Page 85 of One Golden Summer

“Not with words, but your puffy eyes, pouty expression, stuffy nose, and refusing a glass of Kirsty’s wine are screaming heartbreak.” Ginger slanted her head. “If you don’t stop stalling, I’ll ring Kirsty and have her explain.”

“Go ahead and please enquire why she’s convinced I’m shagging Echo Black. The one person on this planet I wouldn’t be caught dead with, let alone fuck.” Saffron dug her fingernails into her own palm.

“The video wasn’t great.” Ginger pinched the bridge of her nose.

Saffron’s eyes narrowed. “You watched it?”

“It’s safe to assume everyone in your life saw it. I have to hand it to Echo, she knows how to go viral. Too bad she hasn’t caught the clap or syphilis. I think the latter could kill her.”

“It wouldn’t kill her. She would have just given it to me. The woman is great at walking away after blowing everything to smithereens.” Saffron made a kaboom sound.

“Let’s circle back to Kirsty.”

Saffron ground her teeth.

“Okay, since you refuse to speak, which I’m willing to bet is one of the sources of trouble with Kirsty, I’m going to take a stab at it. Kirsty won’t listen to you about Echo and how much you despise her. I can see her point—”

“How?” Saffron roared.

“Because there are countless photos of you two together looking beautiful and happy together. Even before the other night. How many red carpets have you graced together? Award shows? Nights out?”

Saffron rested her head on the back of the chair, gazing into the violet sky as night slowly descended. “That’s all for show. Everything about that part of my life is for others, not me.”

Ginger squeezed Saffron’s arm. “I know that, but not everyone understands that. You’re so secretive, which keeps everyone away from you, and I understand that’s your goal. However, if you want a chance to let Kirsty in, you can’t bury the parts of your life you don’t want on display for the public.”

“I don’t know how to do that.” Saffron wiped away a tear.

“I’ve found talking helps when communicating.”

Saffron levelled her gaze on her sister, the wetness making it difficult to see clearly. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Explain it to me, please.”

“How can I trust her? Or anyone? Helena explained about the website, but still, it happened. What’s to stop something like that occurring in the future? It’ll always be in the back of my mind.” Saffron flicked a hand in the air, before letting it fall into her lap.

Ginger perked up in her seat. “What happened with what website? Remember, you have to fill in the gaps and not assume everyone knows all the important details.”

“The website isn’t the actual issue. It all comes back to the same thing. Someone sharing photos that weren’t meant to be shared. Echo is the master, but Helena comes in second.”

“How does Helena factor in?” Ginger squinted one eye, as if trying to slot everything into place, but failing.

“She’s been taking photos of me, and building a promo page on the shop’s website, because why not.” Saffron flicked a helpless hand in the air. “I don’t deserve privacy or respect from anyone. Maybe I should become a hermit.”

“No hermitting,” Ginger scolded.

“That’s not a word.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Ginger reached for her phone and spoke in an exasperated voice, “Just tell me what website you’re talking about.”

“Wine Time, but that particular page is down.”

Ginger acted out throttling Saffron. “Words. I need them to know what the bloody hell is going on.”

“Helena had Anton, her son, created a promo page for the shop that exploited my name saying Saffron Oliver gets all her wine from it. An endorsement I never gave permission for, not to mention the photos Helena had furtively snapped. The night I went to London, Antonaccidentallymade it live.” Saffron made quote marks.

“Do you think Anton and Helena are lying?”

“No.” Saffron tugged her shirtsleeves past her wrists, the night air growing chilly.