Bright Angel by Isabelle Merlin Read Free Book Online

here often, and how he’d set a book here, and then of course I was able to talk to him about that and tell him who I was. And he was so amazed and then he told me about the film. Oh, Sylvie, he’s so nice. Not at all stuck up or sullen like you thought. I feel like I’ve known him for ages.’
    â€˜He was obviously trying to impress you,’ I said. ‘Okay, okay, Claire,’ I added, seeing her expression, ‘I agree. He did seem quite nice. Even if he is pretty pleased with himself.’
    â€˜You’re so prejudiced,’ she said. ‘Just because a guy’s good-looking doesn’t mean he loves himself or anything.’
    â€˜I suppose that’s true,’ I said, thinking not of Marc Fleury but of Daniel. That guy didn’t love himself, I thought. He had no charm, unlike Marc. There was something wary, hard and frightening about him. Closed-off. But there was also something else. And now in a flash of insight it came to me what it was. Sadness. A sadness buried so deep it had twisted everything else. But that didn’t excuse him, I thought. Whatever was wrong with him wasn’t my fault. Not my problem. I was a stranger to him. He shouldn’t have reacted like that. There was no need.
    And there was no need either for me to obsess about it, I told myself tartly. Forget him. He’s not worth thinking about. I was just sorry for beautiful little Gabriel, who had such a dragon for a brother.

Orphans of Empire
    I went to bed really early that night and in the morning woke from a dreamless sleep to hear someone calling my name. The room was flooded with sunlight and Claire was sitting on the side of the bed, holding a cup of tea.
    I struggled up groggily. ‘Hey, what’s this in aid of?’
    She handed me the tea. ‘It’s already twenty past eight. We’re meeting Marc at nine o’clock, remember?’
    For an instant I could hardly remember where I was, let alone remember our date with Marc. She saw my bemused expression, and said, impatiently, ‘The film shoot, okay?’
    Memory returned. ‘Oh, that.’ I took a sip of tea. ‘You don’t really want me to tag along, do you?’
    â€˜Yes. You have to come too. He invited you. It would be rude if you didn’t go.’
    â€˜Come off it, Claire. He couldn’t care less if I was there or not. It’s you he wants there.’
    â€˜Please come. I’d like you to.’
    I stared at her. There was a flush starting on her neck. I said, slowly, ‘Don’t tell me. You’re scared to go on your own. But it’s not because you don’t like him. It’s the opposite. You’ve fallen for him already, haven’t you, and you’re scared you’re going to show him?’
    â€˜Don’t be silly,’ she snapped, but her scarlet cheeks told their own story.
    I raised an eyebrow. I was going to tell her she hardly knew him, but wisely decided that wasn’t a good move. I finished my tea and swung out of bed. ‘Okay, I’ll come. But I’m not going to hold your hand and protect you from the big bad wolf.’
    â€˜You’re so annoying,’ she exploded, and threw a pillow at me, which I easily dodged.
    â€˜And you’re so easy to see through,’ I crowed as I hurried off to the bathroom, dodging another pillow on the way. I couldn’t help grinning as I stood under the shower. Honestly, despite the big sister act, sometimes Claire acted younger than me! Falling in love at first sight or something dodgy like that – that only happened in stories. I couldn’t believe in it. But Claire could, and did. She’d done it a couple of times before. And neither had worked in the long run. In fact the last one had ended really badly. He’d dumped her with a text message, can you believe it? She’d cried for days. She’d said then that it would never happen again. She’d be careful in