‘There’s a hidden agenda. Do you know what that means?
‘Yes, I do.’
‘The editor wants to wreck Tom’s career. He hates him as Tom’s got the better of him in court on several occasions. That’s the truth. Believe me, he’d go to town on the Tom and Zizi story. Yes, he would. And he’d
make the fax thingy sound horrible.’
She waved her glass in the air. ‘The two together could be dynamite in his slimy hands.’
‘These things Tom has done are such unimportant things
. W
e all do silly things in our life. But I know what you mean about these celebrity magazines
.
I’ve glanced at the ones we bought – everything in them is written in big letters and made to sound very naughty and very sensational.’
‘Naturally
I’m not going to
tell the editor anything at all about Tom. I was just
trying to
play for time so that we can go out together at least once
– just once
–
without risking anything coming between us. But now, when I come clean to the editor on Tuesday, there’s a real risk that he’ll explode and go straight to Tom and paint me in the worst possible light. I can’t let that happen so I’m going to have to tell Tom the truth to
morrow
, even though
I know it’ll
ruin everything.’
A tear rolled down her cheek.
‘Oh, Evie.’
‘I can’
t let the editor tell him first.
’
Gabriela
handed her another tissue
and
she
wiped her eyes.
‘You poor, poor thing. I can see that this is a difficult situation.’ Gabriela squeezed her hand in sympathy.
‘Don’t I know it?’
‘I don’t think you
should
tell him
tomorrow
, not if you want to make sure that you and Tom stay together.’
Evie stared at her.
‘What do you mean? What else can I do?’
Gabriela leaned forward. ‘You hold the cards, Evie
. T
hey are all in your hand – I think that that is the English expression – not in the editor’s hand. He wants the story that you have, or that he thinks you have
,
and this gives you the power.’
Evie stared at Gabriela thoughtfully, biting her lower lip. ‘I suppose it does. So what do you suggest I do?’ There was a flicker of hope in her eyes.
‘You should stay with your first instinct. You feel that you and Tom need an evening in which to get to know each other again, and you are right. This is very important and you do not want anything to spoil it for you.’
‘But the editor …’
‘You will tell your editor on Wednesday morning, or better still, on Tuesday evening, that you will not give him the story until Friday morning, which is what you first agreed with him. You will say that if he pushes you any more, you will take the story to a rival magazine. What can the editor do but wait until Friday?’
‘You think he’ll agree to wait?’ She put her thumb to her mouth and bit her nail.
‘I think he will. He will not want the story to go to another magazine, especially as you will be making it sound very meaty. And you are back to your original plan. You can relax and enjoy to
morrow
night, knowing you don’t have to tell Tom the truth until next weekend.’
‘That’s bloody brilliant!’ she exclaimed, her eyes shining. ‘Absolutely fucking brilliant!’
Her wine glass shook in her excitement. Gabriela reached across, took it from her and put it on the table.
‘No, it is not,’ Gabriela laughed. ‘It’s easy to see what to do when one’s head is not in a turmoil.’
‘I can’t believe how different I feel!
I feel happy. And a bit drunk, if I’m honest,’ she
added with a giggle
. ‘
I owe you, Gabriela. Thank you, thank you.’
‘I’m very happy to help you. Now you must put all of this worry behind you. All you will have to do is make two telephone calls in the next week: one to the editor on Tuesday evening, telling him that he will have the story on Friday, and the other to the editor on Friday morning, telling him that there is no story and that you resign from the job. After that, you can tell Tom the truth. To
morrow
night
,
you can just enjoy being with
him
.
As for tonight, I think it’s time you went to bed
,
’
she said with a laugh. She stood up.
Evie gazed up at her.
‘
I’m so pleased you walked back with me this evening.
I
don’t know
what I’d have done if
you
hadn’t
.
’
Gabriela
smiled down at her
. ‘
Go to bed now,
Evie. S
leep very well, and when you wake up, take yourself into
Camden Lock
.
I’m sure you
can
find
the perfect dress for
what will be a
perfect evening
.
’
Alone in her apartment later, Gabriela stood up from the sofa, the magazine she’d bought
at the
24 hour
shop on the way home
still in her hand
. She
moved towards the door of the sitting room, leaving her empty coffee cup sitting on the table. She reached the door, went out of the room and crossed to the small office that led off the hall.
Her laptop was
on
the light oak desk and
she placed the magazine next to it, ready for tomorrow.
She paused a moment and glanced at the cover of the magazine. A smile of quiet triumph flickered across her lips and she let herself give way to a fleeting sense of excitement.
Never in her wildest dreams had she expected the day to turn out as it had.
What had promised to be no more than a
rather uninteresting evening in a restaurant with Evie’s probably dull friends
, a further stage in the
tedious
process of bonding with
the girl
, had ended up as
an evening
to remember: it was the
evening
upon which she had begun the process of erasing Evie from Tom’s life forever.
She, Gabriela di Montefiori, was about to take a giant step towards the goal that she increasingly craved. Let Evie
Shaw
have her moment with Tom for the present
–
his future belong
ed
to her.
She straightened up and took control of her emotions
.
She needed a good night’s rest. Tomorrow would be here soon enough.
Chapter Twenty
The
calm before the
storm
Evie opened her eyes.
They felt heavy and sore
. H
er head hurt
and h
er mouth felt
dry.
She ran her tongue around her lips.
Why
on earth had she drunk as much as she had
last
night?
She
gave a low
groan
,
reached across for the
plastic
bottle of water
that
she dimly remembered putting
on her bedside table,
and
pulled it to her
.
Tipping the bottle up, she drank to the last drop
and let
it fall to the
floor. Then s
he
curled up on her side. She’
d never
in her life
felt so awf
ul, so seedy
.
Why
, oh why,
had she and Gabriela put it away like they had last night
?
A
t the thought of Gabriela, a
wave of guilt swept through her
–
she’
d sai
d
a lot
more about Tom
last night
than she’
d meant to
, a lot more than she should have done
.
For someone who’d resolved never to tell a soul what
he
’
d told her
in Italy
, she’d f
allen
badly at the first hurdle.
If only she hadn’t been so
panicked about
he
r
editor.
Thank goodness it was only Gabriela s
h
e’d told
, she thought
with relief
.
Gabriela wa
sn’
t likely to tell
anyone else – she
didn’t know
anyone in England to tell
, for a start
.
But it was
a lesson
on
how easy it was to let things slip out when you didn’t intend them to, and she’d be on her guard
at all times
in
the
fu
tu
re
to make sure
that she never d
id
such a thing again. She
never again
want
ed
to wake up feel
ing
as guilty as she
felt
now
.
Guilt
and
a ha
ngover did
n
o
t make a good start to the day.
Especially not to
the day
on which
she was going on the long-anticipated date with Tom.
She turned over on to h
e
r other side, r
elishing the cool of the pillow and
the
sheet, and she closed her eyes. She’d feel better
after more sleep
, she was sure
. She had to. She
must
look her very best for Tom.
Her eyes closed and her
breathing got heavier.
I
shall
see Tom
soon
, she thought, and she
smil
ed
as she drifted into sleep.
‘You look stunning, Evie.’ Tom gazed at her over the slender-stemmed pink rose in the centre of the table. ‘Absolutely lovely.’
‘Wow,
I think you’d
better change the subject, Tom
.
I’m not used to
getting
compliments from you, and they’re making me suspicious. Either you
want me to feed
your hungry male ego
so
you’re
making me
have
to
compliment
you
in return, or your body’
s been taken over by an alien force. I kind of hope it’s not the alien takeover
–
that would be a
real
waste of a
pretty good
body.’
He grinned. ‘You see,
I got my compliment in the end
–
my male ego is satisfied. Unfortunately, though, my hunger
isn’t
.
I was
too busy to stop and eat today
, and I’m starving
.’ He picked up his menu and ran his eyes down it. ‘I think I’ll have the goat’s cheese salad, followed by the grilled fillet of beef with celeriac. And what about you? Have you decided yet?’
She closed her menu and put it back on the table. ‘I’ll have the same as you, please.’
He smiled at her. ‘I see that we still want the same things. That’s good, very good.’ He placed his menu on hers, leaned
across the table
and moved the vase to
one
side
. ‘And that’s even better.
I’ve mis
sed you, Evie,’ he said, his face suddenly serious.
‘
I
’ve missed you every single day.
’
‘And I’ve missed you,
too.
I’ve
had masses of
things
to do
since we got back,
but
it
’s still
felt as if there’s
been
a huge hole in my life. Things aren’t as much fun when you’re not around.’