Page 21 of Love Will Save the Day
I nod slowly. I’ve heard of that place. It’s where tons of celebrities go. I’m not dressed for somewhere like that. Neither is my dad.
‘Oh you don’t have to go to all that trouble!’ I say. ‘I’m happy to cook. I can’t let you pay’
‘It’s all organised.’ Henry says smiling even more widely. ‘And it’s on the house. Auguste is going to come along and shoot some content. The restaurant is going to sponsor our lunch in return for a spot on my channel. Isn’t that wonderful!’
‘Oh,’ I say, feeling more than a little weird about this turn of events. I look at my dad, but he seems delighted at the thought of a free lunch.
‘Only the best for the woman who saved my life,’ Henry says as we head out to his car.
‘Saved your life?’ Dad asks, confused.
‘Oh!’ Henry slides into the front passenger seat, Auguste getting into the driver’s seat with his camera equipment and me and Dad in the back. ‘She didn’t tell you?’ Henry shakes his head. ‘Gosh, if I did what she did I’d be telling everyone I met for the rest of my life. Your daughter here saw me choking on the street and gave me the Heimlich. That’s how we met!’
My dad looks between me and Henry. ‘Wow, Bess! Well done!’
I smile weakly. ‘Yeah. Thanks, Dad.’
‘I actually thought Bess was maybe dating one of you lads,’ Dad says, mortifyingly. ‘And that she didn’t want to tell me. She doesn’t tell me anything.’
I feel my cheeks flush. ‘I am not dating anyone, Dad,’ I squeak, shuffling uncomfortably. ‘Henry offered me a place to stay is all.’
Dad looks confused. ‘But what was wrong with your old place? Could you not afford it? You know you could have called me?’
I should have known this would come up but still I start to stutter, the thought of Dad knowing that my life here is anything less than perfect making me panic. ‘Well I uh… uh…’
‘Oh, I was desperate for a live-in trainer,’ Henry jumps in, giving me a reassuring grin. ‘I practically begged Bess to come and stay so that she could train me twice a day while I prepare for a marathon in summer.’
‘Alive-intrainer?’ Dad’s eyebrows shoot up. ‘What a world. I didn’t know that was a thing.’
‘It is,’ Henry says. ‘Bess has client enquiries coming out of her ears at the moment so I was lucky to get time with her while I could.’
Dad looks at me with an expression I’ve never seen him wear whilst looking at me. He is truly impressed. I feel a warm glow spread through my limbs.
Thank you, Henry Byron. Again!
‘And you are definitely not dating?’ Dad asks again, doing what dads do and embarrassing the heck out of me just for kicks. He nudges me with his elbow to let me know he’s winding me up.
‘No. Definitely not!’ I say firmly.
‘Hey, no need to be so emphatic!’ Henry retorts, turning back to look at us, eyes twinkling. ‘Things change every day,’ he says, then his voice turning serious. ‘You never know what’s around the corner.’
My heart beats faster at Henry’s clear expression of interest. I can’t help but be flattered, but I know I must not go there. It would be way beyond the stunt I’m pulling now. You can’t enter into a romantic dalliance with someone you’re sort of conning. It’s totally wrong. Dad gives me another look of approval. For some reason I catch Auguste’s eye in the rear-view mirror, his face is unreadable.
Henry gives me that charming, open smile once more. I get the feeling that me not wanting to continue kissing him yesterday has not put him off. Not at all.
Lunch goes better than I could have hoped and by the time we’ve dropped Dad off at his Airbnb and arrived home, I’m certain that Dad is 100% convinced that I am a huge London success. Not only am I living in a wonderful mews house in Notting Hill, I was unable to focus on my meal at the restaurant because so many clients were calling and messaging, trying to get appointments. And when Henry took a selfie of us all and told us he was posting it on Instagram with the caption ‘Lunch With The Family’, Dad asked for Henry’s username so he could join Instagram and follow him. I couldn’t help but feel icky at all the lies I was telling, as well as the fact that Henry was already referring to us as his ‘Family’, but I know now that there’s no way Dad will worry about me when he returns home. After seeing what I have going on here, there’s no way he’ll ask me to go back to Bristol to work at Festival of Carpets. The way things are going with all of these clients, I’ll get a new place of my own really soon, be back on my feet and then I can come clean with Henry and just hope he understands and forgives me.
Back at the house, Auguste, who has been a little quiet today, grabs his laptop off the kitchen table. ‘I am going to work on my submission for the festival,’ he says, heading up the stairs.
Henry returns from the kitchen with a bottle of champagne and two flutes, doing a daft little dance as he walks.
‘What are you up to?’ I ask, laughing at the fact that he is always so full of energy and positivity.
Henry pops open the bottle and pours the amber liquid into the flutes, handing me one of them. ‘We are celebrating a lovely day. Is that alright with you?’
I take a sip of the champagne aware that I should stick to the one glass – I have sessions with three new clients tomorrow!
‘I’m glad you met my dad,’ I say. ‘He was so impressed with your YouTubing.’
