Page 51 of Three's a Crowd
‘So, what’s your name?’ he asked, looking at her enquiringly.
‘Daisy,’ she said, not entirely comfortable with telling him, but not sure how avoid it without seeming rude.
‘Beautiful name,’ he said. ‘My friends call me Sonny. I hope you’re going to be one of them,’ he said, as if he was used toreeling out this line, which, it seemed to Daisy, he probably was. His whole demeanour screamedplayer. ‘So, Daisy. What are you doing in Cannes?’ he asked, propping his elbows on the table and leaning forwards, making her feel uncomfortable enough to lean back away from him.
‘I’m on holiday,’ she said. ‘A friend invited me to the premiere of his film tonight,’ she added, unsure whether she should actually be telling him this. He could be one of those hangers-on that Zach was talking about yesterday.
‘Really?’ he said, raising his eyebrows. ‘That wouldn’t be the premiere forDamascus Days, would it?’
‘Er, yes,’ she confirmed, too shocked by his insight to think of a decent lie to tell him.
‘Well, I might bump into you there then. I’ve been involved with that movie myself. Are you going to the party afterwards?’ he asked.
‘Uh, yeah… maybe,’ she hedged, feeling really uncomfortable under his intense stare now.
He was a stunning-looking man and clearly very charismatic, but there was something about his manner she just didn’t like.
‘Anyway,’ she said. ‘I’ve got to get going. It was great to meet you, Sonny,’ she added, rising from the table and making her way over to the cash till to pay for her lunch.
‘Sure, it was great to meet you too,’ he called after her.
She paid quickly and turned to find he was watching her. A cold shiver ran down her spine at the acquisitive expression on his face. Giving him a hesitant wave, she walked as quickly as she could out of the café, pulling the door firmly shut behind her.
13
Halfway back to the hotel, Daisy suddenly remembered she hadn’t picked up a dinner jacket for Adam. She doubled back and took the road that ran past the Hilton towards the centre of the town. She was pretty sure she’d find a dress hire shop down there somewhere. She’d spotted a couple of people earlier coming from that direction with suit carriers draped carefully over their arms.
A few minutes’ walk down the road, she came across a place that looked like just the ticket. Going in, she was relieved to see an array of dinner jackets and all the accoutrements laid out on display. After explaining to the salesperson in pidgin French what size of jacket and trousers she needed, she picked out a crisp white dress shirt and pitch-black bow tie to go with them, opting for the ready tied one as she didn’t think Adam knew how to tie a bowtie and she had no idea how to do it herself. She left the store, hoping she’d got his sizing right. She really wanted him to look as smart as possible this evening. It was Zach’s big night and the least they could do was to show him proper support.
She made it back to the hotel by four o’clock.
On picking up the tickets from reception, she was panicked to see they had to be at the gate to be let in to the Palais de Festivals by six thirty, at the latest. They’d be wise to grab a bite to eat before that because she wasn’t sure whether there’d be food at the party and if there was, they probably wouldn’t get their hands on any of it until late in the evening.
The party started at nine o’clock, so it looked as though they were expected to go straight from the premiere to the yacht where it was being held, ready to set sail for the evening on the stroke of nine.
Despite her worry about Adam and what she’d seen earlier, she felt a surge of excitement at the thought of the evening ahead. She’d never been invited to anything so glamorous before. Even working in the radio industry, nothing as sensational as this had happened to her.
So, this was it. Her one and only chance to feel like a movie star.
After taking another shower, she dried and styled her hair so it fell in soft waves around her face and bounced around her shoulders. The front she clipped up in a few places to give the style a bit of height and she swept her heavy fringe to one side, giving it some texture with some hair wax she found in Adam’s washbag.
She was pleased with the result and finished the look with dark kohl around her eyes and a heavy coat of mascara that made her eyelashes look full and incredibly long.
Checking her phone, she felt a surge of unease about how late it was getting. Adam still wasn’t back and he was cutting it close now to get ready in time.
Pushing her worry away – telling herself that was his problem – she dropped the dress carefully over her head, then applied a final coat of deep red lipstick. Finally, she put on the beautiful friendship knot necklace that Zach had given her. Going to look in the long mirror in the bedroom, she studied the results. She looked good, if she did say so herself. Like a sophisticated and stylish woman. She smiled at her reflection and saw her eyes sparkle back at her.
She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to be here. It was like a dream.
The door to the living area slamming shut broke her out of her contemplation and she swished into the room to find that Adam had finally arrived back.
He was drunk again.
He swayed in front of her, his hair windswept and his clothes rumpled.
Daisy took a deep breath, determined not to get angry and allow him to ruin her night before it even began.
‘Where the hell did you get to?’ he asked her crossly. He was really drunk. Stumbling drunk. He staggered in and landed heavily on the sofa. Daisy knew she’d have to take full blame for not turning up at the Petite Majestic earlier if they weren’t going to get into a fight about this now and potentially miss both the premiere and possibly the party too.
