Billy and Me: A Novel by Giovanna Fletcher

Author:Giovanna Fletcher [Fletcher, Giovanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

15

I fiddle with the waves of my dress with one hand and hold on to Billy’s hand with the other as we make our way, in the back of a blacked-out Rolls Royce Phantom, to the BAFTA awards. My stomach is in knots and my breathing shallow as the nerves kick in.

‘You OK?’ asks Billy, squeezing my hand.

‘Not really,’ I laugh. ‘You?’

Billy already knows the outcome of this night could have a huge effect on his career, and thanks to that knowledge he has hardly slept over the past few weeks.

He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, tilts his head backwards and sighs quickly, causing his lips to blow a raspberry.

‘I’m crapping myself,’ he says shaking his head.

I can’t help but laugh at the pair of us getting ourselves in such a state, wondering if the other guests are as petrified as us.

‘We’ve just got to keep thinking, “What’s the worst that could happen?” ’ I try and reason.

‘Well, I could faint and wet myself,’ he says, without cracking a smile. ‘Or swear, or look like a bad loser.’

‘If you lose …’ I say, emphasizing the ‘if’.

He shrugs at the correction.

‘I’ll be fine once I get there. It’s only the journey that gets me anxious,’ he says, taking another deep breath and looking in my direction, taking me in. ‘You look so beautiful.’

I can’t help but grin back at him. I feel beautiful. I have had a full glamour makeover, which started yesterday with a spray tan, manicure and pedicure – the best bit being that I didn’t even have to leave the flat for the luxury. Two delightful beauty therapists came to the house and did the whole thing there.

The spray tan was possibly the most bizarre thing I’ve ever done, with me standing in a pop-up tent in the en-suite bathroom, embarrassingly wearing the tiniest underwear I own, as a lady literally sprayed cold orange liquid onto me as I put myself into different unflattering positions. I won’t lie, at first I looked like I’d been tangoed, so I was petrified at what I might look like when I woke up, having been warned that the colour would darken overnight … but luckily most of the brown came off in the shower, leaving me with just the sun-kissed look they promised. Phew!

Today the makeover continued with a hairstylist and make-up artist arriving at nine o’clock this morning. My hair has been cut, blow-dried and set in massive rollers by the hairstylist, to give me big bouncy waves, sadly not the plait style Molly had suggested, but I’m sure she’ll love this look when she sees it.

The make-up artist has inspected my face so closely that I’ve spent the majority of the morning holding my breath so that I don’t breathe on her. She has hidden the flaws, accentuated my cheekbones and made my skin glow. Even I think I look angelic. I am, however, acutely aware that this is the result of several hours in a make-up chair.

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