arm around Sheridan Sinclair. They looked pally. Comfortable with each other. In another photo he sat in a booth drinking coffee with Sheridan and her husband Daniel. His arm was held aloft as he took the selfie, trying to squeeze them all in. ‘These are my personal photos. I try to stay out of the public eye.’
‘How do you manage that?’ I had read of some celebrity PAs who had become famous in their own right, with a huge number of followers on social media, too.
‘Samantha Lockwood takes care of public engagements. Sheridan has a dozen or so people on her team.’
His face soured as he said Samantha’s name and I guessed there was no love lost between them.
‘But I’m the only one in her inner circle,’ he said proudly, twirling his finger in a circular motion. ‘And I’m a member of the NYCA.’
‘NYCA?’ I said blankly.
‘New York Celebrity Assistants,’ he said proudly. ‘It’s an elite association for assistants to celebs such as Oprah, James Patterson and so on. We all look out for each other. They help me resource anything from mink eyelashes to diamond-studded boots.’
‘Mink eyelashes?’ I said in surprise as a whole new world opened up to me.
‘Check this out,’ George continued. Flicking through his collection of pictures, he came to a video. The three of them – George, Daniel and Sheridan – were dressed up to the nines. It looked as if they were at some kind of award ceremony and George seemed a little the worse for wear. ‘Who’s the best PA in the world?’ he was saying, his words slurred.
‘My Georgie-Worgie,’ Sheridan replied, leaning into the camera phone until she kissed the screen. The clip came to an abrupt end.
‘That’s where she dropped my phone,’ he said. ‘I don’t normally go to ceremonies – Sheridan prefers me to be incognito.’ He swiped away the images and pocketed his phone. ‘So how do you feel about meeting them both? Daniel’s hot property, isn’t he?’
‘They’re amazing,’ I said, barely able to string together a coherent sentence.
Daniel Watson and Sheridan Sinclair. I knew they were married because they were such a famous couple, although I hadn’t heard about her in a while. Daniel, on the other hand, seemed to be everywhere these days. He was so damn gorgeous, and I’d watched most of his movies; not that I would be telling George that. It was his characters I fell in love with, and the roles he played: British tough guy with a soft heart. Kind but protective, tough but caring. My ideal man. I knew it wasn’t real and I didn’t want it to be, but now, knowing I was going to meet him in the flesh, I felt like I was made of jelly.
‘Oh!’ George’s exclamation made me jump. ‘There’s one more thing. I almost forgot.’ He thrust an empty hand towards me. ‘I’m going to need your phone.’
‘My phone? Why?’ I reached into my jacket pocket and handed him my mobile.
‘In case you’re tempted to share all this on social media.’ He raised his eyebrows. ‘Is that a problem? You’ll get it back when you leave.’
‘Um . . . no,’ I replied, feeling like I had given a little piece of myself away.
‘Good. Now. Are you ready to meet them?’ George pressed the button to lower the glass between us and the driver.
‘No . . .’ I shook my head. ‘I mean, yes . . . Oh God.’ I took a deep breath. What would Dympna say? No wonder there was so much secrecy. This celebrity couple wanted to raise my child and pass it off as their own. How would I feel afterwards, seeing them splashed all over the media? I realised George was staring at me. Say something! I screamed at myself. ‘I grew up watching Sheridan on TV. I’m a huge fan of It Takes All Sorts.’ I drew my hands to my face, the warmth of my fingertips reassuring me that I was wide awake.
George nodded in approval. ‘Me too. We’ll get to them in about ten minutes. That’ll give you time to digest it. Unless you’ve changed your mind? You know, if you’re worried about anything, you can confide in me. I won’t breathe a word.’
‘No, I’m fine.’ My reply was immediate. ‘If my friends could see me now . . .’ I shook my head in disbelief. I was about to say if Dympna could see me now, but something stopped me. I swallowed back my words as I