Page 53 of Love Me Till Wednesday

‘I saw the way you were looking at her. It was a different story a couple of years ago.’

‘I don’t understand. We’ve never met before.’

‘Yeah, we have. I came to see you when you were doing that play on Broadway. I sent you a note, and I waited for you at the stage door, thinking once you saw me, you’d realise how alike we looked, and I wasn’t lying. But no, you just blanked me. So don’t tell me you suddenly care now.’

That was all news to Nick. No wonder Jim was angry. ‘I had no idea. I get people making outrageous claims all the time. Please believe me - I loved your mum. I would never have stayed in the States if I’d known she was pregnant. I’ll clear my diary. We can find somewhere quiet and talk now.’

Jim looked like he might be about to cry. ‘Not now. I need time to process it all. I should be with a client tomorrow, but I won’t be able to concentrate on that. 9 am. My house?’

‘Yeah. I’ll be there. I promise. Where do you live?’

‘Mum will give you the details,’ he said before quickly walking away.

Nick turned back to see Lisa and Suki staring at him. ‘Sorry, Suki, you’re going to have to make my apologies for tomorrow.’

Jim had disappeared without a word. Nick had been driven off to his next interview. Lisa and Pete were waiting for Ed and Tez to bring the hearse to the studio door.

Lisa was still trying to work everything out. ‘Did you know Nick was going to be here today?’ she asked Pete.

‘No. Andy dodged my question about who the main celeb was. But I did wonder why he was so interested in Jim when we talked on Monday evening.’

‘Do you think he deliberately invited Nick on the show this week?’

‘No. Nick would’ve been booked weeks ago. We’re the ones that Andy deliberately invited. The hearse video gave him the perfect excuse. I think he’s always suspected Nick was Jim’s dad. He asked me about it when you were pregnant.’

Lisa wasn’t impressed. ‘So he was hoping for some Jeremy Kyle-like reveal. I didn’t think he was that short of viewers.’

‘He’s not. I think it was genuinely so that Nick could meet Jim.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, because he said something about hoping tonight’s show would be cathartic for everyone when I saw him on Monday night. He said he preferred being a chat show host to being a journalist because it meant he could bring people together. I just thought he meant us at the time. But now I think he was talking about Nick and Jim.’

‘But he didn’t know Jim wasn’t going to perform then. Even we didn’t know that on Monday.’

‘No, but he knew you’d be here. I don’t think he intended Nick to realise on air. I told him not to say anything about it when we came back from that break in the recording.

‘Yes, he did mention that,’ Lisa laughed. ‘Thank you.’

‘That’s what friends are for, isn’t it? Looking out for one another.’

‘Yes, you’re a good friend.’ She put her head on his shoulder.

‘So what happens next?’ Pete asked, hugging her.

‘We cross our fingers that Nick and Jim get on when they meet tomorrow.’

30

Nick sat on the sofa in his hotel suite. He looked at his Rolex. 2.55 am. What was keeping him awake? Jet lag or his brain’s refusal to stop replaying tonight's events over and over again?

He had so many questions, the biggest of which was why had Mel told such horrible lies? Keeping the truth from Lisa and Jim for all these years was despicable. It was the politest word for it.

And then there was Lisa. He’d always wanted to see her again to work out what had gone so wrong and get closure, but he’d never expected this in a million years. Why hadn’t she got in touch to tell him about Jim? She could have found a way to contact him at any time. But if she’d read those newspaper articles about him shacking up with Catriona and then going off the rails on drugs, he could see why she’d not wanted him anywhere near their son at the time.

But that was a long time ago. So why hadn’t she got in touch when Jim was old enough to wonder who his father was?You fool, she thought you’d run out on her.She was hardly going to give you a chance to do it again.

He got up and opened the minibar. That chilled bottle of beer looked so tempting.But he needed a clear head. Hequickly grabbed the bottle of sparkling mineral water next to the beer and slammed the door shut.

---