I laughed and put a blob of foam on his nose.
‘That’s the solution. Throw some money.’
‘Don’t make me out to be some kind of fat cat.’
‘Why not?’
‘I wish I was. Those bastards aren’t going to fund the film.’
I sat up, sloshing bubbly water around my hips and turned to face him.
‘No? Why not?’
‘They won’t wear you as lead actress. But I don’t want anybody else. You’re my Walters. I’m your Dunraven. That’s the only way it can be.’
‘Oh, but Jasper, it isn’t. Not really. And besides, I still don’t think I want to be an actor. It’s not my thing.’
‘But I want you to,’ he said.
‘There isn’t a lot I won’t do for you. You know that. You can make me do so many things I never imagined I would. But you can’t make me be another person.’
‘I don’t want you to be another person.’
‘Well, that’s good. Because I’m not, and never will be, a performer. It’s just not me. You can look at my bare bottom as much as you like, but it’s not for general consumption
.’
He laughed, and I relaxed. I’d been worried he might try the hard sell and I wasn’t sure how much of that I could take before I gave in.
‘Well, yeah,’ he said. ‘That’s a very good point. I’m not sure I want the whole world perving on your gorgeous bum.’
‘Right then. Get back to those guys and tell them you’ll cast a big name.’
‘Are you ordering me about?’
‘No, of course not.’
He pinched my ear.
‘I should hope not. Come on. Scrub up. If I call them now, they might not be too drunk yet. Or, hopefully, just drunk enough to sign on the dotted line.’
* * *
I lolled on the bed in my fluffy hotel bathrobe with a glass of wine from the minibar, while Jasper got his phone out.
‘What’s this?’ he said, frowning at the display. ‘Message from Ludo, at the office. He’s working late.’
I examined my fingernails. How lovely they had looked before the party and now they were all ragged from clinging to that branch. Good manicures were wasted on the likes of me. I was definitely a low-maintenance kind of girl.
‘“Hi, Jasper, I thought you ought to see this before it’s everywhere,”’ read Jasper. ‘And there’s a link. It’s like one of those spam messages, isn’t it? But I’m pretty sure it’s legit. OK, I’ll click. Here goes.’
Something about the way his body stiffened drew my eye straight to him. He was pale and, when he raised his eyes to mine, they were glassy with shock.
‘Sorry,’ he said.
‘What is it?’ I scrambled off the bed and reached for the phone.
‘I’m really sorry,’ he said, handing it to me. ‘This is my fault.’