All That Glitters (7 page)

‘Well, if your boyfriend had been cheating on you the whole time you were together, and at the same time your business went under, you’d be moody too,’ Ella snapped, and she stood up. Tiny grains of sand fell from her bare legs, and she brushed the seat of her shorts to get rid of the rest. They were baggy with damp from being in the sea, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t out to impress this guy or anyone else.

‘Sounds tough,’ he said sympathetically, and Ella glared at him. How patronising!

‘Yeah, it
is
tough,’ Ella retorted. ‘And if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take my moody face somewhere else. Somewhere I can be alone.’

He sighed. ‘Look, I’m sorry if I offended you. I just thought you looked a bit down and could do with some cheering up.’

Ella’s laugh was hollow. ‘I can guess how you were planning to cheer me up. Well, I’m not interested. Not in you, and not in anyone else. I’m off men for good.’

He reached his hand up to touch Ella’s wrist. ‘I’m not coming on to you,’ he said softly, and as Ella watched him she could tell he meant it. ‘Why not let me buy you a beer? We are on holiday, after all.’

After several bottles of Chang at a beach-side bar, Ella started to feel more relaxed. She didn’t know why she’d thought going away by herself had been a good idea. On paper it had seemed perfect – get out of the country, get over Fin, recharge her batteries after being sucked dry by the downfall of Sweet Dreams – but Ella was lonely, and something had prevented her from saying more than two words to the other backpackers at her bungalow resort. This man was different, though.

‘Fin – my ex – made me feel like I was going crazy,’ Ella said eventually. The sun was burning the top of her head, but the beer had loosened her, soothed her. Up until then she’d not had a drink in case the alcohol brought on more tears, but that day it seemed okay. She felt okay. ‘He convinced me he wasn’t cheating on me, but it turned out he had been the whole time we were together.’

‘Did you suspect?’ The man took another swig of his beer, and Ella was struck by how dazzlingly good-looking he was.

‘No. Yes. I don’t know. I was suspicious, but Fin told me I was mad, that it was all in my head. But it wasn’t.’ Ella was so overcome with sadness for a moment that she hadn’t been able to speak. How could her boyfriend – the man who said he loved her, and cared for her – have been so cruel? ‘He made me feel really small . . . and when he got really angry, or felt like he wasn’t controlling me properly with his words, he lashed out with his hands,’ she whispered.

The man clenched his fist so hard that his knuckles turned white, but instead of saying anything, he gestured at a waiter for two more bottles of beer, and then placed his hand on top of hers. In any other situation, Ella would have thought that he was coming onto her, was encouraging a sob story so he could ‘comfort’ her, but the act felt so platonic, and he appeared so, well, not into her like that, that it felt okay.

‘He sounds like a complete shit,’ he said, and Ella nodded slowly.

‘He was,’ she agreed, and after a beat they both smiled at each other.

‘I’m Danny,’ the man said, and he combed his fingers through his reddish-brown hair.

‘Ella,’ she replied, and as she took another sip of her beer she felt happier than she had in a long time. ‘It’s really good to meet you.’

After that, Ella and Danny quickly became inseparable. They were caught in their own little bubble of boozy nights out, long hot days sunbathing on the beach, and evenings of wandering around trying different foods from street sellers. Danny was on holiday by himself too, and after a couple of days they decided he should move his stuff out of the plush resort hotel he’d been staying in, and into Ella’s bungalow. He’d been drunkenly crashing there night after night anyway, and it made perfect sense.

‘Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to move into my hotel?’ Danny asked Ella, as she helped him lug his suitcase across the sandy paths to her bungalow. Ella shook her head. ‘As much as I like hot showers and air-con, there’s something a bit more authentic about this little bungalow on the beach, even if it is set up purely for tourists.’

‘Yeah, who likes hot showers when you have all this?’ Danny grinned, as he looked at the spartan room with a critical eye. They’d left it in an utter mess that morning, and the bright sunlight that streamed through the window didn’t help.

Ella rolled her eyes. ‘I
could
have moved into your comfortable, middle-class, middle-aged hotel, but this is way more fun,’ she said. ‘And besides, we’re closer to the bars.’

‘And to other people,’ Danny remarked, as he watched two boys slowly approach their front door. He’d seen the boys checking them out as he and Ella had wheeled his cases through the resort, and he knew it was only a matter of time before they came over. ‘Listen, Ella, I’ve not been entirely straight with you . . .’ he began, but before he could finish his sentence, the bungalow door was pushed open.

‘You’re Danny Riding, aren’t you?’ one of the boys announced loudly. He was a typical Brit abroad – blistering red skin, a pot belly under a Kingston United shirt, and shorts down to his calves.

Ella had looked at the boys, and back at Danny, but she chose not to say anything.

‘I knew it was you!’ the other boy exclaimed, and he nudged his friend. ‘How about that? Danny Riding in the same resort as us. Brilliant goal against Spurs last season, mate,’ he continued, oblivious to the confusion on Ella’s face.

‘Yeah, you really showed them who’s boss,’ the other boy said.

Danny smiled. ‘Thanks lads,’ he said, and Ella glanced at him. His whole demeanour had changed – he’d puffed up his chest and looked cocky. Arrogant. ‘Shame we didn’t do the same to Chelsea,’ he continued. ‘We’d have topped the table if we had.’

‘You’ll do it next season,’ one of the boys said, and he couldn’t hide his delight at meeting Danny Riding, super-striker for Kingston United. ‘Don’t s’pose we could get you to sign my shirt, could we mate?’

Danny grinned. ‘It would be a pleasure.’

‘So you’re a famous football player?’ Ella asked in astonishment as soon as the boys had left. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

Danny had looked uncomfortable. ‘It’s not easy being me, you know,’ he said eventually. ‘People don’t want to be friends with me; they want to be associated with me, to be seen with me. And they don’t care about who I am, not really. They can’t see past the fact that I’m a footballer, that I’m famous.’

‘But when I asked you what you did, you said you were a PE teacher!’ Ella exclaimed.

Danny shot her a wry grin. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, but he couldn’t help laughing. ‘I wasn’t sure if you knew who I was, and I wanted to check . . .’

Ella had crossed her arms over her chest. ‘But you lied to me!’

‘For a good reason,’ Danny had said calmly. ‘If I told you I played for Kingston United you’d have been so dazzled or turned off that you wouldn’t have opened up to me, and we wouldn’t have had so much fun these last couple of days.’

‘That’s rubbish,’ Ella protested hotly, but the more she thought about it, the more she realised Danny was right.

‘I was going to tell you when I thought we were proper friends,’ Danny had said, and without saying a word, Ella walked over to him, and gave him a massive hug.

‘We are proper friends,’ Ella confirmed. ‘And even though you’re a famous footballer – who I
have
heard of, by the way – I won’t hold it against you. You can’t help which job you fall into, after all.’

‘That girl’s totally checking you out,’ Ella murmured into Danny’s ear as they danced under the moonlight on the beach. Fires had been lit, music was being played loud, and Ella didn’t think she’d ever had so much fun. The setting was definitely part of it – who wouldn’t have fun at an impromptu beach party with travellers from all over the world? – but it was Danny who was making the evening so special. Danny who made her laugh, who made her feel good about herself. Danny, who made her feel like she could not only be completely herself, but the very best she could be.

Danny shrugged. ‘I’m not interested,’ he said, and Ella rolled her eyes.

‘You haven’t even looked at her.’

Danny gave the girl a cursory glance and turned back to Ella. ‘Nope, still not interested,’ he said, but before Ella could say anything, the girl wandered over. She was stunning. She had long chestnut hair, her knockout figure was clad in tiny denim shorts and a sequinned bikini top, and she had the face of a model.

‘I’m Becca,’ the girl announced, as she began to dance next to Danny. He smiled at her politely, but didn’t say anything. Ella frowned at him.

‘This is Danny, and I’m Ella,’ she said, to make up for Danny’s silence, and the girl laughed.

‘I know who
he
is,’ Becca said. ‘Everyone knows Danny Riding.’ She pouted suggestively, and Ella swallowed her laughter. As beautiful as the girl was, she couldn’t be more obvious.

‘You’re a great dancer,’ Becca said to Danny as she tried again. ‘You must have amazing co-ordination from being a footballer player.’

Danny smiled briefly. ‘Thanks,’ he said as politely as he could, but Ella could see he felt uncomfortable. Becca, however, couldn’t.

‘Do you fancy getting a drink with me?’ Becca asked, and Danny stopped dancing.

‘I’m sorry, but I’m fine as I am,’ he said in a stilted tone, and Becca put her hand to her mouth.

‘Oh God, I’m mortified,’ she exclaimed insincerely. ‘This must be your girlfriend, right?’

Danny nodded. ‘That’s right,’ he confirmed, and he took Ella’s sweaty hand in his. ‘Ella’s my girlfriend.’

Becca smiled at her so insincerely that Ella raised her eyebrows. ‘If you feel like changing your mind,’ Becca whispered loudly to Danny, ‘I’ll be here all night.’

‘I don’t think I will,’ Danny said, and he pulled Ella away from the party, and onto a more private part of the beach.

‘You didn’t have to do that,’ Ella said, as they sat down to watch the party from a distance. ‘If you wanted to hook up with her, I’d have been fine by myself.’

Danny shook his head. ‘When I said I wasn’t interested, I meant it. Did you mind pretending to be my girlfriend?’ he asked.

Ella laughed. ‘Of course not,’ she said. ‘I’m happy to pretend to be your girlfriend any time you like if it makes your life easier.’

Danny stared at the sand for a while, and Ella wondered what was wrong.

‘I’ve had lots of fake girlfriends in my time, but after a while they all got sick of pretending.’

‘Fake girlfriends?’ Ella asked. She couldn’t be more confused. ‘Why do you need fake girlfriends? To stop girls like that coming onto you?’

Danny nodded slowly.

‘Well, I can see why,’ Ella continued, in a teasing tone. ‘It must be hell on earth to be good-looking and famous and to have hundreds of sexy girls after you.’

‘It is,’ Danny agreed, but Ella could still see there was something on his mind.

‘Danny, what is it?’ she asked cautiously, but before Danny could say anything, everything suddenly made sense. ‘You’re gay, aren’t you?’ she asked softly, and Danny moved his head so slightly that Ella only barely saw his nod.

‘My manager, Aaron, says I should date girls because it’s good for my image. It’s impossible to be a gay footballer in the Premier League because, despite the FA’s best efforts, there’s still a hell of a lot of homophobia in the sport. But the girls I date can’t find out I’m gay in case they sell their story, and I hate leading them on. I’m not that sort of person.’

Ella exhaled. An idea was beginning to form in her head, but she didn’t know if it was ridiculous or genius.

‘I could be your girlfriend—’ she began, but Danny cut her off.

‘No way,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t let you do that.’

Ella felt stung. ‘Why not? What’s wrong with me?’

Danny shook his head. ‘There’s nothing wrong with you. Aaron would
love
you because you’re smart, pretty and normal, but I couldn’t ask you to do that for me. You wouldn’t be able to have a relationship with anyone else if you were with me.’

‘You’re not asking me to do anything, and besides, I don’t want a proper relationship ever again. Seriously. It hurts too much. If you were my boyfriend you’d never hurt me. How could you? It’s not like you could cheat on me.’

‘But what if you met someone?’ Danny asked, and Ella laughed.

‘What if I didn’t? Danny Riding, you’re the most amazing man I’ve ever met, and to be honest I’ve never bonded with anyone the way I have with you. I know we’ve only known each other a short time but I feel like you’re my soul mate. A platonic soul mate.’

Danny reached over and took Ella’s hand.

‘Being my girlfriend won’t be easy,’ Danny said slowly. ‘You’ll have to abide by Aaron’s hundreds of rules, the press may want to know things about you, and you’ll be in the spotlight.’

Ella thought about this for a moment. ‘How did the other girls deal with it?’ she asked, and Danny laughed.

‘That was the bit they liked the most,’ he said. ‘They wanted to be famous by association, and because I felt like I was using them, I didn’t really mind. They thought I was distant and unaffectionate, but in return they got to have their photos in the papers, and one of them even went on a reality TV show.’

‘I’m not that kind of girl,’ Ella began, but Danny interrupted her.

‘Darling, if you were, you’d have insisted we move into my plush hotel rather than staying in your slummy beach bungalow,’ he grinned.

‘So will you let me help you?’ Ella asked, and Danny nodded.

‘Let’s see where it takes us,’ he said. ‘I love hanging out with you and I feel like I can tell you anything, so it’s practically a relationship anyway. Just one without sex.’

‘Okay then, deal,’ Ella said, and she shook Danny’s hand up and down.

‘You’re amazing, you know that?’ Danny said, and Ella laughed.

‘Damn right I am,’ she replied, and as Danny kissed her hand, she wondered if – however unconventional it was – she had found a happy ending.

‘Do I look all right?’ Ella whispered to Danny, as they entered the ballroom of The Dorchester. She was wearing a Versace gown in white silk-crepe, and with the barely there nude inserts and low back, she felt slightly naked. Her Givenchy beige leather sandals were ridiculously high, and her hands sweated against her Valentino eggshell tulle clutch. She looked sensational, but she didn’t normally dress so revealingly. Aaron had insisted she look knockout, and she hated to let him – or Danny – down.