Perfect on Paper by Gillian Harvey (top 20 books to read txt) 📕

from her chair and raced down to the reception area just in time to see her million-dollar client being wheeled away by paramedics.

‘Can I do anything?’ she said, rushing out of the main entrance. ‘Can I call anyone?’

‘Yes,’ he squeaked, lifting up his oxygen mask for a second. ‘Call Dawn. My wife.’

Chapter Thirty-One

‘Left foot, right foot, spin and jazz hands!’ Dan prompted, as Clare attempted to work her way through the routine for what seemed like the millionth time. ‘Good! Good! That was almost there.’

‘Almost there?’ Clare panted. ‘I thought I’d nailed it!’ In all honesty, she’d nearly missed tonight’s rehearsal. Surely if they’d just successfully performed on TV, they’d easily ace their imminent performance. And she felt pretty shaken after Camberwaddle’s collapse. But Dan was a perfectionist. And for some reason she struggled to say no to him.

‘We can’t let up now,’ he’d told her on the phone. ‘This is our chance to be great – truly great.’

‘I just feel …’

‘I know,’ he’d conceded. ‘It must have been awful. But you know, endorphins.’

She’d known he’d get her on the endorphins. He was obsessed with them. Although he was right – a bit of movement was probably just what she needed.

He looked at her now, worried. ‘Well, it wasn’t bad,’ he conceded at last.

‘Surely it would be better if I just stood there and rapped and just danced a tiny bit, like last night.’

‘But you heard what the guy at the studio said yesterday after the show, they thought the bits when we were more – I dunno – together were really cool. We’ve got to take it on board.’

‘I know,’ she said, looking at his hopeful face. ‘Look, Dan. You do know that you lot will probably still make it now, don’t you? After the TV thing? You’ve already had that agent on the phone. You’ve had the exposure you need.’

‘Yeah, I know,’ he said, his eyes full of yearning, ‘but just imagine what might happen if we won the competition.’

‘We kind of already did,’ she said. ‘I mean, we were on national TV. It’s pretty much like having the prize already.’

‘Yeah, but winning, getting on TV again … it’s the start of something,’ he said. ‘I’ve had a music producer in touch too – just someone local, but he reckons we ought to lay down a track.’

She had the now familiar sensation of going over a speed bump too fast.

‘Just … just don’t get your hopes up too much,’ she said. ‘It’s great, but I’m not sure. I still haven’t decided if I want to carry on. Even if there is interest in us after the comp.’

‘I know,’ he conceded. ‘But then I always think – what’s wrong with having some hope? Even if it turns out badly, it’s better to have believed in it for a while, isn’t it?’

Carpe diem. Seizing the day. Making the most of opportunities.

She thought about her conversation with Stefan’s wife, Dawn, the day before. ‘He’s collapsed; they’ve taken him to hospital,’ she’d said.

‘That stupid man.’

‘Pardon?’

‘I told him,’ Dawn had said, her voice thick with angry tears. ‘I told him to take it easy; but he wouldn’t listen would he? You’d think after building up a multi-million property business he’d have taken a bit of time to enjoy his success. But no. It’s an addiction.’

Later, Dawn had rung her back from the hospital. ‘He’s OK,’ she’d said. ‘But his heart … well, it was a close thing apparently.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Clare had said, not really knowing what she was supposed to say.

‘And me too. Sorry that I was a bit weird when you rang and told me. It was just … I suppose I’ve been waiting for that call for the last five years. Waiting for him to burn himself out – it does something to you.’

‘I completely understand,’ Clare had said. And she had. She could imagine exactly how frustrating it must have been to watch someone you love continue down a damaging route and not be able to get them to stop. Like Toby, she thought, suddenly. Steph was right – he had been looking peaky. And the weight loss, sure it was healthy that he’d got rid of his emerging gut, but maybe there was more to it?

‘Stefan said you were nice,’ Dawn said, before they ended the call. ‘It’s good to finally talk to you.’

Was she nice, though? She thought about the mountains of rubbish she’d had to wade through this morning just to exit the house. The fact that Katie’s homework book had had ketchup stains on it when they’d finally found it on the kitchen counter. The fact that her husband – on the day he was recording his first show – had been forced to go to work wearing her underwear because she’d refused to wash anything that hadn’t made it into the wash basket.

‘It’ll be good for you,’ she’d giggled as he’d squeezed into her lacy knickers. ‘Really putting yourself in a woman’s position.’

‘You know,’ he’d said, turning this way and that in front of the mirror. ‘These don’t actually look too bad on me.’

Half an hour later, she and Dan had both had enough of her attempts at dancing. ‘Suppose you’re not a dancer anyway,’ he’d admitted grudgingly, ‘I mean, the rap’s the thing, right?’

‘We can only hope.’

‘But you will practice?’

‘I will,’ she said. She meant it, too.

He’d kissed her then, on the cheek.

‘What was that for?’

‘Oh, you know,’ he’d said. ‘Just thanks for everything I suppose.’

Driving home, she’d found it hard to stop thinking about it. Why did Dan like her? He was only a few years younger than her, but it seemed as if he was from a different generation. He was so fit, so full of fun and dreams.

She reached briefly and touched the cheek where he’d kissed her. It was just a friendly thing, she told herself. She was overthinking things as usual.

Arriving home, the last person in for once, she picked up the coats from the hallway and