finding them desperately erotic.
Husband and wife were in the back of a limousine heading for Geisha, an exclusive Chinese restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard. It was their first time out as a couple in months and Jimmy was experiencing first-date jitters. It was crazy.
The moment Kate had returned from London, it was like a new woman had walked back into the marriage. She was confident, poised, attractive–she was sexy again. Jimmy noticed a lift in her tits; a new shape to her ass; a glint in her eye. Her hair was glossy and she wore it loose. Her face had expression–what’s more, she was smiling. There must have been something in Thames water.
Everyone said that absence made the heart grow fonder. Despite the fact he’d been sleeping with Chloe French for most of Kate’s, that could be it. But, no, it was more. London must have agreed with her. Kate was a changed woman.
Tonight they were meeting Danielle and George Roman. Danielle was helping Kate design her new fashion range.
‘I’m starving,’ said Jimmy, thinking about pork balls. He spread his arm across the back of the seat, hoping Kate would nuzzle in. There was a lot of ground to make up.
Kate flashed him a brilliant smile. Wow, not since the start of their marriage had he seen one of those. But she stayed where she was, her impressive body turned to the window, the elegant line of her neck sweeping up from the collar of her silk blouse. Christ, thought Jimmy, she even sat different.
Damn it! It was one thing her resisting his advances before, but now …
He knew Chloe would be on tap for sex even if his wife wasn’t. Normally the thought would have comforted him, but now he wasn’t sure. What the hell had Chloe been thinking, calling him at home? Young girls were always such a liability.
The couple emerged outside Geisha, smiling and clasping hands to greet the waiting paparazzi. As Jimmy hooked an arm round his wife and pulled her close, they even shared a kiss. He couldn’t remember the last time.
The friendly patron came out to greet them, did a series of shallow bows before taking them through to their customary window table, festooned with glowing lanterns. The others were already there.
‘Darling!’ gushed Danielle, standing to greet her. Kate thought she looked outdated in pearls and chiffon. Fleetingly she wondered if Danielle was best placed to back the KL range.
‘You look sensational,’ she fibbed, leaning in for the obligatory air affair.
George took her shoulders and planted matter-of-fact kisses on both her cheeks. Kate had always harboured a bit of a thing for George, in the way women can be attracted to bastards.
Jimmy hung back like the awkward teenager at a party of grown-ups. He hadn’t done a decent film in years–the sting of his fat-suit effort still smarted–and the role Brock had been working to secure had fallen through at the last minute. As they took their seats he realised that Kate had the status here, not him.
Suddenly he felt depressed. Kate’s fortunes were changing and if he wasn’t careful he’d get left behind. Without his wife, what was he? A washed-up alcoholic, that’s what. It was a sobering thought.
The women were babbling on about fabrics.
Danielle gestured dramatically. ‘You won’t believe what I’ve been working on!’
George rolled his eyes in an indulgent way, looking at Jimmy for affirmation. Jimmy smiled back faintly and examined the wine list. George’s hand had disappeared under the table and, if he wasn’t mistaken, was tending to Danielle’s lap. He doubted she needed help rearranging her napkin.
By the time the hors d’oeuvres arrived, Jimmy was developing a wine headache. The chatter was incessant. He wanted to take Kate home, get some time to themselves, rectify things.
‘How’re the kids?’ George asked through shards of prawn cracker.
‘They’re doing great,’ said Jimmy, not honestly knowing how they were. It seemed he and Kate had achieved something exceptional by having children in Hollywood–and by staying a family. Despite the fat suit and the mess of his affairs, this was something he could say he had achieved. Without it, he was no one.
At the mention of her children, Kate tuned into the men’s conversation. She watched Jimmy out the side of her eye as Danielle, who had already polished off several glasses of champagne, confided that she and George had been trying for kids of their own.
‘Shh, darling,’ hushed George, gesturing for her to be quiet.
As Danielle meekly obeyed, Kate felt thankful that she was