Page 111 of Guilty Pleasures

‘Not the US cover. Not yet, anyway,’ he grinned. ‘But if the US cover is some TV star no one’s heard of over here, we might get the British cover. Remember that Patsy Kensit and Liam Gallagher ‘Cool Britannia’ cover? That was never a US cover but they stuck it on the British issue and it was still one of the most memorable magazine images of the last twenty years, wasn’t it.’

‘Well, let’s just wait and see, huh, Liam?’ smiled Stella. Secretly she was hoping they weren’t on any Vanity Fair or any other cover, any time soon. Things had returned to normal with Emma after their showdown in the studio, and although her boss had made it clear she had no wish to be in the public eye, Stella was conscious not to steal any more of her boss’s thunder. Her eyes darted around the room searching for a face.

‘Why are you so edgy, baby?’ asked Johnny.

‘He’s not here, is he?’

‘Who?’

‘My father.’

Johnny squeezed her hand.

‘You kind of knew he wasn’t going to be, didn’t you?’

‘Yes,’ she sighed. ‘But you always hope.’

Johnny turned her around and looked her in the eye.

‘People are always going to disappoint you in life, Stella. So Chessie got her way and they’re not here, but look around! Five hundred people are here to see you and the things that you’ve created. Are you going to let Chessie and your father ruin that?’

She nodded. Johnny was right. This was the biggest night of her life and she wasn’t going to let anything or anyone spoil it.

‘You’ll never guess what,’ said Jessica, snaking her hand around Rob’s waist and pushing her mouth close to his ear.

‘What? Sorry, I was miles away,’ said Rob, rather startled to see her. While Jessica had spent the last half hour flitting around like a social butterfly, Rob had been thinking about Emma, or rather about what she had said. Was she right? Did he want to settle down? Did he want to settle down with Jessica? When he had first got together with Madeline, a friend had quipped that relationships were a question of timing. That had turned out to be correct: when Rob had met Maddy, he had been mourning his brother; he’d just taken a job in his father’s company and had wanted to embrace a more stable and sensible way of life. Maddy had fitted the bill perfectly, but the more he had got sucked into the record industry and the temptations that came with it, the more that relationship had faltered. But maybe now he was ready. As forty loomed, he was sick of transient relationships. He looked at Jessica smiling up at him. She was good company and beautiful. She knew his crowd, and didn’t make too many demands on him, she fitted comfortably into his life. But was she really so different from any of the indeterminate blondes, brunettes and redheads who had shared his bed in the last decade? Maybe it was just timing after all.

‘Sorry, Jess, got a lot on my mind at the moment,’ said Rob, returning her embrace. ‘What were you telling me?’

‘I was telling you how much I love this party!’ she gushed. ‘First of all I get invited to Donatella’s party on Sunday, then I speak to Eugene Vlodsky who says he’s going too and can give us a lift to Milan in his father’s jet! Isn’t that just so cool?’

Rob pulled away from her, frowning.

‘You want to go to a fashion party in Milan this weekend? Have you forgotten what we’re supposed to be doing?’

‘Of course not, we’re seeing Polly, aren’t we?’ said Jessica casually.

She grabbed a raspberry martini off a passing tray and continued talking in rapid-fire sentences.

‘But Eugene isn’t leaving until 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. If we have a car waiting at Linate airport, or better still, hop in Eugene’s, that will give us enough time to get to the party. We can still go to Norfolk if we can get Polly back to her mum on Sunday morning.’

Rob looked at her, open-mouthed.

‘What’s the matter?’ asked Jessica. ‘Don’t you want to go?’

‘Any other weekend, of course I’d like to go to Donatella Versace’s party,’ he said, his back stiffening. ‘But this weekend I’d like to see my daughter. I’ve arranged for the three of us to go to Norfolk. Besides which, Maddy is in England for a wedding and she won’t be able to look after Polly. Not without enormous inconvenience to her anyway.’

He felt a sudden swell of loyalty towards Maddy. Whatever differences they might have had, however cold and patrician he thought she was, she took her parental responsibilities more seriously than anything else in her life. And for that he respected her a great deal. Jessica pursed her mouth, looking deep in thought.

‘Well, how about I come back from Norfolk on Sunday morning? Can’t you get your driver to pick me up? Eugene is flying out of Luton so that’s really handy for East Anglia anyway.’

Rob ran his hand through his hair.

‘Jess, why am I getting the feeling you don’t want to come? Don’t you want to meet Polly?’

‘Of course I want to meet her. I bet she’s adorable.’

‘So …’