Rendez-Vous in Cannes. Jennifer Bohnet

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СКАЧАТЬ French representative; dinner with the American producer who was keen to come on board for the Agnes Marshall film. The fourth unconfirmed date was for the company party she was planning to hold, sometime during the festival, here at the villa. The actual date would have to be confirmed soon to avoid clashing with one of the big VIP parties. She also needed to talk to Poppy about the catering for it. The fifth entry in the diary ‘Ring Philippe’ would now never happen. Anna smothered a sigh. Telling Daisy she’d never worked with Philippe was true but perhaps she should have admitted to knowing him a long time ago? If his name ever came up in conversation between them again, she’d definitely apologise to Daisy for being economical with the truth.

      The sun had disappeared behind a cloud layer as she made her way indoors to shower and start unpacking. Hanging the evening gown she intended wearing for the weekend premiere in the spacious wardrobe, her attention was caught by a series of postcard-size photographs grouped together on the bedroom wall.

      Moving closer, she saw that some were sepia in colour and showed the beach and harbour before the Croisette was built. Another showed the old casino on the edge of the harbour with figures in Edwardian costume stiffly posing outside.

      The one that caught Anna’s attention was more recent: a black and white photo of a large building with square flat columns and a short flight of wide steps leading up to the entrance. Even as she bent closer to read the faded lettering at the base of the card, Anna had already recognised it as the old ‘Palais des Festivals Cannes’. It had been a lovely building, she thought affectionately. Such a shame it had been deemed too small to host the ever growing festival and conferences that had been encouraged to come to Cannes. It looked so different to the concrete ‘Bunker’ she’d had a glimpse of before Daisy had turned off the Croisette.

      Anna’s mobile phone rang as she finished arranging the rest of her clothes in the closet.

      Pressing the answer button with shaking fingers, she said, ‘Hello, Leo,’ as she ran downstairs to the kitchen.

      ‘Anna, my darling. How was the flight?’

      ‘Late and bumpy,’ Anna answered. ‘But I’m here now. Villa Flora is delightful – worth every euro the company is paying. A real find. You’re going to love it.’

      ‘Are you going out for dinner tonight?’

      ‘No. I’ve just had a swim and I’m about to indulge in a baguette and some cheese with a glass of rosé that Poppy very kindly left for me, before having an early night. Tomorrow I’ll wander down to Cannes and show my face. The office is doing all the major stuff – I just have to show up a couple of times and do as I’m told.’

      ‘Haven’t done any sightseeing yet then?’

      Anna laughed. ‘Leo, I’ve barely got here. I’ll probably have a bit of a mooch around tomorrow, if the crowds aren’t too large. I’ve got to do some food shopping anyway. How are things at your end?’ she asked, knowing that Leo was spending a few days with his daughter and her husband. ‘How’s Alison?’

      ‘She’s blooming,’ Leo laughed down the line. ‘Literally. Told me tonight she’s making me a grandfather before Christmas!’

      ‘How wonderful. You must be so thrilled. Do give her my love and congratulations,’ Anna said. ‘And Luke? Have you managed to speak to him?’

      Leo’s son, Luke, was some sort of troubleshooter for one of the large international banks and was always flying off somewhere. Anna had only met him the once and was in awe of his business acumen.

      ‘He’s fine too. Got some sort of crisis going on at the moment in Dubai. Alison has just called out dinner is ready, so I’d better go. We’ll speak tomorrow. Goodnight, my darling.’

      ‘Goodnight. Enjoy the evening,’ and Anna closed down her phone.

      Thoughtfully she prepared herself a supper tray with the goodies from the welcome basket, poured herself a glass of wine and carried it all out to a small poolside table. The moon was rising in the darkening sky and solar garden lights placed randomly around were starting to illuminate the terrace and garden.

      Sitting there, absently fingering the gold locket she always wore, memories about the past started to float into Anna’s mind. Carefully, she slipped the chain and its locket over her head and pressed the catch. Two photographs, a few strands of hair wedged under the inside rim, were nestling together in the interior.

      Anna brushed her tears away as she looked at the photos. For years she’d kept them as beloved mementoes. Not only were they a link to the past and a life never lived, they’d offered a degree of comfort, tricking her into believing that one day in the future, things would turn around. That past wrongs could be righted. But to make that dream come true, she’d needed to summon up the courage to tell the truth and shame the devil, as the old saying went. Her parents, though, had drummed that other old cliché, ‘we don’t wash our dirty linen in public’, deep into her psyche, making it impossible for Anna to ever contemplate shaming the devil.

      In recent years, every time she opened the locket, she’d always hoped that maybe one day her secret dream would come true of its own free will, without her doing anything. Then, she would replace the photo with a new, modern, colour version.

      Tonight, though, Anna knew she had to accept the facts. The locket photos would never be replaced with modern versions. She’d left it too late and too much time had passed. Nostalgia and regrets were all very well, but it was the future that mattered now. Her future with Leo.

      Leo. Just thinking about Leo brought a smile to Anna’s face and she allowed herself a little daydream about the two of them. She’d never dreamt about being married before, but since meeting Leo she’d started fantasising about life as Mrs Leo Hunter. What would her life be like as a married woman – having a ready-made family to spend time with? Alison and Luke were far too grown-up to need a stepmum, instead she hoped the friendships they’d all recently started to forge would become even stronger, particularly the one between herself and Alison. If Leo did propose to her, she could be taking on the role of step-grandmother to Alison’s new baby. A role she’d never expected to play in her life.

      Carefully, Anna replaced the chain and locket around her neck before picking up her wine glass and taking a thoughtful sip. She was sure that Leo felt the same way about her as she did about him, but maybe he was happy with the way things were? Perhaps he wouldn’t want to get married again. She was definitely getting ahead of herself here. Tempting fate. That would never do. Life had knocked her down before when she was at her happiest. Best not to take her current good fortune for granted.

      After collecting Anna, Daisy had no time to do more than send her first report to Bill before doing a quick internet search for information on Philippe Cambone – which yielded very little of interest. Mainly the titles of the major films he’d been involved with. Not a hint of any scandal, which was what Daisy had secretly been hoping for.

      As Marcus said, he’d obviously liked the ladies as there were lots of publicity shots taken down the years at various festivals and film premieres, though rarely with the same companion hanging from his arm.

      No real gossip anywhere about his private life, other than he was a keen sailor and kept a boat in his home port of Cannes. Maybe she could locate that and get Marcus to take a photo. She sighed as she shut down her laptop. She’d have another go tomorrow; there had to be something out there about him.

      A quick shower СКАЧАТЬ