Page 61 of Meet Me at Sunset

‘I’m going now. Going to the show. I’ll be back in an hour. When I return, I want you gone. Pack up your things, and get out. I never want to see you again.’

Chapter 28

At the S’Estaca estate, perched high above the sea on a rocky cliffside, Stephanie Moon was preparing for the show. She was dressed in vintage Camille Andre, which Camille had arranged to be couriered over especially from the archives in Paris. It was the flowing white tuxedo suit, which a teenage Stephanie had seen Kate Moss wearing on the runway, and she’d confided in Camille how much she’d adored it. It fitted her like a glove and, as Stephanie stared at her reflection, her copper hair pulled back in a sleek low ponytail so it didn’t detract from the outfit, she couldn’t believe how incredible she felt to be wearing something so iconic.

Stephanie was beyond grateful to Camille for such a wonderful gesture, and was eager to thank her in person. She wanted to support Catherine too, who was the star attraction at today’s show. Having been named as the face of the brand, she would also be walking the runway, and the two of them would head over to the palacio together just as soon as their driver arrived.

More than anything, Stephanie couldn’t deny that she was looking forward to seeing Lucas. She was hoping that after the show they could pick up where they’d left off yesterday, before he’d had to run off to open the restaurant. The chemistry between them was electric. He was gorgeous and charming, and Stephanie was incredibly attracted to him; she was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. And now that Elle was out of the picture, there was nothing to stand in their way.

Lucas had been so supportive these past few days; he hadn’t judged her, or patronized her, when she’d revealed her turbulent background and the childhood insecurities that had led her to almost sabotage her career. Instead, he’d listened and seemed to understand – his upbringing as a spoiled only child had been very different from hers, but he too had suffered more than his fair share of trauma and knew what it was like to feel unwanted by your family.

With both his and Catherine’s support, Stephanie had blossomed over the past couple of weeks. She was almost ready to go back to work, though she knew she would have a lot of apologizing to do, and would have to go above and beyond to get her career back on track. Just as soon as this show was done, she’d bite the bullet and call Victoria, her agent, to put the wheels in motion for her return. Though the worst part about returning to the UK would be leaving Lucas behind …

She broke off from applying a final coat of mascara as her phone began to ring, Lucas’s name showing on the caller display.

‘Hey,’ she grinned as she picked it up, her smile evident in her voice. ‘I was just thinking about you.’

‘Oh really? What were you thinking?’

‘I’ll show you later,’ she teased. ‘I hope you had a good night at the restaurant, and it was worth running out on me like that …’

‘What? Oh, not exactly …’

‘Is everything OK? You sound distracted.’

‘Yeah, you could say that. There’s a lot going on.’

‘I can imagine. Are you at the venue yet?’

‘No, not yet. I have some other things to take care of first.’

‘Anything I can help with?’ Stephanie zipped up her make-up bag and sat down on the stool at the vanity table, looking out of the window at the terraced gardens stretching down to the dazzling blue of the Balearic Sea, the colour deepening as it approached the horizon. Boats bobbed up and down on the white-tipped waves, as the sun reflected off the water like diamonds. ‘You do sound really stressed.’

Lucas hesitated. ‘You’re definitely coming to the show, right?’

‘Of course. I want to support Catherine, and your mother. They’ve both been so good to me – Camille’s sent me the most gorgeous outfit; I can’t wait for you to see it.’

But Lucas didn’t acknowledge her words. ‘Stephanie, there’s something I have to tell you and I don’t want you to change your mind about coming. But you need to know before you get there – it’s not fair for you to walk in unprepared.’

Stephanie frowned. Lucas sounded serious. ‘You’re worrying me. What is it? Have you changed your mind about us?’

‘No, of course not, but …’ He took a deep breath. ‘I spoke to Elle this morning.’

‘OK,’ Stephanie said, trying to keep her tone neutral. She told herself that there was nothing to be jealous of – they had recently ended a long-term relationship and the split was still raw, of course they would speak from time to time.

‘She … she’s pregnant.’

Stephanie almost dropped the phone in shock. ‘Oh my God! But what … what does this mean for us, Lucas? What are you going to do?’

There was a long pause and Stephanie’s stomach tightened with anxiety, ‘What do you want to do?’

When Lucas spoke, she could hear the uncertainty in his voice ‘I don’t know yet. I need to figure it out. But if she’s pregnant with my child then … I can’t just abandon her.’

‘Of course not, but …’ Stephanie trailed off. This was too much to take in right now. Her world had been turned upside down in an instant. A few moments ago, she been hopeful and excited for the future, with barely a care in the world. Now, the man she’d hoped might play a part in that bright future was having a baby with his ex-girlfriend. It felt messy and problematic, an added complication that Stephanie didn’t need right now.

‘Look,’ she began. ‘Maybe … this isn’t the right time for us. You need to sort things out with Elle, take some space, decide what you want to do … I need to go back to England anyway, see if I can rescue what remains of my career.’ She laughed humourlessly.

‘Stephanie, I don’t want it to end like this. Hell, I don’t want it to end, full stop.’