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Back Just for December Save as PDF
Chapters (54)
  1. Cover
  2. PRAISE FOR LAURA JANE WILLIAMS
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. Acknowledgements
  50. Publishing Credits
  51. Keep Reading …
  52. About the Author
  53. Fiction by the same author
  54. About the Publisher

‘It’s been really cool, like it’s already done.’

‘No,’ she says, but there’s something prickling under his skin, now, a funny feeling that started in a corner of his brain and is bleeding into every part of him, like poison. It’s happened again. He’s been used, once again. She’s here, passing the time, filling the minutes before she goes and so she’s played along with the stupid fauxmance the producers asked of them and taken it a bit too far – got her press and her books on the bestseller lists and even another movie deal. Good for her. It’s all come up roses. Meanwhile he’s done exactly what he always does and made a total fool of himself, giving too much of himself like the desperate little boy he is, and she’s just not bothered, not interested.

‘We still have time …’ Evie continues. ‘We said this was for December, right? I didn’t mean …’

‘Just for December,’ Duke corrects. ‘And don’t worry, I know what you meant. I get it absolutely.’

He climbs out of bed, then, and pulls on his underwear. He doesn’t know where he is going, since this is his room. He tries to find the words in his throat to ask Evie to go, thinking about the best way to do it: saying he needs some proper sleep, saying outright that he’s upset, telling her to go screw herself even. But he can’t. He doesn’t have it in him to be confrontational; that just isn’t who he is. So instead he pulls on his trousers and trainers, grabs his phone and his coat, and leaves without saying anything at all. Then he changes his mind, opens the door again, and sees her sitting up in bed, exactly as he left her.

‘Sorry,’ he says. ‘I just … I can’t … I can’t do this,’ he sputters. ‘I think I’ve made a mistake.’

By the time he gets back, half an hour and a drink at the hotel bar later, she’s gone.

31

Duke

It’s like Groundhog Day, waking up to a flurry of texts from both his teams in LA and London, with links to the internet on fire with photos of Evie and Duke down a dimly lit alleyway, his hand up her top and his tongue in her mouth. What’s different this time, though, is that the headlines have become personal. DUKE CARLISLE’S WRITER GIRLFRIEND LEAVES GRAVELY ILL MOTHER ALONE IN CARE HOME SO SHE CAN NIBBLE SCHNITZEL ON GERMAN FILM SET is the Mail’s choice, with many others offering a variation on that theme.