Page 75 of Kissing Games
‘Is your phone still broken?’
She nodded.
He pulled his out. ‘Use mine. The only person who ever calls me is Rory, and that’s only because he has to.’
She shook her head.
‘Go on, take it.’ He turned it over to show her signature on the back. ‘Look, it’s even got your name on it.’
She shook her head again and wiped her eyes. ‘I’ve spoken to my family every day my entire life. I think I need a break.’
24
Charlie tried his best to be a distraction for Valentina, but she was lost in a fog of grief and self-doubt. He’d spent five years as a teenager fixated on his dream of Jennifer, so understood a little about the storm of emotions she was caught up in now that everything had collapsed around her.
In the far corners of his mind, an ill wind stirred. It whispered a story of another woman. Of ten years spent chasing a dream that had finally crumbled to dust. He couldn’t face examining this third of his life. He couldn’t say Caroline’s name, picture her face, or think of the child that could have been his.
So, he focused on caring for Valentina. When she didn’t want to leave her room for meals, he brought her food. When she barely touched her plate, he took it away and came back with shortbread, insisting she try the national biscuit of Scotland. And that night he held her until her tears dried and she passed out with exhaustion. As she slept, he stared up at the canopy above her bed, his heart full, wondering if it was possible to have a future with her.
She’d made it clear that whatever relationship they had would end when she left Scotland. Could he prolong the dream a little longer? Her next film was in London. Could he see her again there? A wave of nausea rolled up into the back of his throat. Her next job wasn’t a role. It was soft porn. He imagined her on a set full of men. They had the power, even if that power came from looking at her naked body when they were still fully clothed. No one should be in a film like that. No one deserved to be caught up in some misogynistic sexual fantasy on camera or off. But what could he do?
He shivered. Who had told her she was just tits and ass? Those words had been put in her mind by someone else. Someone jealous or punishing her for not sleeping with them.
He looked down at her sleeping beside him, her plump lips gently parted, her long lashes resting against her soft skin. How could he protect her? He was filled with an overwhelming urge to carry her away, to keep her safe from a world that didn’t deserve her. But he couldn’t take away the right to make her own decisions, the right to her own life. So he had to sit back and watch her walk into a situation she would never truly recover from. An experience that would kill part of her soul.
The next morning,as Valentina slept, Charlie went to get her breakfast. When he returned, she was awake, staring into nothing, the curtains still closed. He put the tray on the table beside her and opened the curtains with a flourish, promptly falling to the floor with a cry. He heard the bedcovers move.
‘What is it?’ she called out in alarm.
He writhed on the floor, covering his face. ‘The light! It’s too bright. I’m melting.’
He heard her slump back onto the bed. He stood and sat on the edge, grinning at her. She rolled her eyes but he could see they were wet with the promise of more tears.
He took her hand, rubbing his thumb across the back. ‘I’ve brought you some breakfast. I didn’t know what you might feel like eating, so I got it all. You’ve got everything from bacon and eggs to porridge. What do you fancy?’ Her lower lip was trembling and he was desperate to lift her mood. ‘Other than me, of course.’
She tried to smile. ‘I don’t know. I’m sorry, Charlie. I just feel so…’
He suddenly remembered who would cheer her up.
‘I know what you need,’ he exclaimed, pulling out his phone. ‘You need Dave.’
‘Dave?’
‘Uh-huh.’ He unlocked his phone and showed her the home screen. ‘Meet Dave,’ he said proudly.
‘Oh my god, is that adog?’
Charlie slowly shook his head. ‘I’ll have you know, Dave contains the DNA of at least ninety-seven pedigree prize winners.’
Valentina gave him a questioning look.
‘Granted, they were rats, badgers and goldfish,’ he continued, ‘but still, Dave’s a living legend. He’s proof that evolution can work backwards.’
‘Is he yours?’
‘Not yet. He’s a long-term resident at a shelter I volunteer at. As soon as I’m properly settled somewhere, I’m going to adopt him.’
‘Is he safe?’ She looked at the photo of him sceptically. ‘He looks deranged.’
