Page 46 of Never Date a Celebrity

“What is it? You’re killing us here,” Niamh said impatiently, pushing her blue pen behind her ear. “Is Sally giving out free lap dances with the satsumas today?”

“Or maybe Cian’s selling a nude calendar for twenty twenty-seven with strategically placed breads?” Imogen quipped. Niamh grinned and high-fived her.

Piper pretended to look annoyed even though she was clearly amused. “Better than both of those ridiculous things.” She held out her two hands. “Amelia Whitlock was in Ballyluck.”

“What?” Niamh exclaimed so loudly that Imogen almost jumped out of her skin. “Catch yourself on! No, she wasn’t.”

“She was.”

Niamh blinked at her. “When?”

“Last week,” Piper replied, bouncing on her heels with excitement. “Rory and Jonathan said they were out for a walk one morning and saw her just standing there at the bottom of the main street.”

“No. It can’t have been her,” Niamh said in disbelief. “Why would Amelia Whitlock be standing at the bottom of our main street? I love it and all, but nothing ever happens here.”

“That’s what I said, but the guys said they were certain,” Piper said with a shrug. “They did a triple-take.”

Niamh’s eyes widened even more. “Well, did they go up to her? What did she say? Why the hell was she here? Tell me everything.”

In contrast to Niamh’s enthusiasm, Imogen could feel herself switching off. Talk about an anticlimax—she probably would have been more excited if it were the calendars or lap dances. But she knew it was their thing, Niamh’s and Piper’s, so she threw them both an indulging smile before she casually turned back and continued to count her miniature Malbecs.

“They said they were too shell-shocked and nervous to go over and speak to her. Who knows why she was here? Like you said, what on earth would bring Amelia Whitlock all the way out to Ballyluck?” Piper pulled her phone out of her pocket. “I’m going to have a look on her Insta to see if there’s anything, though if it was for promo we would have heard about it. I follow her on everything.”

“Well, check it and see.” Niamh leaned against the bar. “Can you imagine if she came back? What if she comes into the pub?”

Imogen wrote down the number nineteen on her stock sheet and turned back around. “Was she nice when you guys met her at the open day?” It was only polite to show a little interest.

“We didn’t get to meet her,” Niamh said. She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. “I don’t think she was there.”

“She wasn’t there,” Piper mumbled while staring down at her phone. “I would have been drawn to her like a moth to a flame if she had been.”

“That’s a shame,” Imogen said as she moved onto the next item on her stock sheet. “I know you guys are big fans.”

“An understatement,” Niamh said. “If I was a teenager, I’d have her posters plastered all over my bedroom wall.”

Imogen chuckled. “She’s that good, huh?”

“Seriously, Imogen. You’ve no idea. Piper, are you on her Instagram?”

“I am,” Piper said, squinting down at the screen. “There’s nothing about her being in Ballyluck. But there’s loads of photos of Ireland. She seems to like it here, judging by her posts.”

“Show Imogen a photo of her,” Niamh said.

Imogen refrained from rolling her eyes. They both knew that she wasn’t in the habit of drooling over air-brushed celebrities, but they were both so excited she would humour them anyway. “Let’s see then.”

Piper turned the phone around and when she did, Imogen’s heart felt like it stopped beating. It was one of those very rare times in life when everything started to feel like it was moving in slow motion. Imogen blinked a few times to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating, and when she confirmed that she wasn’t, her blood turned ice cold. What the fuck?

“Didn’t I tell you she was gorgeous?” Niamh said dreamily, mistaking Imogen’s silence for appreciation rather than the stone-cold shock that it was.

“Um.” Imogen couldn’t manage to get any proper words out in that moment—they wouldn’t squeeze past the sick feeling in the back of her throat.

Piper turned the phone back around to herself. “She’s amazing. I can’t believe she was in Ballyluck and Rory and Jonathan saw her. Why didn’t I go for a walk and see her? Now I’m going to regret my own laziness for the rest of my life.” She bumped Imogen’s shoulder. “I’m coming walking with you every morning from now on, Immy.”

Imogen swallowed, still unsure of what to say.

“Immy?” Piper glanced at her, turning concerned. “Why are you not talking? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, you’ve gone a bit pale,” Niamh added, taking a couple of steps toward her. “What’s wrong? Do you need to sit down or something?” She put her arm gently around Imogen’s back.