‘It helps that we’ve got this big story about the two of you. So far it’s been great. People have seen you in the street, in restaurants. But now we need to direct the public to what we want them to see.’

Charlene knew a moment’s doubt. This almost military planning wasn’t what she had agreed to. But then she saw Travis watching her uneasily, and knew that she had no choice. This was his big chance, and she’d promised to be here for him.

‘Are you up for it?’ Joe asked.

‘Yes,’ she said firmly.

‘Yes,’ Travis said, giving her a look of gratitude.

‘Great. Then let’s make plans.’

‘What about a beach party?’ Travis said. ‘We gather on Venice Beach, swim, romp, dance around.’

‘Great!’ Joe exclaimed. ‘I’ll set it up and let you know.’

So that was that, Travis thought, mentally reclining with a sense of satisfaction. What he knew of Charlene’s body came from sensations. He desperately needed to see the whole of her and marry the feelings up with visions. He’d been racking his brain for a way, and now one had been presented to him. A beach. Charlene in a bathing costume, everything laid out for his delighted inspection.

He knew a faint twinge of guilt. To trick her into displaying her body wasn’t the act of a gentleman.

‘Are you all right with this?’ he asked her anxiously. ‘I know you said yes to help me, but I wouldn’t want to force you into anything.’

A picture swam into Charlene’s vision: Travis as she’d seen him last night, naked but for the tiny trunks, just as he would be again on the beach.

‘I think I can just about endure it,’ she said.


* * *

Joe pursued his plans determinedly, announcing that their theatre seats had been booked for the following night.

‘What’s the show?’ Travis asked.

‘Um…hang on, I’ll check.’

He scanned a newspaper, prompting Travis to ask in an appalled tone, ‘You booked the play without knowing what it was?’

‘It’s a great theatre with a huge box where everyone will see you. What does the play matter? Here we are. Seek the Nightmare.’

They both jumped at the sound of the play that was notorious for being learned and mysterious.

‘It was a big success in the West End of London,’ Joe said. ‘Charlene saw it there and loved it.’

‘I did not,’ she said indignantly. ‘Not my sort of thing at all.’

‘You loved it,’ Joe said firmly. ‘And Travis is taking you to it here as a special treat.’

‘I’m glad you told me,’ Travis said in a faint voice. ‘I don’t have to pretend to like it, do I?’

‘You’ll have to decide whether you’re the gallant chevalier enduring it for the sake of his lady, or the dark-browed intellectual sunk in thought,’ Joe told him.

Travis gave him a look. Charlene covered her quivering lips.

‘And during the interval,’ Joe continued, gathering his things, ‘remember to talk. The press love that because they can imagine what you’re saying, and write the script for themselves. “Has he asked her yet?” That kind of thing. All right, I’m off.’

He left them before either could speculate about what ‘asking her’ might mean.

On the night they wore evening clothes. Around her neck Charlene sported a diamond necklace, bought by the studio and glamorous enough to inspire questions. She didn’t care. The actress in her was enjoying the game. And on her wrist she wore a bracelet, given to her by Travis with the words, ‘I bought you a gift a few days ago but things have been so hectic I didn’t give it until now.’

He reckoned that explanation would have to do, since he could hardly tell the truth, that it was a replacement for the one he’d had to give Susie to cover his embarrassment.

At the theatre they were applauded in the foyer and again when they made their entrance into the box. The play was officially ‘intellectual’, a dark, soul-searching work that made Charlene want to laugh derisively at its self-indulgence. But Joe was delighted with the reports he’d received from his spy in the stalls.

‘You looked great and you talked to each other, so people could see you interacting,’ he whooped.

‘It’s as well they couldn’t hear the conversation.’ She chuckled when they were alone.

‘Yes, me threatening to leave if it got any more boring, and you promising to wake me up when it was over. That would have given Joe a heart attack.’

‘Never mind. He won’t find out. We’re a team.’

‘Yes,’ he murmured, holding her hand. ‘We are.’


* * *

The arrangements for the party on Venice Beach had been made with detailed precision.

‘It’s a day out for everyone,’ Joe had explained. ‘The whole cast, crew, director, we all decided to treat ourselves to a rest day, and the press just happened to find out. They’ll be watching you two, walking, swimming, eating-whatever.’

‘Are you sure you’re all right with this?’ Travis asked her again as they got ready to leave in the morning. ‘You had an odd look on your face when Joe was describing it.’

‘I was only worried in case I couldn’t measure up.’

‘You’ll measure up. You’re going to be wonderful, because you always are.’

Charlene spoke seriously. ‘I hope I’m everything you want me to be, because I know how much this matters to you. I saw the look on your face too, only it wasn’t a funny look. This was a man full of excitement because he could see the big chance coming up. But he was also just a little afraid in case he couldn’t make the most of it.’

‘How well you understand me.’ Travis sighed. ‘All the shields and defences that fool other people-you just see right through them as though they weren’t there.’ He took both her hands in his and kissed each one lightly. ‘With anyone else that would scare me, but with you I know it’s all right.’ He added wryly, ‘You only got one thing wrong.’

‘What was that?’

‘I’m not “just a little afraid”. I’m scared stiff. To lose this chance-’ he gave a brief laugh ‘-if I get that film part, it could lead to so much.’

‘Yes, it would. There’d be a second film, and then a third, and studios would be falling over themselves to hire you.’

‘I’d be so much bigger than I am now, and then perhaps-’

‘Then even your father would have to give you some respect,’ she said. ‘Yes, he’ll be proud of you, and boast about you. “Hey, my son is Travis Falcon.”’

‘Yup! That’s it. It’s stupid, isn’t it? I’m a grown man, well, at least I pretend to be. I fool the others, but not you.’

‘Maybe I have my own ideas of what constitutes a grown man,’ she said.

‘Lucky for me.’

‘If he’s kind and gentle, generous and caring, that’s all I care about. You can stuff the macho business.’

‘You don’t think I’m making too much of today, do you?’ he asked. ‘It’s only a few hours spent fooling for the camera-’

‘It’s not going to win the victory on its own,’ she agreed. ‘But it’s a step on the road. Then you’ll take another step, and another, until you’re running so fast that nobody can catch you.’

‘We’ll be running,’ he corrected.

‘No, this is about you. I’m just backup. You’ll be a big, big star and you’ll make so much money that your father and your brothers will want to borrow from you.’

He grinned. ‘In my dreams. But yes, that’s where the road leads. I’ll become obsessed with money, and then they’ll know that I’m a real Falcon after all.’ He added quietly, ‘But do I want to travel that road?’

‘You won’t become obsessed with money,’ she told him. ‘Not you. What you make of it is up to you. It’ll be your road. Your decisions.’

‘What about yours?’

‘Yours,’ she said firmly. ‘Nobody else’s.’

He looked at her for a moment, then drew her close, wrapping his arms right around her and holding her against him.

‘What would I do without you?’ he murmured against her hair. ‘Don’t leave me, because I couldn’t bear that. I… You see, if I could only… Just don’t leave me.’

She stroked his hair, deeply touched by what she’d seen inside him. Travis might say what he liked about money and stardom, but that was a front. Inside him there still lived a little boy, longing for his father’s attention and the feeling that he belonged in the family that always seemed to exclude him. She tightened her arms, instinctively seeking to protect that little boy.

‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I’m here as long as you need me.’

‘Charlie-’

The doorbell rang.

‘That’ll be Rick, come to collect us,’ Travis said reluctantly.

She raised a clenched first. ‘Forward into battle.’

He mimicked the gesture. ‘Victory awaits.’

They were to travel in an open car, the better to be seen. When they were seated in the back, Rick drove them down to where Joe was waiting with several of the others.

‘Most of them have gone on ahead,’ he told them. ‘It looks more natural if we don’t all arrive together. Let’s get started.’ But when he saw Travis’s arm about Charlene’s shoulders he looked doubtful. ‘I’m not sure that’s enough. Maybe you should be leaning close so that your head is resting on Travis’s shoulder.’

‘Occasionally,’ Charlene agreed. ‘But this journey is new to me, so I think he’d be pointing things out. I’d say, “Oh how wonderful!” and we’d interact.’

‘Great! You’ve got a real talent for giving directions.’

‘You’re telling me,’ Travis said with feeling. ‘You should see how hen-pecked I am at home.’

Everybody laughed and they set off down the Santa Monica Freeway. It was a merry start to the day.

After an hour’s drive they reached the roads that led to the beach, and the car slowed down so that passers-by could see them. Now Charlene rested her head on his shoulder, as per instructions, and he laid his own head against her hair. Joe, overtaking, gave a thumbs up sign. Perfect!

About twenty of the crowd from the show had arrived before them and had taken over a small section of the beach, entertaining photographers with their antics while everyone awaited the star.

Vera, who’d looked after Charlene on the first day, approached, saying, ‘Your changing huts are over here.’

They each vanished into a hut, emerging a few moments later to stand in the sun, breathing in the fresh air with expressions of ecstasy, while secretly sizing each other up.

Now Charlene knew she’d been right to come on this trip. Not for anything would she have missed the sight of Travis in tight black swimming trunks, reminiscent of the other night. He was everything she remembered, lightly tanned, smooth chested, the perfect combination of lean and muscular.

But he seemed less pleased, frowning a little at her modest one piece. ‘I thought you’d have chosen a bikini.’

‘Tut, tut!’ she murmured. ‘Your respectable girlfriend doesn’t flaunt herself like that. Besides,’ she added in a tone of coming down to earth, ‘I’m too skinny for a bikini.’

‘You’re not skinny,’ he said. ‘Just beautifully slim. There are models who’d give their eye-teeth for your figure.’

‘Thank you, kind sir, but I’d still like to be more curvaceous where it matters. Like here.’ She wriggled her behind to give him a better view. ‘Wouldn’t that bit be improved by a little more oomph?’

‘No,’ he said with feeling. ‘It wouldn’t.’

‘Oh, come on, take a proper look.’

‘I am taking a proper look,’ he said in a strained voice. ‘It’s perfect as it is.’

‘Well, that’s very kind but I suppose you’ve got to say it, haven’t you? We both know I need a bit more there. Perhaps I should try to put on some weight.’

‘I warn you, do that and you’ll be sorry.’

‘Ooh, the dominant male,’ she teased. ‘I thought you didn’t do macho.’

‘Maybe it’s time I tried.’

By now they had reached the water. She hopped in front of him, dancing backwards through the tiny waves.

‘C’mon,’ she taunted. ‘Make me sorry.’

‘Whatever could I do that would make you sorry?’

The thought, You could send me away from you, and I’d be sorry for ever flashed through her mind, but was banished. Nothing was going to spoil today.

‘You’ll never find out,’ she said, moving faster.

But that was a mistake. She lost her balance and rocked wildly until he seized her and drew her against himself to steady her. She had a wild sensation of his bare chest against her and clung to him, wishing the rest of the world would just vanish.

Joe appeared beside them.

‘Nice stuff, but go back to shore. Charlene, I don’t want you swimming just yet because of your hair. Travis, why don’t you carry her?’

‘Happy to oblige,’ he said, grinning and sweeping her up into his arms.

True to her role, she clung to him, shaking her head so that her hair could float in the sun. As they emerged from the water the rest of the cast was there, playing games, tossing balls about, cheering them.