Shot Through the Heart Read online

  For my Nana Irene Clough,

  who was brave enough to follow her heart.

  Contents

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  Epilogue: Six months later

  1

  ‘Well it sure is good to meet you, Miss Sinclair.’

  ‘You too, Dan.’

  ‘You know, I can’t believe I’m actually on a date with the First Lady of Love.’

  Mia tried not to wince – that nickname was starting to become a curse.

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ she said, flashing him what she hoped was her best movie star smile. ‘And please, call me Mia.’

  Oh I hope tonight goes well, she thought. I’m not sure I can cope with another disappointment . . .

  Mia’s date was taking place in Sky High, an exclusive lounge club perched above the outdoor pool of the Mirage Hotel with some of the best views of Los Angeles. Sitting opposite her was Dan Morrison, a solidly handsome thirtysomething dressed in an understated navy suit. Dan was sipping a glass of Merlot while Mia was working her way through a rather bitter pomegranate juice.

  ‘So I hear you’re new to LA,’ she purred. ‘Why did you decide to move here?’

  ‘Oh things in Seattle were getting way too stressful,’ Dan explained. ‘I was a doctor in an Emergency Room but wanted a more relaxed lifestyle. Now I’ve re-trained as a carpenter I’m much happier.’

  ‘A carpenter?’ Mia breezed. ‘Oh how creative and . . . manly.’

  Did I actually just say that? she thought. That was way too corny!

  Dan fiddled with his tie and looked down bashfully.

  Mia had been fixed up with Dan by her trainer Cole, a black guy with pecs so big you could shelter from the rain under them. Not that it ever rained in Los Angeles. In fact, in the eight years that Mia had lived here she could count on one hand the number of days when there hadn’t been a bright blue sky over the city. Which was one of the things that she loved so much about the place, having grown up in Cleveland, Ohio – a dreary city where the sky always seemed to be grey. She’d dreamt for years of escaping to LA and when she eventually arrived here, it had turned out to be everything she’d wanted it to be. Since then, she’d worked hard to create what she sometimes thought of as a fairytale life for herself; she had a great career, wonderful friends and a fabulous home high in the Hollywood Hills. In fact, the only thing that she didn’t have right now was a man to share it all with. And according to Cole, Dan could be just the man to fix that.

  ‘I guess I just love making things,’ he explained rather earnestly. ‘And I know it might sound dorky but I love the feel of wood. I just think it’s a beautiful material.’

  ‘Wow,’ breathed Mia. She couldn’t think of anything else to say. ‘Wow.’ She stared wistfully at the indentation at the bottom of his neck.

  According to Cole, Dan Morrison was kind, dependable and very much one of the good guys. In fact, Cole always called him Nice Man Dan and from what Mia had seen so far, he wasn’t wrong.

  Being fixed up with potential boyfriends could be difficult for Mia because invariably she knew very little about them and they knew so much about her. This unsettling one-way intimacy gave her date a massively unfair advantage. For a start, if he liked going to the movies, chances were he’d already seen her naked in one of her many love scenes. And if he read the papers or had access to the internet, it was more than likely that he knew some very private things about her already – the kind of things that were quite revealing and which you wouldn’t normally give away on a first date. Details about her unhappy childhood in Cleveland for example, her youthful dreams of becoming a film star, and her mother’s death just as her movie career was taking off. A quick Google search would also reveal the media’s nickname for her – the First Lady of Love, a title she’d earned after appearing in a string of hit chick flicks. Dan was obviously well researched on this front and she hoped he wouldn’t mention it again. The irony was that Mia wasn’t sure she’d ever been in love – despite countless attempts, many of them soul-destroying. In fact, she was starting to wonder if she even believed in love anymore – and to worry that she was becoming cynical and jaded. But that was the kind of thing she kept private. There was no way Dan could have learned that from the internet.

  ‘So tell me about your relationship history,’ she asked. ‘How come a great guy like you’s still single?’

  ‘Oh well, I recently broke up with someone so am only just back on the market, I guess.’ Dan explained that his last girlfriend, Angelique, was a nurse in a plastic surgeon’s who’d left him for one of her clients, a famous porn actor who’d gone to the clinic for a penis enlargement. ‘What a douche-bag,’ he moaned. ‘I could never cheat on a woman – I’ve too much respect for them. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been unfaithful in all my life.’

  Hmm, that’s another tick, thought Mia. He’s doing pretty well here.

  Whenever Mia went on a first date there was a checklist she always worked through, imagining cheesy sound effects from a TV quiz show when contestants got the answers right or wrong. Is he punctual? Bleep bleep – correct answer. Does he have his own career? Bleep bleep – full marks. Has he ever cheated on a girlfriend? Bleep bleep – three out of three.

  It wasn’t that Mia was being cold or ruthless in her search for a man, just that she was trying to look after herself. She’d seen her mother lose her security, dignity and, for a long time, her happiness after her father had walked out on the family when Mia was still very young. Her mom had had to take on extra shifts at the hospital where she slaved away as a nurse and worked herself into the ground over the next ten years, just to survive and bring up her daughter. Ever since then she’d warned Mia not to make the same mistake with men as she had. ‘Don’t fall for a bad boy,’ she’d lectured, time and time again. ‘Find yourself a nice, dependable good guy – someone who isn’t trouble.’ Over the years, Mia had vowed never to fall into the same trap as her mom. There was too much at stake; she’d seen first hand how much could be lost through falling in love with the wrong kind of guy.

  ‘You know,’ Dan went on, ‘maybe I’m not the most exciting of guys but I never thought Angelique would cheat on me like that. Maybe that’s my problem though – maybe I’m just too nice.’

  Bleep bleep! For Mia, a man could never be too nice. She didn’t understand why so many women fell for bad boys, those sexy scoundrels who had trouble written all over them. She was different. She wanted her very own good guy – and perhaps she’d just found him.

  *

  ‘So Leo, let me get this straight. Are you saying you’re breaking up with me?’

  Across town, Leo Henderson was in Dirty Dick’s, an English-themed pub popular with LA’s expat crowd, just metres away from the seafront in Venice Beach. Dirty Dick’s was one of his favourite drinking haunts as it was really close to his house, served more than twenty different real ales, and had the atmosphere of a British pub, which reminded him of home. And with its candlelit recesses at the back, it was a surprisingly good setting for a quiet, intimate date. In fact, Leo had used it for that very purpose on several occasions. Tonight though he was here with a completely different purpose. Tonight, he was here to have a difficult conversation with his girlfriend Eden. And by the end of the conversation, she’d hopefully be his ex-girlfriend.

  ‘Yeah, I’m sorry Eden but I’ve thought about this a lot and things just aren’t working for me at the moment.’

  ‘But I don’t understand,’ she said. ‘Is it something I’
ve done?’

  The problem was that it was something she’d done. But he didn’t want to upset her by saying that. He paused for a moment to choose his words carefully.

  ‘No, no, it’s nothing you’ve done. I just think our lives are moving in different directions, that’s all.’

  Is that a cliché? he wondered. He hoped not but he was really struggling to get through this. And anyway, it was true.

  When he’d first met Eden six months ago her name had been Barbara and she’d been a Pilates instructor teaching stay-at-home mums and former film stars in a local old folks’ home. He couldn’t deny that he’d been attracted to her stunning good looks and incredible body but more importantly for Leo, she’d been a Buddhist with a bit of a hippie outlook on life. As a paparazzo, he had more than enough madness in his professional life and liked nothing more than a laid-back, calm personal life. Eden had seemed like the perfect fit.

  But ever since she’d signed a deal to appear on a daytime TV show as a fitness expert, things had changed. It was as if her first taste of fame had somehow corrupted her. She’d adopted her stage name, given up Buddhism almost overnight and started talking endlessly about her ‘profile’ with a manic glint in her eye. When she released her first Pilates DVD she treated herself to a boob job and went out for a ‘relaunch’, which basically consisted of going to a film premiere in a low-cut top, perspex hooker heels and a mini skirt that looked like a pelmet. When she saw the photos in the press she became almost crazed in her desire for more. She kept pestering Leo to snap her coming out of restaurants with a few semi-famous friends – and he started to wonder if that was the only reason she was going out with him in the first place. As she got more and more angry with him for refusing, it began to dawn on him that the two of them couldn’t last much longer.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Eden.’ He gave her a smile that he hoped wasn’t too sympathetic or patronizing.

  ‘Well all I can say is, you sure know how to pick your moments. You do realize I’m on The Wendy Williams Show tomorrow?’

  He took a swig of his beer. ‘Well I guess that’s kind of it to be honest, Eden. Boob jobs and TV shows – it’s not really what I signed up for.’

  She suddenly perked up, as if hit by a good idea. ‘Actually, I could always tell Wendy about being dumped – open my heart on air and turn on the tears. She loves a good sob story.’

  Leo was beginning to struggle not to sound impatient. ‘Eden, will you just listen to me for a minute? It’s this obsession with chasing fame that’s my whole problem.’

  ‘Well maybe it wouldn’t be such a problem if you’d actually bother to pap me now and again.’

  ‘But we’ve already been through all that – you know I don’t like to mix work with pleasure. It’s way too complicated.’

  ‘It’s not complicated at all, Leo. In fact, it’s quite simple. My career’s moving to another level and you just don’t want to deal with it.’

  ‘But Eden, it’s not that I don’t want to deal with it. It’s that I don’t want to give up my job – not when I love it so much. And I just don’t see how a pap can possibly date a target.’

  How many times have we had this conversation? The fact that they were having it yet again only strengthened his resolve that he was doing the right thing.

  And it wasn’t as if he had many rules in life. In fact, he only had one, and that was never to let his relationships get mixed up with his work. A paparazzo dating someone famous could never work. For a start, both sides wouldn’t know when they were being used. And the way Leo saw it, whatever trust there was between them could only ever break down.

  ‘Oh, Leo,’ Eden pouted, ‘but we’ve always been so good together . . .’

  She swivelled on her seat and crossed her legs – legs that had always driven Leo wild. As he looked at them stretching out beside him he was reminded of just how gorgeous she was and couldn’t help thinking back to the great sex they’d had. Eden was right: they were good together. So was he really doing the right thing by ending it?

  She leaned forward and began nibbling on her finger flirtatiously. ‘Oh it just seems such a shame to throw it all away. I mean, we both know there’s a real chemistry between us. And chemistry like that doesn’t come around every day . . .’

  Leo was starting to feel a bit hot and undid another button on his shirt. He had to admit, most men would kill to have a girlfriend as good-looking as Eden. As he breathed down his neck to cool himself down he thought about how tough it would be never to sleep with her again. Oh maybe just one last time, he thought. That couldn’t hurt, could it?

  Just then he sensed a buzzing sound from his jeans pocket and realized he’d received a text message on his phone. ‘Look, I’m sorry Eden but I really need to get this.’

  As he keyed in his security code he felt relieved to have been rescued from a moment of weakness. The last thing he needed right now was to end up back in bed with her – it would only make things even more difficult. Eden must have realized that her last-ditch attempt to save the relationship had failed as she gave a loud huff and swung her legs back under the table.

  On the screen of his phone Leo read a text from his photographic agency, Shooting Stars. ‘Mia Sinclair on date in Sky High – arrived 9 p.m.’

  Straight away he wanted to take the job as pictures of the First Lady of Love with a new man always sold for good money. But he couldn’t leave Eden before they’d properly talked things through. He wondered how much longer it would take.

  Because this assignation with Mia Sinclair was his kind of date. Totally uncomplicated – and purely professional.

  *

  As Nice Man Dan told her about his charity work helping to build a village in a remote part of Africa, Mia Sinclair leant back on the heavily cushioned sofa and relaxed into a date that she was enjoying more and more. She often chose Sky High as the venue for first dates as she loved its tasteful gold and green furniture and the pulsing Brazilian music they played. Most of all though, she loved the fact that the bar was private and heavily guarded from the paparazzi.

  Because Mia hated the paparazzi. Without doubt they were her biggest enemy. Ever since she’d had her first hit movie and suddenly become public property, they’d ruined every attempt she’d made at starting a new relationship. In the last month alone there’d been three casualties of their unrelenting pursuit of pictures. First there was Seth, a shy but sexy writer who spent all his time indoors hunched over a computer and consequently looked a bit like a mole. But he was sweet and sensitive and Mia liked him a lot. After their first date she’d kissed him goodbye in front of the restaurant and the two of them had been almost blinded by the camera flashes as the paps had pounced, each of them desperate for an exclusive. As someone terrified of any attention at all, Seth had completely freaked out and ended it with her later that night.

  It was all very upsetting but she’d picked herself up again and soon felt strong enough to start dating a guy called Hart, a real head-turner of a model who she knew would be used to having his photo taken. He did indeed seem to love being in the spotlight. But when she’d found out that he’d tipped off the paps about their third date so that he could be photographed basking in her spotlight, she’d forced herself to dump him without a second thought. The truth was, though, that she’d been devastated and had gone on to spend the entire weekend stuffing herself on takeaway pizza as she YouTubed over and over again his two-minute guest appearance on America’s Next Top Model.

  And finally there was Buck, a tough-talking baseball player with a soft centre who’d said he wanted to take things slowly after recently coming out of a painful break-up. Just when she’d started to think she might be falling for him, photos of them stepping out together had been splashed across trashy tabloids and gossip websites, one of which quoted a so-called friend to come up with the headline ‘Marriage within a month for the First Lady of Love’ – not the easiest read for someone wary of getting serious. Unsurprisingly, Buck had ditched her like a
shot. Again, she’d been devastated but this time she’d had to deal with the public humiliation as well.

  She sighed slowly like a deflating tyre. The way Mia saw things, the paparazzi really did have a lot to answer for.

  ‘You know I’ve seen all your movies,’ Dan said, interrupting her thoughts. ‘You’re very talented. And if you don’t mind me saying so, from what I’ve seen on screen you sure do seem like a lovely lady.’

  Now it was Mia’s turn to be bashful. ‘Oh that’s very kind of you,’ she said. ‘But I have to let you know that in real life I’m nothing like the characters I’ve played.’

  Mia felt that she had to make this point on first dates as she was starting to worry that men were confusing her with the kind of needy, clingy characters she played on screen. Not that there was anything wrong with that kind of person but she’d played so many of them that she sometimes thought men would assume she was a total desperado and run a mile.

  Her first hit had been a movie called Harassment, in which she played a naïve young secretary whose boss suggests they fake a case of sexual harassment, sue their employer and split the proceeds. Only their plan falls apart when they fall in love, the harassment suit collapses and they’re left with nothing but each other – although by this stage they’re so in love that they realize that’s all they need to be happy. Then there was Lapping it Up, in which she played a lapdancer with a heart of gold who gives up her dream of becoming a prima ballerina to elope with a customer who tells her he’s a billionaire businessman but is actually a gangster on the run from both the police and the Mob. Obviously, he’s heart-breakingly handsome, so she forgives his deception and falls for him anyway, joining him as he flees across the border to a new life in South America. And her last big hit was The Princess and the Pauper, in which she played a plucky British royal who renounces her title and claim to the throne to marry a dashing American divorcee who whisks her away from the glamour of her family’s palace to live happily ever after on a pig farm in rural Tennessee.