The Boleyn Effect (The Boorman Ending) (11 page)

The taxi stops outside and
Jamie is the first out, leaving me to pay the fare. I catch the
driver's eye through the rear view mirror and he raises his
eyebrows.

'Great,' I mutter. 'How
much?'

'Twelve Fifty, love,' the
driver says.

'You better give me a
receipt,' I say handing him over the fare.

He writes one out and
hands it to me. 'I suggest you dump that one love,' he
chuckles.

Seeing Jamie waiting, I
realise I'm not even going to get my door opened. I've been
pampered by George most of my adult life and I need to realise that
not all men are the same. Cursing, I let myself out. If this guy
thinks he's getting anything from me then he's in for a
shock.

Katherine is the first to
greet us and I start a little at her dress. Wearing a silver fairy
godmother costume, she looks stunning and I find that I almost look
childish beside her. She greets me warmly and comments about how
great I look. I introduce Jamie who is now wearing his wolf
head.

'I'll introduce you to
Liza, she is excited as hell.'

She leads us through the
house and I see with relief that there are a few skimpy Snow Whites
and Cinderella's. I'm not the only one. The whole house glistens in
white and silvers. Even the floors look like polished marble. This
Liza must be loaded. I shouldn't really be surprised. During my
friendship with George, I have mixed in wealthy circles, but this
feels on another level altogether.

This is feels almost like
celebrity wealth. One which can easily snatched away at any moment.
There are pictures of who I presume to be Liza. I guess that
modelling is the career choice by how professional her poses seem.
If I make this good then the contacts created will be immense. Just
as a photographer can make a model the same can be said for the
other way round. A successful model's endorsement can open plenty
of lucrative doors.

Jamie is at my side and I
feel a hand touch my back. He's pushing his luck, but I don't do
anything, because we are meant to be dating and Harry could be
anywhere watching.

'By the way, I know I
don't have to say this, but my husband is here—dressed as some old
king He doesn't know what I'm planning for our
anniversary.'

'My lips are sealed,' I
answer.

'Liza,' she shouts out and
a woman who looks like she was desperately clinging on to her youth
turns round. I now see she was once a model. Her younger glory days
over and now she's living on what she's sown.

She is dressed as some
princess, but the botox face suggests the evil stepmother wearing
the wrong clothes. She looks me up and down and I can see I've
become a threat to her. She sees a pretty young thing raining on
her parade. The smile she wears is fake as Katherine introduces
us.

'So what will you be
doing?' she asks.

'I'll just be on the
outside taking different shots of the party, some individuals etc.
Is there anything in particular that you want?' I ask.

'No, Kat said to trust
you, so trust you I will. Help yourself to drink and
nibbles.'

That's it, dismissed as
she returns to her more important guests. Katherine takes my arm
and gives me a warm smile.

'Don't take it personally.
She's just gone through a messy divorce. Husband ran away with her
niece so she's a bit prickly. Make the pictures of her look good
and you'll win her round. Now let me introduce you to the
king.'

My heart jumps at both her
reference and the fact I will be meeting Harry as his wife's
friend. I grab hold of Jamie and place his arm around my waist and
I get a surprised look. I need this to look real and he needs to
catch up.

We weave through guests
and make our way outside where a chef is cooking at a huge
barbeque. The smell of burgers and sausages make my stomach
grumble, but it's also nervously twisting as I spot Harry sat
chatting to a group of men with a glass of beer in hand.

It's a glimpse of a
totally relaxed Harry, who is not trying to impress anyone. He's
just here with friends. In fact, I find I like this version of
Harry better. No airs and graces. No trying too hard to impress.
This is the real Harry who is comfortable in his own skin and
around people who like him.

He's laughing at something
the group has said and it's a loud boisterous one that is almost
naughty and mischievous all in one. This man has so many layers and
I'm the one who has to connect with all of them.

As if sensing us, he lifts
his head and I see him pale slightly as he gets to his feet. I keep
my face passive and squeeze myself closer to Jamie. He certainly
looks very much like a Henry VIII in his costume and I wonder if he
realises.

Katherine goes to his side
and kisses him on the lips lightly. Even I can see the affection
between them. So much for their marriage just being about money and
position. They are definitely still having sex.

Well not for
much longer if I have anything to do with it.

The thought startles me.
Why am I starting to sound like some jealous mistress? Whether they
are having sex or not is beside the point. That's not what this is
about.

'I've brought someone to
meet you. You know George Gaskill, well this is his friend Leigh.
She's a photographer and doing the pictures for the party,'
Katherine gushes.

Harry looks from me to
Jamie and back again. Tension is in his face as he forces a
smile.

'Nice to meet you,' he
says.

'And this is Jamie, her
date,' Katherine continues oblivious.

Jamie removes his arm from
my waist and shakes his hand before replacing it back where it was.
There's a narrowing of eyes as they follow where Jamie's hands
go.

'So how do you all know
each other?' Harry asks.

I can see he's nervous and
I am too. I just wish I'd prepared myself better. This isn't as fun
as I predicted it to be. It's just damn uncomfortable.

'We met at the Gaskills
barbeque,' Katherine says. 'Mary passed on her details and I asked
her to come and do the pictures for Liza. It’s not like you not to
remember a pretty face.'

I fight the wince at her
words. Harry glances her way and something very brief and cold
passes between them. I can already see that he’s not happy and it’s
becoming uncomfortable. I’m in a precarious position and it's a
little unnerving.

'Well I better get
started,' I say.

Then handing Jamie the
basket, I pull my camera out and move away leaving Jamie standing.
I make my way back inside and grab another drink, which I down in
one to still my insides. I don't know if I can really do this. It
seems such a good idea at the time, but now I'm in it I'm crapping
myself.

The best thing for me to
do is do my job and hide behind my camera. The rest will happen and
fall into place. Wait and see if Harry takes the bait. It doesn't
take long, in fact twenty minutes of taking random pictures of
birthday cake and guests and my arm is grabbed and I'm dragged into
a corner.

'What are you playing at?'
Harry hisses.

'I'm doing my job,' I
answer.

'That's not what I meant.
When were you going to tell me that you were acquainted with my
wife?'

'I would hardly say we're
acquainted. She got my number and called me to come here. Plus, you
were there at the same barbeque. In fact I remember clearly that we
talked about her,' I whisper.

He looks at me for a
moment and then all the tension leaves his face and sighing, he
slumps a little.

'I'm sorry. It was just a
shock seeing you both together.'

'Well it's not exactly fun
for me either, but I need the money,' I answer.

'What about this Jamie?'
he asks.

'Katherine told you. He's
my date.'

'Serious?'

'Who knows?' I
shrug.

'You just never
said.'

'Why would I? We're
friends and I don't tell all my friends everything.'

'Are you and
he...?'

'I don't think it's any of
your business. I am a free agent.'

The gamble is paying off.
He is a jealous man and Jamie pushes his buttons.

'Why did you not answer my
texts?'

'I don't wanna to do this
here. I'm supposed to be working and your wife and my date is
somewhere around,' I hiss.

I move away from the
corner and make it look like I am busy taking pictures. I wish that
George was here. He'd know what to do. I am far too pig-headed and
arrogant and I wish I'd learn that I can't do
everything.

I quickly find Jamie and
grab him I lead him into the garden. He's been drinking far too
much too quickly, but I want to use that to my advantage. Harry has
followed me out, but because of the guests can only keep his
distance and watch.

Finding a bench, I sit
down and draw Jamie towards me. He can't believe his luck I can
tell. The poor guy just doesn't get he's being played. Taking his
mouth in mine, I am pressed further into the bench. With his hands
wandering, I resist the urge to knock them away. I am supposed to
be enjoying this.

From the corner of my eye,
I spy Harry watching us and he's furious. I may well be pushing
this too far and he could think I'm not worth this, but I am
scrambling around for what would have worked for Anne Boleyn. If he
wants me then he's going to have to make me feel that I am worth
losing everything for. I just hope that I am. Finally, Jamie allows
me some air and I place a hand on his chest to maintain some
distance.

'I need a drink,' I say.
'Can you get me one?'

'Yeah, sure,' he says
breathlessly. 'Man, can I just say you are really hot.'

'Cheers,' I
smile.

I watch as he walks away
towards the house and I wait. Inwardly, I'm counting. Is he going
to take the bait?

'Are you playing games
with me?'

I smile at his voice. Of
course he is going to take the bait. I turn towards him and nod for
him to follow. I get to my feet, we move further into the darker
shadows of the garden.

'Why would I be playing
games?' I ask innocently.

'You and your date kissing
right in front of me. It looks like you were trying to wind me
up.'

I turn towards him and put
on my best indignant face.

'Jamie's my date so I
figured if I were snogging someone it'd be him. Also you and I are
just friends. I don't know how many times I have to say this to
you.'

'Yes, you say that, but
then you climb on top of me in my car and ram your tongue down my
throat,' he hisses.

I've done tease and
indignant, now I just need to add a little bit of truth to cement
the deal.

'Do you want the truth?' I
offer.

'It would be
nice.'

I step further back so I
am nearly in the bushes and Harry takes a step closer so we are now
huddled away from prying eyes. He pulls off the crown he's wearing
and fluffs up his hair nervously. The electricity is still there
and even more so in close proximity. This thing that is between us
is intoxicating and I have to be careful not to fall under my own
spell.

'The truth is Harry is
that I like you. I like you a lot and that's a big problem. When we
are together, it's like something happens and I can't control
myself, but I can never have you. You already belong to someone
else. I'm just trying to protect myself from you.'

'Jesus Leigh, why didn't
you just say? Shit! I'd never want to hurt you. You're just a
beautiful woman who I find incredibly sexy.'

'Yeah, well, that's
exactly what's going to happen. If I let you have me, I'll fall in
love and then you'll leave me. That's the reality. The wife always
wins and girls like me lose.'

We stand in silence for a
while. From our position we can see the party of costumed guest.
All oblivious of us both conversing. I spy Jamie wandering around
with two drinks trying to find me and I suppress a
smirk.

I notice the abandoned
basket still on the bench with my camera inside. That's not like me
at all. The camera is like my right arm. I'd never just forget it.
But then Harry distracts me. He makes me forget what I'm supposed
to be doing in all ways and that isn't a good thing.

'Maybe you're right,' he
says finally.

And my heart sinks
slightly. I am gambling and losing. This isn't good or maybe I'm
not that good.

'What Kat and I have must
be something. I've cheated on her more times than I can remember
and yet I always go back to her. I've always thought that it would
take something really special to tear me away from her. And...I
don't know, but you and I do have something and all I do know is
that I can't stop thinking about you and I would give almost
anything to have you.'

'That's the problem Harry,
almost anything. I would want you to give up everything to have
me,' I say.