‘Sounds like you missed your chance there, girls!’ As she said it, Isabel slipped her arm around Doug’s waist and gave it a proprietary squeeze, signalling, oh you poor creatures, here I am with the perfect man and there’s you two with not even a half-decent one to share between you ...

gosh, don’t you just wish you were as pretty and lucky as me?

Honestly, who did she think she was? Cinderella? More tothe point, who were the ugly stepsisters? Inwardly nettled — for heaven’s sake, she was still clinging on to Doug — Lola said airily, ‘Who says I missed my chance? EJ and I got on brilliantly. He asked me out.’

Oh yes, that made them sit up and take notice!

‘Seriously?’ Isabel’s eyebrows shot up.

Even Doug looked impressed.

Sally squealed, ‘The geek asked you out!’

‘Actually, he’s not as geeky as we thought.’ Lola rushed to EJ’s defence. ‘He wears those clothes because he doesn’t want to draw attention to himself. And behind those glasses his face is really quite interesting ... and he has these amazing cheekbones ...’

‘So what you’re saying is, the more money he has, the better looking he becomes,’ Doug drawled with just a hint of eye-roll.

‘Last time we saw him he hardly said anything at all.’ Reaching over to pinch a handful of Sally’s prawn crackers, Lola said defiantly, ‘Tonight I found out he has a really nice personality.’.

Doug’s mouth twitched. ‘Of course you did.’

‘So you’re actually going out with him?’ Sally was so excited she dropped her fork. ‘On a date?’

‘Let’s hope he doesn’t forget to bring along his platinum Amex,’ said Doug.

‘Could somebody pick my fork up, please?’

‘He asked me out tonight,’ said Lola. ‘But I was worried about Sal being stuck here all on her own, so I turned him down.’ There, ha, now who was the most selfless, thoughtful and downright saintly person in this room?

‘Aah, isn’t that nice?’ Sally beamed. ‘Then again, I bet your feet were killing you in those new shoes you wore to work today. And far nicer to have some notice to get yourself tarted up. So when are you seeing him instead?’

Lola flushed. ‘I’m not. He asked me out and I said no thanks. We left it at that.’

‘Are you mad? You can’t not see him again! He’s EJ Mack!’

‘Well, it’s too late now’ Throwing up her hands, Lola said, ‘At least I can say I turned him down.’

Doug’s face was deadpan. ‘Either that or he never asked her out in the first place.’

‘Oh Doug, you are wicked.’ Isabel gave him a pretend slap. ‘You can’t call Lola a liar!’

‘You’d be surprised what I can call Lola.’ He scooped up his car keys from the coffee table and raised a hand in farewell. ‘When it comes to scruples and honesty she’s in a class of her own.

Right, we’re off ...’

‘I can’t imagine why I’m in love with your brother,’ Lola said crossly when Doug and Isabel had left. ‘He’s a complete arse.’

’You’re not doing terribly well, are you?’ said Colin Carter of the Carter Agency.

Gabe sighed and shook his head. Was he about to be told he should give up the day job? He hadn’t had much luck during the past few weeks.

But Colin was a kindly soul. ‘Don’t be too downhearted. You’re only ever one photo away from the next worldwide scoop. Look, we’ve had a tip-off that Savannah Hudson’s holed up in a cottage in the wilds of Gloucestershire. She’s been keeping a low profile lately. Here’s the address.’ He handed over a scrap of paper and said, ‘No one else knows about it, so this could be your big chance. Don’t bugger it up.’

‘Right, thanks, I won’t.’ Gabe was torn because he’d been short with Sally this morning — she’d woken him at five o’clock, calling out from her bedroom to ask him to turn off her beeping, run-down mobile phone — yet he knew she was the only reason Colin was giving him this break. He owed her for that, but at the same time she was doing his head in.

‘You do know who Savannah Hudson is,’ Colin double-checked, because last night Gabe had mistaken George Galloway for Des Lynam.

‘Don’t worry. I know who she is.’ Gabe nodded vigorously to prove it as he tucked the address into his wallet. ‘I won’t let you down.’

Chapter 34

London had been cold, grey and a tad breezy. Out in the Cotswolds the weather was rather less subtle; huge clouds raced across a gunmetal sky and there was a howling gale. Driving across Minchinhampton Common, high and brutally exposed, Gabe half expected to see the cows and sheep being swept off their feet and whisked into the air. Even the players on the golf course were struggling to stay vertical.

Which wasn’t great news as far as Gabe was concerned because it meant there wasn’t a huge incentive for Savannah Hudson to venture outside.

The cottage was perched on the side of a hill, only slightly set back from the narrow lane winding its way down from the common towards the small country town of Nailsworth. There was a nondescript green Peugeot parked in the driveway and a couple of lights on in the cottage, indicating that she was probably in there. Needless to say, there was nowhere to park outside the cottage; the lane was single-track with passing places dotted along its length. No sooner had Gabe pulled into one than a tractor came chugging up the hill as a yellow Fiesta appeared behind him, forcing him on. Which meant he wasgoing to have to leave his warm car further down the hill and spend the afternoon lurking in a wet hedge. It was probably one of the reasons Savannah Hudson had chosen to hide out in this cottage. Honestly, these camera-shy celebrities were so selfish.

Having parked in Nailsworth, Gabe stocked up in the bakery with a selection of pies and cakes to keep him going and stave off the tedium. He put a can of Coke and a bottle of water in the pockets of his Barbour. Back at the car he took out his camera, careful to keep it hidden from view, and slung it around his neck under the waxed jacket. Please God, make today the day he got a decent shot and could prove to Colin he wasn’t a complete waste of space.

Two hours later Gabe had cramp in his legs. He was going out of his mind with boredom. It would be getting dark soon, he’d eaten all his food and it was obvious Savannah Hudson wasn’t going to emerge from the cottage. The only good thing about the afternoon was that the pies from the bakery had been excellent.

Bugger, he wasn’t going to be able to impress Colin after all. Unless he knocked on the door of the cottage, fell to his knees and begged Savannah Hudson to take pity on him. Maybe she would, and he could just take a couple of quick faux-candid shots .. .

What the hell, it was worth a try. He unfolded his long legs, brushed himself down and headed for the cottage. There was definitely someone inside, he could see their outline through the drawn curtains as they moved about in the lit-up living room.

Putting on his most charming face — the one that didn’t seem to be getting a lot of use these days — Gabe braced himself and rat-tatted the black wrought-iron knocker.

The door was opened by a middle-aged woman in a purple velour tracksuit, clutching a duster and a can of lemon Pledge.

‘Oh, hi,’ charming smile, charming smile, ‘I’m here to see Savannah.’

‘Sorry, duck, she’s not here. Friend of hers, are you?’

Gabe knew he should say yes, then he might be invited into the cottage. He sighed inwardly; this was why he was so crap at this job. ‘No, not a friend exactly ...’

‘Off you go then, duck.’ The woman’s expression changed. ‘Wait, do you know when she might be back?’

‘Maybe tomorrow or the day after. Bye.’ The door was closed • firmly in his face.

That was that then. If the woman had been lying and Savannah Hudson was inside the house, she wouldn’t be coming out now. Terrific. No photos and it was starting to rain. He may as well get back to the car before the heavens opened. At least it was downhill.

As he set off down the lane, Gabe tried to work out what time he’d be home. His social life had taken a serious nosedive lately, what with work and having to look after Sallythe-whingeing-cripple and getting over the whole bloody soul-destroying business with Jaydena. Maybe a night off was what he needed, a few hours of mindless drinking and clubbing with old friends, chatting up girls, possibly even getting some long-overdue sex ... Ha, so long as they could go back to her place, because if he brought someone home to Radley Road they were bound to be interrupted in mid-shag by Sally banging on the wall that separated their bedrooms, bleating, ‘Gabe, I’m really thirsty and my leg hurts too much for me to get out of bed, could you bring me a glass of water pleeease?’

Oh yes, her leg was definitely a pain. The only good thingabout it as far as Gabe was concerned was that having Sally physically confined to the sofa all day meant the mess she created was confined to that area. The rest of the flat, practically undisturbed, was really quite tidy and Bloody hell.

Having rounded a bend, Gabe saw a figure hurrying up the lane towards him with a bag of shopping in one hand and a dog on a lead in the other. His brain shot into overdrive as he took in the oversized jacket, the skinny legs in skinnier jeans, the blonde head almost hidden beneath the hood of the jacket and the thick grey scarf wound round her neck. .. Bloody hell, it was her, Savannah Hudson was heading straight for him, this was his big chance.

Then her head tilted up and she saw him, her actress’s antennae on instant alert. As her hood blew back she stopped in her tracks, like a deer hearing the click of the hunter’s rifle. Gabe, already reaching for the camera slung around his neck, realised she was about to bolt and called out, ‘Please, could I just take one picture of—’