Second Chance - Jane Green [91]
There’s a long silence. ‘Saff,’ Pearce says eventually, ‘I do want to be with you. More than anything in the world. I also have my career to think of, and my life. I believe you and I will be together, but my managers say there will be nothing more destructive than me leaving Marjie now to be with you.’
Saffron forces her voice to stay calm, light, unemotional. ‘So where does that leave us?’
‘The same place we’ve always been. I love you and I want to be with you, but you need patience, my darling. The one thing I’m certain of is that we can’t be seen together until all this blows over.’
Saffron pouts in silence. He’s right. Of course he’s right. It’s just not what she wants to hear.
‘So how is Marjie taking it?’ she asks finally, curiosity getting the better of her.
‘She couldn’t care less about you and me, but she feels she’s been publicly humiliated, and she’s pretty damn furious about that.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Saffron says sadly.
‘So am I. But I’m most sorry I can’t be with you now, making you feel better. Did someone from my management team talk to you about England?’
‘Yes. They’re putting me on a plane in the morning and I’m going to hole up there for a bit until it dies down. Mum and Dad have been besieged by the press, but I just left messages for old friends. Hopefully one of them will come through.’
‘Just make sure you stay in touch and let me know where you are. I’ll call you later, my darling, and remember: whatever happens, I love you.’
‘Saffron? Are you okay? We’ve left messages, we tried to call. We just read… Well, we were a little bit worried about you.’ Anna bites her tongue quickly, stunned to have picked up the phone to find Saffron on the other end.
‘I’m sort of okay, if being holed up at the Beverly Hills Hotel with bloody bodyguards outside the door while millions of press try to break into my room by pretending to be room service, counts as okay. It’s pretty fucking horrific, that much I will say.’
‘Oh you poor thing. And you must want to speak to Paul, but he has gone out and he has left his mobile behind. I can get him to call as soon as he is home.’
‘So are there no press outside your house?’
Anna snorts with laughter. ‘No! Should there be?’
‘They’ve managed to infiltrate pretty much everyone else. Look, Anna, I know you and I don’t know each other, but I’m desperate for somewhere quiet to stay until this blows over. Is there any chance I could come and stay with you and Paul? I know it’s a huge imposition, and I promise I wouldn’t ask unless I was completely desperate, but I don’t know where else to go.’
‘Of course you can come and stay. As it happens, you could even stay in the country if you wanted some serious peace and quiet. We have got an old barn we are doing up in the middle of nowhere in Gloucestershire, which would be much better for you, although at the moment it is a bit of a dump. We are just starting to do it up, but at least there is now a nice bathroom. If you stayed with us here, the press would find you very quickly – north London is not exactly the easiest place to hide, but Gloucestershire, I think, would be perfect.’
‘Oh Anna! I don’t know you but I love you already. Thank you, thank you, thank you!’
‘So when are you coming?’
Now it’s Saffron’s turn to sound sheepish. ‘Actually I’m hiding in the first-class lounge at LAX about to get on a flight.’
‘You mean you were flying over here with nowhere to stay?’
‘I didn’t know what else to do.’
‘Well, of course you are welcome here! Do you need anyone to pick you up from the airport?’
‘No. Pearce has organized a driver. Should I go straight down to the country? I just feel a bit weird about going somewhere I’ve never been before, by myself.’
‘You know, you will be fine. We will take you down there to start you off, show you where everything is, and you will be perfect. I am sure long walks in the country and roaring log fires will do you the world of good.’
‘You have roaring log fires?’
‘Ah. Well. No, actually. Not until