Page 93 of Happily Never After
‘Good evening, everyone,’ she says in a voice I almost don’t recognise, before I realise it’s her normal voice but without the constant tone of disapproval I’m used to hearing. ‘Thank you so much for coming to this event. I owe each and every one of you a debt of gratitude.’ Her eyes sweep across the assembled guests, but I swear I see them narrow when they fall on me. To her credit, she doesn’t falter.
‘Most of all, I have to thank my husband, John.’ She indicates a portly, red-faced man in the front row. ‘He’s been my rockthroughout my creative journey, literally the oil that has greased the wheels of my writing.’
‘He’s also bankrolling the shit out of this,’ Finn whispers. ‘Probably red in the face from all the whisky he had to consume to get over the size of the bill.’
‘Now, without further ado,’ Gina continues, ‘I would like to read you the opening chapter of Gina Atkinson’s debut novel, entitledThe Lion and the Snake. After this, there will be an opportunity for you to purchase your own copies and, of course, I’ll be happy to sign them for you.’
I cast my eyes around the room as she begins to read. I spot Lynette first; she’s also in the front row, sitting next to Tess. Suzie is next to us, but I can’t see any sign of Grace.
‘Isn’t Grace here?’ I ask Suzie in a whisper.
‘Goodness, no. She and Gina had a massive falling out a while ago. Basically, according to Grace, she found a way to submit her manuscript to Florianus, only to get a scathing rejection letter.’
‘That happens a lot in publishing.’
‘Yes, but there were a couple of phrases in the letter that made Grace suspicious. So she looked at Companies House and discovered that Florianus only had two directors, Gina and her husband. That confirmed her suspicions that the rejection letter had been penned by Gina. Of course, when she confronted her about it, Gina hit the roof and I don’t think they’ve spoken since.’
I let my gaze continue around the room. Unsurprisingly, there’s nobody else here I recognise and I let Gina’s voice wash over me as she reads on. At the end, there’s a round of polite applause followed by the scraping of chairs as people get to their feet. Most of them are collecting copies of the book, I notice.
‘Should we get one?’ Finn asks.
‘I kind of feel we should. We were there for part of its birth, after all.’
‘Wait here. I’ll go.’
I watch him as he grabs a book off the table and makes a beeline for the till, but then I’m distracted by a voice at my shoulder.
‘You came then?’ Lynette asks. ‘I know you said you would, but I wasn’t sure you’d follow through on it.’
‘Of course we did,’ I reply, turning to her. She’s holding a half-empty glass of champagne and her face is flushed, making me believe this might be the latest of several glasses. ‘It was very generous of you to let Gina have the limelight tonight.’
She tries to lean forward conspiratorially, but it comes off more like a drunken sway. ‘No real choice,’ she confides. ‘He who pays the piper and all that. I don’t mind, really. This kind of thing isn’t my vibe. Let’s just hope she sells enough books to make it worthwhile, eh?’
‘Are you still getting on?’
‘Yes and no. She’s still fucking irritating sometimes, but I get moments of satisfaction. You should have seen her face when we arrived to set up and your book was front and centre of the store. She wouldn’t even touch a copy herself, demanding that the assistants come and move them.’
Thankfully, just as I’m trying to find a diplomatic response, Finn reappears.
‘Here we are,’ he says, giving me the book. ‘Hello, Lynette. I’m afraid I’m going to have to steal Laura away as we have dinner reservations.’
‘That was fun,’ he tells me as we make our way towards the door.
‘What?’
‘I got it signed. You should have seen the look on Gina’s face. I think she might have refused had there not been onlookers. I hope I got the message right.’
I open the book and read the inscription inside.
To Laura. With love from one author to another. Gina xx
I grin. ‘It’s perfect, although I think we might have to hang garlic above the bed for a while.’
‘Serves her right for being so rude to the woman I love.’
‘You didn’t love me back then,’ I remind him.
‘I loved you from the moment you threatened me with your completely fictitious martial arts training,’ he replies, bending to give me a quick kiss. ‘I just hid it well.’
Knowing Finn, that’s probably true. Sometimes I still wish we hadn’t had so many false starts, but I’ve come to realise it’s irrelevant. He’s here now, he loves me, and I love him. Nothing else matters.
