Page 12 of Love Me Till Wednesday

‘You don’t sound very Brummy.’

‘Years of acting and elocution lessons removed all trace of my accent,’ he said in a strong, Brummy voice. So he had a good sense of humour as well. He was becoming more appealing by the minute.

They chatted easily for a while until she sensed that people were looking at them, some more obviously than others, no doubt due to tonight’s award ceremony.

A man approached Lisa politely, asking for her autograph. Nick was about to say something to him, but she raised her hand to stop him. ‘Who’s it for?’ she asked.

‘My brother, Gary,’ he said.

‘One R or two?’

‘Just the one.’

She obligingly signed her name on the serviette he’d handed her.

Nick looked disappointed as the fan walked away. ‘You could have said no. You’re entitled to some privacy.’

‘I wouldn’t be here without people like his brother buying our records. Signing an autograph is the least I can do.’

He grinned at her again. ‘I guess I’m going to have to get used to that.’

An interesting thing to say. ‘Planning to be famous too?’ she asked.

‘One day. I fancy seeing my name on a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but that's not what I meant.’

She liked his confidence. Somehow, it came across as reassuring rather than arrogant. ‘Are we going to be doing this again then?’

‘I hope so.’ Nick looked round at the rest of the customers. ‘How do you fancy going to see a film? People won’t recognise you in the dark.’

‘When? Tomorrow?’

‘No, I meant now. There’s a late-night cinema about ten minutes walk away. They’re showingBladerunnertonight. I was planning to go before I met you.’

‘I thought you said you’d seenBladerunner.’

‘I have, but I ‘d like to watch it again.’

Lisa wasn’t ready to face Pete, and a couple of hours admiring Harrison Ford on the big screen might take her mind off everything else. She knocked back the rest of her drink. ‘OK then. You’re on.’

They squeezed their way through the other customers and went outside. Nick took her hand to lead her across the road and up the street. He kept holding it as they walked together. She liked the feeling. And he didn’t seem intimidated by her fame, unlike most of the new people she’d met in the last month or two. They’d fawned over her to embarrassing levels. Nick, however, was treating her like a normal human being.

They carried on in silence for a couple of blocks until her inner voice decided to spoil her enjoyment by coming up with a potential problem.The cinema might be a ruse. He could be planning to drag you off into some dark alley.

Great. Now, she was seriously considering whether that was his plan. She stopped walking.

‘Are you ok?’ Nick asked.

‘I was just thinking you could be a psychopath.’

He nodded. ‘I could be, but I promise I’m not. Does this help?’

He pulled a folded-up cinema leaflet out of one of his jacket pockets. ’See. Thursday 14that 11.15 pm.’

Harrison Ford stared back at her.

Nick smiled reassuringly. ‘The route’s via busy roads. No back streets, I promise. I don’t want to get mugged either.’

A few minutes later, they were standing in the queue in the foyer of the cinema, looking at its ornate ceiling and grandstaircase leading up to the auditorium. It was tatty around the edges now but still popular, judging by the steady stream of people walking through the entrance.

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