Page 29 of The Great British Bachelor Chase

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The driveto London passes uneventfully, as the sun sinks lower in the evening sky, and I try to think of the best way to talk Hugo back to the movie. He seemed hardworking and professional enough this week, so I’m hoping that a gentle reminder about the whole production hinging on his presence will be enough to get him to back to reality. Love, after all, can surely wait a few more weeks…

I wonder what his mystery girl is like. Clearly, memorable enough to inspire this impulsive chase. It’s probably aNotting Hillmatchup with a humble, non-famous woman who hates the spotlight… Or maybe some star-crossed plot, where she was in Vegas to get married, and had second thoughts after gazing into Hugo’s soulful eyes….

Either way, I’m confident they’ll see reason. London’s close enough to filming, she could visit every weekend!

“We’re almost there,” the driver announces, turning onto a busy street in East London. I crane my neck excitedly, but the surroundings don’t exactly scream ‘movie star’ to me. It’s a residential neighborhood, pretty rundown, and we pull up outside a dilapidated townhouse—with a party in full swing.

But not a fancy, Hollywood party. Nope, this one has indie rock music thumping loudly from the open windows, and ratty college kids spilling out of the door and smoking on the front stoop.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” I ask, confused.

“It says this is where your friend got dropped off,” the driver says with a shrug. “You getting out?”

“I… Yes. Thank you,” I remember to say, grabbing my backpack and scrambling out of the car.

This is where Hugo’s dream girl lives? I stare up at the house. Hugo doesn’t seem like the type of man to fall head over heels for a woman barely out of high school. But…Crazier things have happened, I guess. Just look at Leo DiCaprio. And literally half the men in Hollywood.

Sighing, I make my way up the steps, and flag down a kid with dreadlocks. A white kid.

“Hey, whose party is this?” I ask.

“Clemmie,” he says, grinning at me. He takes a puff of something pungent and exhales it directly in my face.

I cough. Charming.

“And where can I find this Clemmie?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Dunno. Hey, you want to go in on a fifth?”

“A fifth of what, oregano?” I roll my eyes, pushing past him. “And learn how to inhale!”

Inside, I make my way through the crowded hallway—and get immediate flashbacks to my college days. The sickly sweet smell of Smirnoff Ice? Check. Cheesecloth shirt guy posted up strumming Jason Mraz on the guitar? Check. Drunk girl weeping loudly to her friends? Check.

Ah, youth.

What I don’t see, however, is my dashing movie star, and in a crowd like this, I know he’d cause a stir. So, I continue on, looking for someone worried about breakages and booze levels. Hosting equals anxiety, in my experience, and sure enough, I find a high-strung blonde girl in the kitchen. She’s barely twenty, dressed in a tight black dress and practically vibrating with tension. “Not those mugs! Shit, Luce is going to kill me.”

“Calm down, Clem,” one of her friends laughs, pouring cheap red wine in the aforementioned mugs.

“You don’t understand, she’s like, obsessed with her mug collection. Wait, did you hear that?” The blonde shoves past me into the doorway. “STAY OUT OF MY BEDROOM!” she hollers down the hall.

Yup, I’ve found the right girl.

“Clemmie?” I ask, flashing a big smile.

She turns. “Yes? Are you the neighbor?” she asks, eyes sweeping over me. “Shit, I’m so sorry about the music. I’ll get them to turn it down.”

I feel a brief sting of outrage that I’ve graduated from ‘life of the party’ to ‘interfering neighbor’ but push it aside. There are more important things on my mind, like where the hell is our Darcy?

“This is so random,” I start, still beaming. “But… A friend of mine dropped by here late last night. Or maybe early this morning? I’m trying to find him.”

Clemmie pauses, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “Your friend?” she repeats.

Bingo.

“A colleague, really,” I add. “We’re working on a project together, and I really need to find him, before there’s trouble. Serious trouble.”

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