Cold Comfort (22 page)

“It’s too risky. I need to sort some contraception
out first.”

“I’d take care of you, baby,” he said,
moving over me, kissing my nipples and then teasing them with his teeth. I
moaned, unable to stop myself responding to him. I could feel him nudging
against my entrance. My body was so wet for him he slipped a centimetre or two
inside, and the sensation was exquisite. I longed to push him inside me, to
feel him fully seated within me. Another centimetre in – he was moving so
slowly, almost sex by stealth. Then my brain realised what I was doing, what we
were risking.

“No,” I yelped. “I’m not ready to have a
baby. We’re not ready to have a baby.” In one swift movement I pulled away from
him, regretting the feel of him slipping out as I pushed him off me. I slid in
an uncoordinated move from the bed and ran into the bathroom, locking the door
behind me. I slid to the floor, breathing heavily, with my back against the
door. I couldn’t believe what I’d almost let him do.

“Delilah,” I heard him call through the
door. I couldn’t speak to him yet. “Delilah, I’m so sorry. That was stupid of
me. I shouldn’t have pushed you. You just make me crazy horny, and the thought
of being bare inside you was irresistible.” I could imagine him sweeping his
hands through his hair. “I know we’re not ready to make a baby. I just loved
the thought of being that close to you. Being the first to… And one day…. One
day we will do that together. When you’re ready, not before.” He sounded so
sincere that my panic subsided slightly. I was putty in his hands. “Have your
shower, baby. I’ll make you some breakfast and bring it back up.” I heard him
move away from the door, and then the sound of the bedroom door opening and
closing. I breathed out heavily, relieved to have avoided potential disaster. I
still needed to see a doctor and get on some reliable contraception soon,
though. I didn’t think I’d be able to refuse him again.

*

“Hey!” Eddy said, when I finally emerged
from the bedroom, having been fed beyond comfort by Cat. We’d had sex again,
using a condom this time, and it had been wonderful as usual, but I knew he
still wanted more. “You made the papers. You look freaking amazing,” he said, laughing.
“They’re all trying to find out more about you, though. You need to do that
article this weekend if you want to keep them off your back. I was thinking
about it – what about one of the Saturday glossy newspaper magazines? That
might work, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, maybe,” I said, peering down at the
open pages in front of him. The pictures were surprisingly nice. There were a
couple of me walking in with Matt and Eddy, then one of me dancing, with my
head thrown back and a massive smile on my face – I hadn’t even noticed
anyone taking photos then – then finally one of me leaving with Cat. “What
are they saying?”

“That you’re his love interest,” he said,
nodding towards Cat. Cat smiled, clearly pleased at the news. “That you are a
singer with an album expected to be released soon…”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “News to me.”

“And that you’re freaking gorgeous. They
even did a piece on how to get your look.” That made me snort with laughter.

“What, the ‘no other clean clothes’ look? What
a joke. Speaking of which, anyone know what I’m going to wear for the T.V.
thing tonight? I seriously have nothing left. And I know when girls normally
say that they have a wardrobe full of clothes, but in this instance it’s
absolutely true. I brought one dress and my shorts with me, plus the jeans I’m
wearing now, all of which I’ve worn already. I thought we were going to be back
in Cambridge before now. All my stuff is there.”

“I’ll buy you something,” Cat instantly
offered.

“I can buy my own clothes,” I insisted. “I
just need someone to take me to the shops.”

“I’ll take you, of course,” he said,
clearly irritated by my stubbornness. The thought of trying to navigate the
shops with the sort of attention Cat would draw was not appealing. Eddy saw my
panicked look and immediately interceded.

“Cat, if you go it will be chaos. Let me
take her. I’ve barely had a moment with my best friend since you realised how
awesome she is. I can take her in, help her buy something gorgeous to wear
later and get to spend some time with my bestie too. What time will you need us
to be back?”

Cat looked annoyed but couldn’t argue with
the sense in what Eddy had suggested. If he went out with me, it would be
mayhem wherever we went. “Maybe you and I can go out at the weekend?” I said,
trying to placate him. “I’d like that.”

Cat’s face softened as he looked at me. “Yeah,
I’d like that too.” He smiled, and it lit up his face. “Have a think about what
you want to do.”

“Punting in Cambridge,” I said immediately.

“Punting? Really?”

“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to have a go in a
punt but never got the chance. Then maybe a pub lunch?”

“It sounds good. It’s a date.”

“Good,” I said with a big grin. I was
looking forward to it.

“So, when do you need us back?” Eddy asked
again, eager to be off.

“Cars are picking us up at three from
here,” Cat said, scanning an email from Wayne.

“Three?” I said, surprised. “I thought it
was an evening show.”

“It is, but they pre-record it a couple of
hours before it’s shown, and we need to rehearse before we record it.” It was
all so alien to me. I nodded and let Eddy herd me towards the door.

“Look after her,” Cat said sternly to Eddy.
“Get cabs to and from the shops, and don’t hang about too long. Her picture is
out there now, so she may get some hassle.” He turned to me. “Any problems,
come straight home and we’ll get a dress brought to you.”

“A dress brought to me,” I said with a
laugh. “Who do you think I am?”

“My girl,” he said simply, kissing me
softly. My heart melted again. He really was very sweet sometimes.

We’d been shopping for about twenty minutes
when I began to notice people staring at me. There was a girl and a couple of
guys who I’d now seen three times. It seemed wherever I went in the shop they
followed. When the girl got her phone out to film me, I was shocked. When she
picked up the same dress I had looked at, I was even more astonished. Unfortunately
Eddy’s poor sight meant he didn’t notice a thing going on around us and was busily
discussing the dresses he thought would suit me and would also look good on
camera.

“Eddy,” I hissed, when they moved closer to
listen to our conversation, “we’re being followed.”

“Are we?” he said, looking surprised. He
peered through his glasses at the group I pointed at, who were now trying to
look inconspicuous by a rail of coats. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. They’ve been following us
round the shop for the last twenty minutes, looking at all the same things and
trying to listen to our conversation.”

“Ooh, you’ll probably get into Heat at this
rate,” he said, laughing.

“It’s a bit weird, though, don’t you
think?”

“Um, people have been staring at famous
people since Jesus’ time. If you’re going to date a rock star, I think it comes
with the territory.”

“But I’m not famous.”

“Not yet, but you have the smell of fame
about you. People want a bit of your magic. Anyway, you’re going to be on T.V.
tonight, and in a magazine probably at the weekend.”

“This is crazy. The whole world has gone
crazy.”

“No, what would be crazy is not buying a
dress and getting the hell out of here before the crowd of onlookers gets any
bigger.” I looked over – another couple had joined the first few. I nodded
at him, and we began rifling through the rails with increased fervour. “Eureka!”
Eddy finally cried. He held out a pair of skinny leather trousers and a
metallic silver sleeveless top. I loved it, although the thought of trying to
get into the trousers frightened me.

“I love the look,” I admitted. “Are you
sure it won’t be a bit much? The trousers won’t forgive anything.”

“Delilah, with you there is nothing to
forgive. You have legs to die for. Now get into the changing room and try it
on,” he said, pushing me towards the doorway.

It took me about five minutes to pull the
trousers on. At least the top was easy. I slid the curtain open and called
Eddy. He looked at me critically before letting a big smile take over. “With a
pair of heels and a black bra, I reckon you’ll be a rock chick knockout
tonight. Cat will die when he sees it.”

“Die in a good way?” I worried out loud.

“Yeah, kind of. Sort of. Well, he might not
let you speak to anyone else while you’re wearing it. Anyone male, that is.” He
snorted at the prospect of a jealous Cat.

“I think you’re being silly. Cat has
beautiful women hanging off him all the time. This is nothing,” I said, looking
at myself in the mirror. “Everything is covered up. It’s quite decent, really.”

“You have no idea what you look like,” Eddy
sniggered. “With that smoky eye look we did before…” He trailed off as he
caught sight of a couple of the people that had been following me earlier. They
had their phones out and were trying to film me. “Really?” Eddy said, turning
to face them fully now. “You think filming someone you don’t know in a changing
room is cool? I think you’ll find the police think otherwise.” Eddy was
shouting now, making more people look over to see what was happening. Staff
scurried towards us. I slid back into the changing room while Eddy explained
what was going on and who I was. I could hear the excited murmuring when I
finally emerged in my own clothes.

The crowd had now swollen to ten. Staff
ushered me towards the till, and Eddy grabbed some killer heels in my size as
we passed the stand. All the while the manager beside me was apologising loudly
for the fuss – worsening the situation she was apologising for by
announcing my presence to the remaining shoppers who hadn’t yet noticed me. More
than fifteen people were staring by the time I’d finally paid for everything. I
could hear Cat’s name being whispered a lot.

Eddy and I hurried towards the exit, heads
down, scanning the road for a taxi when we hit the pavement. The flash of a
camera startled me. It seemed someone had told the press I was here. For the
life of me I couldn’t fathom why they were even interested.

“Can you see a taxi?” I asked Eddy.

“No, I can’t see past these people,” he
said. He tried to escort me through the crowd, but they just seemed to move
with us. I was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed. I felt cornered.

“Do you want me to call someone for you,
love?” a voice called from behind. Judging by the beautiful arrangements on
display in the window and the buckets of cut flowers, it was a florist’s. The
lady who had spoken was wearing an apron with the name of the shop emblazoned
on the top.

“Oh god, yes, please,” I said as she held
the door open for us. We gratefully followed her inside, doubly relieved when she
locked the door as soon as we were both through. “I’m so sorry about all this.
I have no idea why they’re all here.”

She looked at me more closely. “You were in
the paper, weren’t you? With that rock star?” I nodded. “Well, I’d say that’s
the reason, wouldn’t you? You’re living the dream in their eyes.” She nodded towards
the people peering through the window. “Most of them probably don’t even know
who they’re meant to be looking at. They’re just afraid in case they miss
something,” she said with a laugh. “Anyway, who can I call?”

“A taxi?” I said, looking at Eddy for
confirmation.

“I think we’re past the taxi stage. We need
some security for you. I’ll call Cat and he’ll get a car here,” Eddy promised. I
listened as he made the call, noting how he winced after explaining the
situation to Cat. I had a feeling Cat had torn a strip off him. “He wants to
speak to you,” Eddy said, handing me the phone. “Car’s on the way,” he told the
florist.

“Hi,” I whispered down the phone to Cat.

“You okay, babe?” he asked. “Did anyone
hurt you?”

“No. It just got silly. There were a few
people in the shop, and then the crowd just grew. I think they thought you
might be with me,” I said with a small laugh.

“Did you get what you needed?”

“Yeah, we got some trousers and a top.” I
heard Eddy snigger at my description.

“That’s good. I’m sorry your time with Eddy
got spoiled, but I think you need to come back now. I need you here safe before
I lose it.”

“I’m safe now,” I promised him. “This
lovely lady in Amber’s Florists helped us….” I looked helplessly at her, not
knowing her name.

“Amber,” she mouthed at me, her eyes
twinkling.

“Amber,” I told him, blushing at my
stupidity. “She closed her shop for us and everything. I feel so bad.”

“I’ll make it up to her,” he reassured me.

“Thank you. That would be good. Oh, I think
the car might be here already,” I said, looking up as a big black Mercedes
pulled up. “Was it a Mercedes they sent?” I heard Cat asking the same question
to someone in the room with him.

“No, an Audi SUV. That’s not our car, so stay
where you are.”

The crowd were diverted by the appearance
of the expensive-looking car, turning to look at it and trying to peer through
the darkened windows. They were clearly hoping Cat was about to make an
appearance.

“Is that for us?” Eddy asked, squinting
towards it.

“No, Cat said they sent an Audi.”

“Well, who is it, then?”

“There’s the Audi,” I said, to both Cat and
Eddy at the same time as it swept in behind the Mercedes. Its doors opened
immediately and I recognised one of Cat’s security men as he walked swiftly
towards us.

“Alright, Delilah?” he asked as soon as
Amber let him in. “Eddy?” We both nodded. A second man had the car door open
and ready for us. The whole scene seemed completely ludicrous.

“Thank you so much for everything. I really
appreciate it,” I told Amber. “I’m so sorry for causing all this fuss.”

“Don’t you worry yourself about it. It’s no
bother at all. I didn’t like to see you being overwhelmed like that, and I was
happy to help. You’ll have done wonders for my reputation,” she said, laughing.
“Now get yourself home to your man. He must be worried.”

“I am,” I heard Cat say through the phone I
still had pressed to my ear. “Stay on the line until you’re in the car,” he
insisted when I suggested I should disconnect.

“When you’re ready,” our escort told us.

I took a deep breath. “Okay, now,” I said,
steeling myself for the noise. The presence of security made all the difference
as we were led towards the car.

“You okay?” Cat asked through the phone.

“Yeah, fine. Nearly there,” I assured him. As
we approached the two parked vehicles, the door of the Mercedes swung open and
a familiar figure stepped out in front of me. I gasped and stood frozen as Eddy
and the security guy tried to keep me moving forward.

“What’s the matter? What’s happening?” I
heard Cat say.

I just stared at the man in front of me.

“Hello, Delilah,” he finally said.

“Hardy,” I breathed, to everyone and no
one.

“Get the fuck out of there, Delilah,” Cat
screamed down the phone at me. I looked down at my hand which had dropped to my
waist, the phone still held within it. His shout was loud enough that Eddy and
the security guy must have heard him.

“We need to talk,” Hardy said quietly,
ignoring everything going on around us, his eyes never leaving mine. He looked
the same, just a little older. The same warm chocolate brown gaze that I had
thought I knew stayed fixed upon me. The security guy’s phone rang and I heard
him answer, his eyes flicking to Hardy before his face hardened.

“Out of the way, sir,” he said, pushing
Hardy aside roughly before virtually picking me up and throwing me into the
back of the SUV. In seconds Eddy was scrambling in beside me and the doors were
closed. Moments after, we were pulling away. My head swivelled. Hardy was
standing on the pavement looking after us, stock still like a statue in the
midst of the mass of people teeming all around him. I watched until he became a
speck in the distance and finally disappeared from sight before I turned back
to Eddy.

“So, that was Hardy, was it?”

“Yeah, that was Hardy.”

“Not bad-looking, is he? Any chance he’s
gay?”

“I don’t think so, but who knows?” I said
with a smile, appreciating the way Eddy managed to diffuse some of the tension.

“I’m not sure Cat would like him,” Eddy said.

I grimaced. “You think?”

“Just a guess. He looked like a fairly
normal outstandingly handsome guy.”

“That’s what I always thought. Appearances
can be deceiving.”

“I guess so. And I guess he found you.”

“It was always only a matter of time,
especially with all the press interest we’ve had. I wasn’t expecting it today,
though.”

“How do you feel after seeing him?”

“I don’t know. Shocked, scared… a little
sad. Does that make me sound mad after what he and his family did?”

“Not at all. You had strong feelings for
him. He was your first love – I think it’s understandable. I’m not sure he’ll
want to hear that, though,” he said, nodding towards Cat who was standing on
the doorstep, ignoring a crowd of groupies who were clamouring at him from
beyond a couple of security guys. As the car pulled up he ran to my door,
opened it and pulled me straight into his arms.

“Fucking hell, Delilah, are you okay? Did
he hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine. He didn’t do anything. He
just said he wanted to talk. That’s all.” Cat was already marching me back
inside the house.

“I’m fine too, Cat, thanks for asking,”
Eddy called from behind us. “I’ve got your shopping, Delilah,” he shouted as
Cat swept me up the stairs.

“Really, I’m fine,” I tried to reassure
him, but he didn’t stop until we were in the bedroom. He closed the door and
then hugged me really tight.

“I can’t let you out my sight,” he breathed
into my neck. “I should have known better.”

“That’s silly. We both have to live our own
lives. You couldn’t have known he would turn up, or that anyone would be at all
interested in my shopping trip.”

“I should have known people would be
interested in you because of your association with me. I should have taken
better care of you.”

“You have taken wonderful care of me, I
promise. We’ll know to be more careful in the future until the attention chills
out a bit.”

“He won’t get near you again.”

“Cat…”

“I’m serious. He won’t get near you again. If
he tries I’ll get a restraining order like I said before. He needs to get the
message, fast.”

“He’s rich. The rules don’t apply to him
like they do to regular people.”