Page 94 of Private Lives

The kitchen led off the living room through foldback wooden doors. Anna poured them both a beer and handed him a glass, perching on a stool at her breakfast bar.

‘So how’s things?’

‘Career on the skids, a gay lover moving into my house . . .’

‘Really?’

‘Not really. About the lover, anyway. I have my mate staying with me and the press have found another angle.’

‘I heard about the arrest,’ said Anna.

‘Yeah. Me – the hard man of Hollywood.’

‘You should get off. Aren’t Stein and Kotter repping you in New York? They’re really good.’

‘Should we go outside?’ he said distractedly. ‘It looks like a little sun-trap out there.’

She led him out to her courtyard garden, where the early-evening sun warmed his face. He felt as if he was on a first date in some pretty country pub, an idea that somehow excited him.

They sat for a while, watching a pair of yellow butterflies spiral around a lavender plant.

‘So what are you doing back in London?’

‘Can I tell you a secret?’

‘That’s what I’m here for.’ She smiled.

‘I’m putting on a show. A comedy show, with my friend Mike McKenzie.’

He was surprised at himself for telling her, especially when he had kept his plans so under wraps from Helen Pierce.

‘Mike McKenzie the comedian?’ said Anna, her eyes wide. ‘I love him! I went to see his stand-up show at Wembley. I had all the videos and everything. Such a shame he gave it all up.’

‘Well he’s back.’ Sam puffed out his cheeks, feeling a rush of dread race through his body. It was the first time he had told anyone about his plan with Mike, and it was almost as if saying it out loud had made it real.

‘Amazing,’ she said, looking genuinely excited. ‘So what is it? A two-man show?’

‘Two men and their gags. It’s so far out of my comfort zone, it’s not even funny. To think I have entered into this arrangement willingly.’

‘I think it’s a great idea.’

‘I know you’re paid to be nice to me, but if you think it’s a crap idea, then I want to know.’

‘It’s a radical change in direction, but that’s why it’s so clever and exciting.’

Her words, spoken so bluntly, her expression, so sincere and open, fortified him.

‘What about you? I hope you didn’t get into too much trouble after what happened.’

She suddenly looked distracted. She sipped her beer, and when she looked at him again, it was with her usual can-do efficiency.

‘I’m glad you came,’ she said finally. ‘I want to talk to you about that. The injunction.’

Sam waved a hand. ‘It’s old news. Let’s just get pissed and pretend we’re back in Capri.’

‘I think you might have been set up,’ she replied flatly.

He pulled away from the table in disbelief.