Read Online With or Without You by Helen Warner - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Helen Warner
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don’t “get it”, Liv, because there’s nothing to get. I haven’t got a girlfriend and I have no idea what you’re on about.’
‘But, I saw a picture on the
Mail
website . . .’ Liv stammered, embarrassed. ‘Of you and her leaving the hotel together? I just assumed you were an item. Sorry, none
of my business . . . sorry,’ she said again miserably.
There was a long silence at the end of the line. ‘Which website did you say?’
‘The
Mail
. Haven’t you seen it? God, I’m sorry, I’m really putting my foot in it, aren’t I?’
Charlie didn’t reply and she could hear him tapping at a keyboard. ‘Oh shit!’ she heard him say, presumably when he had found the offending article. Finally, he came back on
the line. ‘Not quite how it looks,’ he said wryly. ‘Anyway, I’ll be coming to LA alone, without my new girlfriend,’ he added, amusement in his voice.
Liv felt a spike of jealousy shoot through her. Whoever the woman was, he was obviously keen on her. After agreeing the details of his arrival to collect Felix the following week, Liv hung up
feeling a million times worse than she had before.
Not least because Charlie would know that she had been Googling him. She felt miserable and foolish. And lonely. She picked up her phone again and dialled Danny’s number. He was filming on
a Hawaiian island, starring in a movie in which he was supposed to survive alone on a desert island for years. To Liv’s huge relief, there was no beautiful leading lady to worry about on this
one
and
she had a feeling he would win all sorts of awards.
‘Hey, baby!’ he answered breathlessly after just a couple of rings. ‘How you doing?’
‘Am I interrupting filming?’ Liv tried to keep her voice as steady as possible, but she could tell it was quavering.
‘No. Finished for the day,’ he said, exhaling loudly, as if to catch his breath. ‘Liv? Are you OK? You’re not crying, are you?’
‘No!’ Liv said automatically. ‘Well, yes, I am, I guess.’ In a faltering voice, she told Danny about her not getting the part, about her period arriving and then about
Charlie’s impending visit. ‘I just feel really down,’ she finished.
‘Baby, have you been drinking? You sound a little out of it.’
‘No!’ Liv snapped, indignation bubbling up inside her. ‘I’m fine. It’s just . . . I really want to see you. Could I maybe come down and visit you on set for a few
days? Charlie could have Felix while he’s here and you and me could have some grownup time. What do you think?’ Now that the idea had formed, her indignation was rapidly being replaced
by excitement. It seemed so long since they had spent any real time together, just the two of them.
There was another pause before Danny answered. ‘Uh, yeah, I guess . . . Next week, you say?’
‘Yes. Oh my God, it would be so fantastic!’ Liv cried.
‘Yeah, I guess . . .’
Liv wished Danny sounded a bit more enthusiastic, but it was the evening and he was probably tired.
‘Listen, I gotta go,’ he continued, ‘but why don’t you book a flight and let me know when it’s all happening?’
Liv hung up and stood up purposefully, suddenly happy and excited at having something to look forward to. She grabbed the vodka bottle and her phone, before bounding out of the room. She would
call Carrie right away and get her to book her flights.
It was only later, lying awake in the small hours of the morning, that she suddenly wondered why Danny had answered the phone sounding so breathless, and why he had had to go when filming had
finished for the day.
Chapter 8
Charlie sat staring at his laptop for a long time after he had hung up on Liv. The phone call had unsettled him hugely. He couldn’t put his finger on what, but he knew
there was something wrong with Liv. He was sure that she had been drinking, just as he had been sure that she had been drinking on other occasions when he’d called over the past few months.
Although she had
‘But, I saw a picture on the
website . . .’ Liv stammered, embarrassed. ‘Of you and her leaving the hotel together? I just assumed you were an item. Sorry, none
of my business . . . sorry,’ she said again miserably.
There was a long silence at the end of the line. ‘Which website did you say?’
‘The
. Haven’t you seen it? God, I’m sorry, I’m really putting my foot in it, aren’t I?’
Charlie didn’t reply and she could hear him tapping at a keyboard. ‘Oh shit!’ she heard him say, presumably when he had found the offending article. Finally, he came back on
the line. ‘Not quite how it looks,’ he said wryly. ‘Anyway, I’ll be coming to LA alone, without my new girlfriend,’ he added, amusement in his voice.
Liv felt a spike of jealousy shoot through her. Whoever the woman was, he was obviously keen on her. After agreeing the details of his arrival to collect Felix the following week, Liv hung up
feeling a million times worse than she had before.
Not least because Charlie would know that she had been Googling him. She felt miserable and foolish. And lonely. She picked up her phone again and dialled Danny’s number. He was filming on
a Hawaiian island, starring in a movie in which he was supposed to survive alone on a desert island for years. To Liv’s huge relief, there was no beautiful leading lady to worry about on this
one
and
she had a feeling he would win all sorts of awards.
‘Hey, baby!’ he answered breathlessly after just a couple of rings. ‘How you doing?’
‘Am I interrupting filming?’ Liv tried to keep her voice as steady as possible, but she could tell it was quavering.
‘No. Finished for the day,’ he said, exhaling loudly, as if to catch his breath. ‘Liv? Are you OK? You’re not crying, are you?’
‘No!’ Liv said automatically. ‘Well, yes, I am, I guess.’ In a faltering voice, she told Danny about her not getting the part, about her period arriving and then about
Charlie’s impending visit. ‘I just feel really down,’ she finished.
‘Baby, have you been drinking? You sound a little out of it.’
‘No!’ Liv snapped, indignation bubbling up inside her. ‘I’m fine. It’s just . . . I really want to see you. Could I maybe come down and visit you on set for a few
days? Charlie could have Felix while he’s here and you and me could have some grownup time. What do you think?’ Now that the idea had formed, her indignation was rapidly being replaced
by excitement. It seemed so long since they had spent any real time together, just the two of them.
There was another pause before Danny answered. ‘Uh, yeah, I guess . . . Next week, you say?’
‘Yes. Oh my God, it would be so fantastic!’ Liv cried.
‘Yeah, I guess . . .’
Liv wished Danny sounded a bit more enthusiastic, but it was the evening and he was probably tired.
‘Listen, I gotta go,’ he continued, ‘but why don’t you book a flight and let me know when it’s all happening?’
Liv hung up and stood up purposefully, suddenly happy and excited at having something to look forward to. She grabbed the vodka bottle and her phone, before bounding out of the room. She would
call Carrie right away and get her to book her flights.
It was only later, lying awake in the small hours of the morning, that she suddenly wondered why Danny had answered the phone sounding so breathless, and why he had had to go when filming had
finished for the day.
Chapter 8
Charlie sat staring at his laptop for a long time after he had hung up on Liv. The phone call had unsettled him hugely. He couldn’t put his finger on what, but he knew
there was something wrong with Liv. He was sure that she had been drinking, just as he had been sure that she had been drinking on other occasions when he’d called over the past few months.
Although she had
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