Million Love Songs(98)

Chapter Ninety-Two





Too soon, it’s time to go back to the hotel and get ready for the concert – but that’s exciting too. I’ve never been to see a band abroad before, so I can chalk up another first. It feels like a very sophisticated thing to do. I can now drop, casually, into conversations, ‘Oh, when I saw Gary in Paris … ’

Life with Mason certainly isn’t short on excitement.

I have a shower first. If Mason and I go in together, we’ll never get out tonight and there’ll be two empty seats in the VIP rows. I let the water wash away the dust of the day and then, wrapping myself in one of the hotel’s fluffy towels, go back into the bedroom. ‘Your turn,’ I say to Mason.

He throws his phone down. ‘Do you want to send for some tea before we go out?’

‘No. I’m fine. We’ll be hooking up with Charlie soon. I’ll probably just hit the wine again.’

Mason slaps my bottom playfully as he passes. ‘My kind of woman.’

So I towel myself down and smile as I listen to Mason whistling tunelessly in the shower. He sounds happy too and I really think that we can make a good go of this relationship.

Charlie gave me one of the tour T-shirts as a present and I’m thrilled to put it on tonight. If I’m going to shake the hand of The Barlow, I want to look not only as hot as I possibly can, but like a total fangirl. I get a flutter of nerves in my tummy.

Then Mason’s phone pings on the bed and, without thinking, I pick it up and glance at the text that comes in.

I’ll be waiting. V xx it says. My stomach drops.

I glance towards the bathroom, but Mason’s whistling tells me that he’s still in the shower and oblivious to the incoming text. I notice that my fingers are trembling as I scroll back through the previous messages. Clearly these are intimate texts. Ones that weren’t intended for my eyes.

Mason to V. I’m in town, babe. Available?

Always for you. Where r u? Shall I come over? V xx

Mason to V. Valerie. It has to be.

He’s tapped in our hotel name. Here with a friend. A friend? Is that how Mason sees me? Nothing more than that?

You or both tonight? V xx

Me. She’s not interested in fun.

Good. I get to have you all to myself. When? V xx

I flick through them feeling both sick and guilty at the same time. All the time that I thought we were having a lovely romantic weekend and Mason has been texting another woman. And not just any other woman. It has to be Valerie. The one we shared a threesome with. And, for the record, I am interested in bloody fun, but the kind of ‘fun’ that only involves one other person.

Guiltily, I carry on scrolling. Though, if we analyse this, I’m not the one who should be feeling guilty. Supposed to be seeing Take That.

Afterwards? V xx

The sooner the better. I’ll find some excuse not to go & come over to hotel. Same room as usual?

Then the first text I saw. I’ll be waiting. V xx

I put down the phone. I should feel angry, raging, but I don’t. Perhaps that’s telling. I’m not even cross or surprised. There’s a kind of inevitability about it all. I’m sad more than anything. Sad, weary and disappointed. Disappointed in Mason and in myself. I ignored all my instincts, all the warning signs and allowed myself to believe that this was for real when in my heart I knew it was too good to be true that Mason was a reformed character. Turns out I was right.





Chapter Ninety-Three





Quickly, quietly, I get dressed in my Take That T-shirt and jeans. I throw the rest of my clothes into my weekend case. I stuff the concert tickets from the bedside table into my handbag.

I look towards the bathroom door where, inside, Mason is still happily going through his ablutions. Perhaps he’s making sure that his shave is extra close, putting on a splash more after shave, looking forward to tonight’s entertainment. And I don’t mean getting up close and personal with Gary Barlow. Mason has an entirely different form of entertainment on his mind. Well, good luck to him. I won’t be part of it. I’ve had one cheating, shagging, bastard ex, I’ll not have another one.

With only a brief glimpse round the beautiful room, I tiptoe out and close the door behind me.

Out on the street, I hail a cab and, when I’m settled in the back seat, I call Charlie and tell her that I’m on my way to their hotel. It’s only then that I have a good cry.





Chapter Ninety-Four





The cab pulls up at Charlie’s hotel where she and Nice Paul are sitting out at the pavement tables having a beer in the sunshine. I pay the driver and wheel my case over to them.

‘I’m not liking the look of this,’ Charlie says, eyeing my luggage.

I pull up a chair and sit down, then signal to the waiter that I’d like a beer too. In fact, I’d quite like a dozen or more. But, as I don’t know how to say a dozen in French, I settle for one. For now.

When I take off my sunglasses, Charlie adds, ‘You’ve got puffy eyes too.’

There’s no point beating about the bush. ‘Mason was texting another woman to arrange to see her tonight. I caught him out.’

‘Seeing someone here?’

‘Valerie.’ I raise an eyebrow.

Charlie’s eyeballs nearly ping out of her head. ‘Valerie! Her of the …?’