Page 31 of Three's a Crowd
Once they’d cleared passport control, they went outside to look for the car that was meant to be picking them up and transferring them to where they were staying for the week.
Zach had arranged all the transport at the French end and chosen their hotel. Apparently, the studio was more than happy to pay what must be an extortionate fee during the festival, as Zach was now such a rising star in the movie world he was able to pull a lot of strings.
Daisy had been aware of Zach’s continual professional momentum, of course. She knew he’d been in a big-hitting film that had been received really well in England, as well as the States, and this had propelled him to the dizzy heights of Hollywood notoriety.
For a time, he’d seemed to be on the front of every magazine she picked up and the guest of every chat show she tuned in to. As soon as she saw his striking face or heard his deep, gravelly voice, she would hurriedly put down or turn off the offending article. She just couldn’t bear to be reminded of him.
Until now.
She’d finally come to terms with the fact that it was time she started making peace with what had happened – or rather hadn’t happened – between them. She couldn’t allow her hang-ups about him to ruin things for her. It was ridiculous that she couldn’t get on with her life without worrying about him springing up at every turn.
And it seemed he wanted to make peace with her too, considering he’d invited her along to Cannes, as well as Adam.
‘I can’t see anyone holding a card with our names anywhere,’ Adam said, breaking into her reverie. ‘Wait here, I’m just going to check over there.’ He pointed to a limousine with its driver standing by the driver’s door.
‘Yeah right, Adam, in your dreams!’ Daisy said, eyeing the gleaming car. She would love to be driven around in a stretchedlimo. Cheesy or not, you’d feel really special if one of those pulled up to take you wherever you needed to go.
Adam stopped to talk to the driver of the limo and Daisy was amazed to see him turn round and beckon her over.
‘Surely not,’ she breathed, when she got to him.
‘Oh yes, only the best for us,’ Adam said, with a strange edge to his voice.
She looked at him questioningly, but he just grinned back at her.
Shaking her head in amazement, Daisy climbed into the car, thanking the driver for holding the door open for her. She slid along the seat to allow Adam to follow her in, which he did with an exaggerated bounce, nearly propelling her off the seat with his weight. Straightening her skirt in annoyance, she shifted back on the plush leather.
She was soon distracted by how ridiculously opulent it was inside.
There was a big screen directly in front of them which was tuned to a music video channel and along one side of the car, a small bar held a good selection of fine whisky and even an open bottle of champagne.
‘Well, there’s no point letting this go to waste,’ Adam said, reaching for the chilled bottle and a couple of flutes. He poured them both a glass of the pale-golden liquid, handing Daisy hers and clinking his against it.
‘Cheers,’ he said and downed it in one.
Daisy rolled her eyes at his boorishness and took a sip of hers. It tasted fantastic.
As the bubbles worked their way to her stomach, she felt the beautiful warmth of the alcohol flooding through her. She’d drunk champagne before, but it had never tasted this good. She smiled over at Adam as she felt a sudden rush of warmth towards him. This was going to be a fun trip. She wasdetermined it would be. They’d both been working way too hard recently without a break and it had started to feel like they were just housemates, rather than girlfriend and boyfriend. Adam was always staying late at work or going out for drinks with his team, which she never got invited to. But then she was just as bad with her all-consuming work and erratic schedule. They’d been ships in the night for quite a while and hadn’t found the time or energy to have sex in ages.
So, a few days away together would probably do their relationship some good.
Adam appeared to be thinking along the same lines because he smiled back and leant towards her, giving her a big, lip-smacking kiss. ‘I’m so glad we’re doing this together.’ He clinked his glass against hers again, even though his was empty. ‘To us.’
‘To us,’ she repeated.
‘Oops, better rectify that,’ he said, noticing the lack of champagne in his glass and pouring himself another.
‘Steady on, you don’t want to be blind drunk at ten o’clock in the morning,’ Daisy chided him.
‘Why the hell not? We’re on holiday, aren’t we?’ Adam said with a touch of annoyance.
Daisy sighed. Ever since they’d heard from Zach, it seemed as if they’d both been a little on edge around each other. Was it her guilty conscience playing tricks on her? Or was it just old-fashioned relationship fatigue?
She couldn’t deny that her feelings for Adam had waned since they’d first got together – surely every couple’s did? – but ever since she’d found out she was going to see Zach again, Adam had started to get on her nerves. The small things he did and said, that she used to find sweet and endearing, had started to grate on her.
She’d noticed a slight withdrawal of his affection towards her too, but had put it down to them both being constantly tired and stressed.
As the first day of the holiday had come closer, Adam had seemed more energised though. He was obviously really looking forward to letting go and enjoying himself.
