Page 74 of Best Supporting Actor

“Only when I remember I’m sleeping with Dame Cordelia Warren’s son.” He grinned, then, more seriously, added, “Does it freakyouout?”

Jay considered. “I suppose it does, in a way…” He looked down at their threaded fingers, then back up to Tag’s face. “I wasn’t spinning you a line when I said I have a rule about not getting involved with co-stars. I do, and it's there for a reason.”

“Yeah, I figured. What was his name?”

“Oh God,” Jay groaned, slumping back on the sofa. “Is it that obvious?”

Tag grinned. “Tell me his name and I’ll punch his lights out.”

That made Jay laugh. “Yeah? Maybe not.”

“You don’t think I could take him?”

“I’m sure you could take him,” Jay said, smiling ruefully. “But it might not be a great career move.”

Tag’s eyes rounded. “Really? Oh my God, who is it?”

Over the years, Jay had become so used to keeping the secret that he hesitated, even though he’d long ago realised that his loyalty had been misplaced. But it actually felt strangely empowering when he looked over at Tag and said, “Sebastian Talbot.”

Tag’s jaw dropped. “Shit. You’re kidding me.”

Jay shook his head. “We were inThe Birthday Partytogether. I was straight out of RADA…” He made a face. “The whole thing was a fucking disaster.”

“But he’s like…” Tag was obviously doing the maths. “Isn’t he in his fifties?”

“He is now, but this was over ten years ago.”

“So, what? He was in his forties, and you were… Twenty-two?”

“Twenty-one.”

Tag winced. “Yikes.”

“Yeah. And of course Seb wasn’t out back then, so it all had to be this big bloody secret.” He shook his head. “It was a huge mistake.”

“Hismistake.”

For the most part, Jay had come to accept that was true. “I could have said no.”

“Couldyou?” Tag held his gaze, lips pursed. They both knew the score; the power dynamics in the industry could be toxic, and plenty of young actors fell victim to coercion.

It hadn’t been that, though. Even after a decade, Jay felt embarrassed to admit the truth. “Yeah, I could have, but he was…charismatic and commanding. I idolised him. Itrustedhim.” He grimaced. “I thought I was in love. I thought he was too.”

“Oh Jay,” Tag said softly, leaning in to hug him. “What happened?”

Jay didn’t want to go into all the gory details, and it was a pretty dull story anyway when you stripped it down to its core. He blew out a breath. “In a nutshell? Seb liked the idea of me, but the reality? Not so much. I frustrated him. And let’s say my, uh, performance disappointed him—both on stage and off. The play was a disaster. Well,Iwas a disaster in it, and Seb dropped me like a hot coal. That’s pretty much it.”

“Jesus,” Tag said, looking appalled. “What a fucking arsehole.”

“Yeah, well, lesson learned.” Jay smiled at Tag, happy suddenly to be there with him, older and wiser. Reaching up, he ran his thumb over Tag’s cheek, earning a smile in return. “So that’s why I decided never to do this again…”

“Except that you are doing it.”

“I am.” Jay’s smile felt crooked. “But it’s different this time.”

“Yeah?”

Jay nodded. “This time, we both know exactly where we stand. This time, nobody’s going to get hurt.”