Page 77 of One Bed

’Bout bloody time, Pip said in her head.

‘Merle wants a rewrite of book nine. My manuscript wasn’t … great,’ she said, still a little embarrassed.

‘She copied me in on the email.’ Golly shrugged, not fazed. ‘It happens. Do the rewrite and, for God’s sake, get it right this time.’

Bea just managed to stop herself from making a sarcastic reply, something along the lines of‘yeah, because that wasn’t an option I’d considered’.

‘Oh, and you’re fired, Golly. Making that call to the PR people will be your last act as my agent,’ she stated.

Golly grinned, showing the smudge of red lipstick on her incisor. ‘Fan-bloody-tastic.’ Bea saw the relief in her eyes and watched as tension seeped out of her.Shit.She should’ve done this years ago and allowed Golly the freedom to enjoy her retirement.

‘I’m sorry if representing me was a drag, Gols,’ she said, her voice quiet. ‘Thank you for guiding and supporting me.’

‘If you cry, Iwillpinch you,’ Golly muttered, but Bea caught the tears in her eyes. Golly hated feeling vulnerable and growled and griped when emotions got the better of her. Just like Gib did.

Golly stubbed out her cigarillo on the wall. ‘Navy Caddell would be a good agent for you,’ she stated and lifted her palm when Bea started to protest. ‘Navy is young, hungry and passionate about your work. His agency is new, he’s only repping a handful of people, and he is said to be brilliant at forecasting trends. Editorially, he’s not bad, either.’ Golly leaned forward, brown eyes shrewd. ‘He’s got the family drive and ambition, and he’ll take you further than most.’

Bea wrinkled her nose. That might be true, but could she work with Gib’s cousin and best friend? Navy would be the link to what she couldn’t have.

Besides, the man had seen her boobs, for God’s sake!

‘Now, what the fuck are you going to do about that boy, Bea-darling?’

Bea released a heavy sigh. ‘There’s nothing todo, Golly. It was only ever going to be a fling, and he told me not to expect anything more.’

Golly threw her head back and stared at the sky. ‘Dear God, give me strength.’

‘You don’t believe in love and monogamy and happy-ever-afters, Golly,’ Bea pointed out. ‘You’re strictly a happy-for-this-moment type.’

Golly looked at her. ‘But that’s me, Bea. I like variety and adventure, the thrill of falling for someone, the tension and the passion. But you, boring creature that you are, need a forever person, someone to grow old with. And the two of you could be very happy together. You should run after him.’

Now those were words she’d never expected to hear from her treat-’em-mean, keep-’em-keen godmother. ‘A), I absolutely will not, and B, the last thing Gib wants is a committed relationship. We only met two weeks ago, there’snothingtomakework.’

‘Apart from the fact that you two could power North America with all the energy buzzing between you. I knew you two would hit it off.’

‘How?’ Bea asked. ‘We could’ve looked at each other and wanted to hurl. And was it really necessary to make us share a bed?’

Golly tapped the side of her nose. ‘Call it instinct, but I knew he would be good to you and for you. I don’t want you to be alone anymore, Bea-darling.’

‘He can’t give me what Ineed, Golly. And after putting my needs aside for my dad, Gerry and even for Lou, I won’t do that again. I have to live in the world the way it is, not the way I want it to be. I can’t make Lou less of a witch, I can’t change the past, I won’t ever understand my father. And I can’t make Gib love me. All I can do is control my reaction to whatever happens to me.’

She let out a breath.

‘So I’m letting Gib go. I’m sorry he can’t be with me, but I can’t force him to love me, to give me what I need. I can only be grateful for the time we spent together.’

Golly picked up her phone, lighter and pack of cigarillos from the wall next to her and sighed. ‘There’s no getting away from it, your generation makes everything far too complicated with your desire to understand your emotions and all that self-improvement bullshit. Just shag the boy, and keep shagging him until you get sick of shagging him and want to shag someone else.’

Ah, to live in Golly’s uncomplicated world.

Golly patted her knee. ‘In the morning I’ll call a PR Agency on your behalf, but now I’m going to have a couple of G&T’s and then a lovely bottle of Bordeaux.’

‘Golly, you smoke and drink far too much,’ Bea quietly reminded her. ‘And despite you being an enormous pain my arse, I want you around for as long as possible.’

‘Another issue I have with your generation is that you have access to far too much information, and it’s made you scared and tissue-paper soft. Listen, I died once when I was five, and my mother told me to just walk it off.’

Bea rolled her eyes at her majestic embellishment. ‘Ten-four, dinosaur.’

‘So damn cheeky.’ Golly looked around, frowning. ‘Now where’s my fucking phone?’

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