gemma had only been speaking to him for a couple of minutes so he couldn’t know it all. But he must know something or else he wouldn’t be coming over. Right?

She had to admit this conversation was going to be a lot easier without Vince making fun of her every step of the way. Some things were better off being done alone: like trying to convince your boyfriend that his dead girlfriend really was alive and residing in someone else’s body.

Todd was only one table away now and she coughed to clear her throat. It didn’t help that she could feel her Adam’s apple as she did so. Boy that Y chromosome sure was responsible for some funny inventions.

Almost there. Almost there. And—

“Vince. God, I’ve been waving from the outside for five minutes. Didn’t you see me?” Holly froze at the sound of Amy Jenkins’ voice and was then forced to watch Todd walk straight past her table and toward the door. In the background Gemma’s eyes were almost bulging and finally Holly worked out what her friend had been trying to tell her. They definitely needed a better code.

Holly wanted to scream. This could not be happening. It
was
not
happening. She was going to shut her eyes, count to three and Todd would be sitting down next to her, taking hold of her hand and telling her he’d known all along that she was there because he loved her so much that he could feel her presence.

One

Two.

Three.

Holly opened her eyes to see Amy grinning. She was dressed all in black and looking suspiciously like she was about to go on a date. Right about now Holly felt like crying.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“Amy, what are you doing here?”

And Todd, where are you going?

“What do you mean what am I doing here? Amy gathered up her black skirt and slid into the booth. “I’m here for our date.”

“What?” Holly could barely concentrate as she tried to peer out through the thick glass window to see where on earth Todd was going.

“Our date,” Amy repeated. “I almost thought you weren’t going to show when you didn’t come into The Fix but then I caught sight of you in here. I didn’t think you liked this place.”

Of course I do
, Holly was about to say before realizing that Amy was talking about Vince. To Vince.
Well, let’s just get something very clear right from the start. There would be no more kissing.

Beneath the pancake makeup and the cheap kohl eyeliner, Holly could tell Amy was still waiting expectantly for an answer.

“I just thought I’d check it out.” Holly reached up and rubbed her temples. Her headache was still pounding away.

“Cool.” Amy gave an indifferent shrug. “I mean I don’t mind it. Apart from all of those self-important idiots who like to hang out here.”

Holly couldn’t help but notice that Amy was staring directly at Gemma and Simon. Well, Holly agreed about Simon, but Gemma wasn’t a spoilt rich kid. “Some of them are okay.”

“Humph.” Amy snorted as she dug out her purse. “Anyway, I’m going to get a drink. Do you want one?”

Holly’s head was still pounding and she had a feeling that it wasn’t going to get better on its own. “No thanks. But could you get me a glass of water?”

“Sure.” Amy headed for the bar at the same time as Simon did, and a couple of seconds later Gemma slipped into the booth next door.

“Todd’s just gone to get us some drinks. What are you doing with that skanky ghoul?” her friend hissed while keeping her head firmly pointed in the other direction, as if she wasn’t really talking to Holly/Vince.

“Tell me about it.” Holly groaned, also making sure she was looking away from where Gemma was sitting. “I thought he was coming over and then little Miss Elvira jumped me. I’ll get rid of her as soon as I can and then go out and talk to Todd in private.”