‘You can get that without a man!’ Vicky replied.
‘Do you think Jimi’s been put into this house to test me?’ I asked.
‘Perhaps. I know what I’d do.’
‘So do I.’
‘And that’s precisely why you drunk-texted me last night. You wanted permission.’
‘I didn’t!’
‘You so did!’
‘I’m just going to avoid him today. He’s a bad influence.’
‘Yeah, good luck with that. I need to go to bed now. Text me if there are any juicy updates. Love you, babe.’
‘Love you too.’
Vicky had got me thinking,I wasn’t imagining a distance between Rob and me, there really was a gulf. We still hadn’t ironed out why he was messaging his ex either.Irrespectiveof Jimi, maybe we do need a break?I tried to think about how I would feel about not having Rob to go home to when I finished the contract with Mandy, and it didn’t fill me with the same kind of fear it once would have done. Maybe it wasn’t just in my head, maybe Rob and I really were drifting apart.
After breakfast, Jose called us all together in the lounge, which had been magically cleared up from last night, presumably by Philippa and her cleaning elves. When we assembled, in varying states of hangover, he cleared his throat and delivered the news.
‘West Wittering,’ he said, ‘is going to have to wait. Amber, Jimi, you need to pack – we’ve swapped that idea for a flying visit to West Hollywood. Just the four of us. The car leaves at five a.m. tomorrow. Amber, you and Jimi will ride together, and we’ll meet you in the lounge at T5. The flight details should be in your email already.’
Registering the fact that my face looked like I’d just seen Jimi walk into the room naked, Jose looked up and caught my eye. ‘All okay, Amber? You have your passport, right?’
‘Um, yes.’ I stole a look at Jimi, and he smiled back at me.
I was so startled I hadn’t even properly registered that Jose’s reference to ‘the lounge’ meant we weren’t flying economy, which ordinarily would have been reason to instigate a conga around the room. Instead, the thought of being in close proximity to Jimi in a carandon a planeandin LA made me feel a mix of panic and exhilaration.
‘What’s the plan over there?’ I tried to act cool, looking towards Julie-Ann for an answer. But she looked worse forwear, her normally poker-straight hair was flicking out and if I wasn’t mistaken, she was in the same sequinned skirt she’d been wearing last night, with a hoodie on top which I was sure I’d seen on Coco before.
‘Mandy has a new launch. It’s all happening fast and, contractually, she needs to get out there to work on some content to promote it,’ Julie-Ann said, her voice sounding hoarse.
‘Exciting – what’s the launch?’ I asked.
‘Baby Mom by Mandy,’ Jose announced. ‘An eponymous new fragrance to add to her collection, this one is for mums-to-be. We’ll be undertaking the final product checks, hopefully see the first bottles come off the production line and shoot some content ready for launch.’
Coco and I caught each other’s gaze.Baby Mom?She mouthed the words back at me.
‘We weren’t planning to launch so early, but it seems our hand has been forced,’ Jose continued. I noticed him squeeze Mandy’s arm.
‘I’m not sure if you’ve seen social media yet this morning, but—’
‘I don’t think I can hold it in any longer. Literally!’ Mandy blurted out.
Jose wrapped an arm around her shoulders protectively and pulled her in close.
We all looked at them in anticipation, guessing what was coming. They looked like love-struck teenagers.
Mandy stood up to further enhance the moment and squealed: ‘The rumours are true – we’re pregnant!’
Julie-Ann was the first to shriek. She rushed forwards and launched herself at Mandy with open arms. She was quickly followed by Blair and Coco. I stood gawping at Mandy for a moment longer before joining the queue to embrace the couple. When I say embrace, I actually mean a small, rigid hug, on account of the stiffness in my muscles.Finally, Jimi sauntered up to Jose and gave him a handshake, which turned into a brotherly bear hug and a number of firm back slaps, before kissing Mandy fondly on each cheek.
Right on cue, Philippa appeared with a rattle of champagne flutes on a tray and a bottle of Dom Pérignon on ice, to toast the happy, expectant couple.
I looked around me in disbelief.Am I the only person in this room who is genuinely floored by this news?I mentally pieced the evidence together. The chat in the cryo chamber, the fact we were evenina cryo chamber, the ovulation stick, Jimi’s story about the sperm donor, the fertility-inducing diet, magic mushrooms, knocking back champagne last night – although I couldn’t be sure Mandy wasn’t drinking mocktails. I understood many people kept things quiet in the early days of pregnancy, but she had certainly fooled me.
