Page 34 of Christmas off Script
Leo wanted to take Ella to one side and check she was making the right decision for her, but Willow was already monopolising her attention, talking about the dress that turned instantly from rags into a ball gown. So instead he worried in silence. He was the assistant marketing manager for the Theatre Royal in Bath, and in the run up to Christmas, with their own professional pantomime running for weeks, he couldn’t take any more time off to help with the Foxbrooke one. He’d just have to work evenings and every weekend to make sure Ella wasn’t swamped.
Suddenly, everyone fell silent.
Leo glanced up.
Libby stood just inside the door, her face bursting with excitement. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the secret ingredient in the Foxbrooke panto this year… Playing Prince Charming is the handsome, the famous, Mr Zach Price!’
Ella sucked in a shocked breath, and Leo’s blood ran cold. He reached for her hand and she gripped it tightly as Libby threw the door open wide and a man entered.
Pushing a pair of designer shades up into his perfectly tousled black hair, he raised a hand. ‘Hey, everybody.’
Zach Price. Leo’s ex-best friend, Ella’s first ever boyfriend, and the man who’d tried to destroy her.
7
Leo leapt to his feet, but Ella pulled him straight back down.
‘Bloody hell,’ Scott murmured. ‘I’m playing his best mate!’
‘Isn’t that—’ Arthur began before Dervla loudly shushed him.
‘This is brilliant!’ Steve said excitedly.
Zach may have been one of the most famous actors in the UK, but his smile was strained as he gazed at the group. The only people who didn’t know what he did nine years ago to Ella, were Libby, Scott, and Steve.
As Libby led Zach across the ballroom towards them, Scott bounded over to shake his hand. ‘Hi! I’m Scott and I’m playing Dandini.’
‘Zach. Great to meet you. Is the beard staying or going?’
‘Not going anywhere. But it makes for more comedy if we give you a fake one for when you’re pretending to be me.’
‘Love it.’
‘You mentioned you knew the Foxbrookes,’ Libby said to Zach as they reached the circle of chairs. ‘So you probably already know most of the people here?’
Leo went to move again, but Ella held him in place, her fingers digging painfully into his arm.
‘Yeah, I—’
Steve got to his feet, grabbed Zach’s hand, and pumped it up and down. ‘Steve Perry. One of the ugly sisters. Huge fan!’
Arthur, Dervla, Finn, Henry, Connor, and Willow were all gazing uneasily between Ella, Zach, and Libby, as if waiting for Ella’s cue as to how they should behave.
Leo knew Libby would be devastated after his family kicked Zach out of the manor. But she would understand once they told her what he’d done to Ella, and Leo would help her find a new Prince Charming.
Putting a hand over his heart, Zach dipped his head at Steve. ‘Thank you. I hope I can do justice to this role.’
‘And you were in the same year at school as Leo and Ella!’ Libby continued with a huge smile, still riding high on a rollercoaster of excitement and failing to notice that most of the other passengers had fallen off.
Leo’s blood now went from ice to boiling point. He didn’t give a flying fuck why Zach was here, but it was time for him to go. He pushed out of his seat, but Ella was faster, standing in his path.
‘Nice to see you again.’ She gave Zach a little wave. ‘It’s been so long since we were at school together, I can hardly remember our time there. It feels like a lifetime ago.’
Zach’s face relaxed. ‘It’s good to see you.’
Ella dropped her hand, reaching behind her back as if grasping for a lifeline. Leo took it, feeling how cold her fingers were. Why was Zach here?
‘Ella’s our new Cinderella!’ Libby said.
