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‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Of course.’

‘Why did you choose me to come with you tonight?’

Demetrios turned his head to look out of the window. Shauna followed his gaze; the twinkling lights of the harbour looked so pretty in the dusk.

‘Look at it out there,’ he said, ‘it’s beautiful.’

‘Yes, it is,’ she answered.

‘But it’s fake …’ He paused. ‘Like most of the people here.’

‘I thought you would want to take Normandie.’

He turned back to face her. ‘Not today. There are things you don’t know about Normandie. She’s not always the best-behaved guest, for starters.’

‘I might know more than you think,’ she said boldly, and when he looked at her sharply, she thought she had overstepped the mark.

‘Did you see or overhear something today?’

Shauna bit her lip, reluctant to admit that she had been listening when she shouldn’t have, but he seemed to read the answer in her face. To her surprise, he wasn’t angry.

‘You know, Shauna, Normandie is an actress too. Her moods come and go so fast, I’m sure by now she will already have her attention elsewhere.’

‘But she’s your girlfriend?’

He laughed without humour. ‘Shauna, you really are naive. Normandie has a string of lovers. What she wants is for me to worship at her feet the way the rest of them do. She wants to be famous and applauded. I assure you, she does not want me for myself, only what she thinks I can do for her.’

‘And what about you – what do you want?’

The car was now ascending the hill to the palace. It passed through a set of wooden gates and several stone arches before he answered her. ‘Shauna, when I give my heart to someone, it won’t be an “It girl” like Normandie. Tonight, Shauna, I just want to talk to a real person for once.’

Shauna wondered what sort of girl he would give his heart to, but before she could give it much thought, the car pulled up beside a red carpet. The butterflies in her stomach seemed to soar and dive in a great fuss. She froze in her seat while the driver opened the door and Demetrios stepped out.

‘Time for you to play your role, Beauty,’ he said, smiling.

Giving herself a little pep talk, she waited until he reached in and extended his hand to help her out. Imagine you’re a famous actress, she told herself. Or a new actress fresh from your first award-winning role. You’ve taken Broadway by storm. And with that she lifted her chin, pulled her shoulders back and gave him her hand, imagining being regal and queenly. The image was dispelled a little when her hand shook as she put it into his, but he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze and her spirit reasserted itself when he tucked her hand through his arm as if she were his princess.

‘You’re supposed to enjoy this,’ he reminded her with a gentle smile. ‘Any tighter and your grip will cut off my circulation – and I’m rather attached to this arm.’

She let out a small laugh. ‘Nervous. Sorry.’

‘Don’t be. They’re all human beings, just like us.’

‘Hmm, but with a lot more money,’ observed Shauna faintly as a woman passed by, a large diamond and sapphire necklace flashing at her neck.

‘You’ll be fine.’ He briefly put his free hand over hers. ‘You look very beautiful and every bit as elegant as the other women here. And we can have a little fun too, you know.’

She knew he was being charming and trying to set her at her ease, but for a moment Shauna could only stare at him, too bemused to speak. Then she lifted her chin and told herself, I can do this.

They followed the line of well-dressed people towards a horseshoe-shaped marble staircase. Ahead of them, women were ascending the staircase, lifted their long skirts an inch or two to avoid tripping. Shauna smoothed the expensive fabric of her dress. This was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her. In response, Demetrios stroked her arm gently, sending a shower of sparks fizzing through her bloodstream.

To steady herself, she stared at the people around her. To their right was an elegant, statuesque woman who wore a black strapless dress of unrelieved simplicity that was set off by half a dozen rows of pearls around her neck. ‘Christy Turlington,’ murmured Demetrios.

‘What?’ she squeaked and moderated her voice quickly to add, ‘The model?’

He nodded. ‘And there’s Bianca Jagger.’ He nudged her arm and she turned to see the dark-haired woman in a red halter-neck sequinned dress that shimmered as she walked with undulating grace in the company of two other equally attractive women.