Free Valentine by Rebecca Farnworth

push you back so you are moved round the circle.'
The rest of the company had now regrouped themselves
around her. 'OK, we're ready for you,' VPL spoke. 'Just
close your eyes and fall backwards.'
    Very reluctantly Valentine did as she was told. There
was that sickening moment of falling through the air when
it felt like no one was going to catch her and then someone
did and gently pushed her backwards. She tried to relax,
but it was not a pleasant sensation as she was passed
round the circle, not knowing who was touching her.
Suddenly she was pushed forward and caught under the
arms by someone who staggered under the weight. 'Christ!
I think I've put my back out!' It was Xander. She opened
her eyes. Great, now she felt like a complete porker. So
much for building trust.
    'What? Over a little slip of a thing like Valentine?' Jack
moved in front of Valentine and to her surprise picked
her up and swung her round in his arms as if she weighed
very little. When in fact at last weigh-in it was nine and
a half stone. It was such a delightful sensation and so
sweet of Jack, Valentine couldn't help laughing.
    'You can put me down now,' she said after he'd swung
her round a couple of times, 'and thank you.'
    After he'd put her down he bowed and kissed her hand.
'Any time.'
    Valentine felt swept off her feet in more ways than
one.

5
Much Ado About Something
    Valentine had always thought that Lauren was completely
unshockable, but as she told her the news about her father
later that night her friend was left speechless. Not even a motherfucker escaped her as she sat there open-mouthed.
Finally she pulled herself together enough to ask, 'So how
do you feel, V?'
    Valentine sighed. 'All over the place. Part of me wishes
that mum and Chris had told me the truth, but then again
I understand why they didn't. I don't know if I could
have handled knowing that my real dad didn't want
anything to do with me.'
    'You'd have ended up like me after my dad walked out
– hard-hearted and unable to commit, but with a core of
steel,' Lauren only half-joked. Then she shook her head,
reassessing. 'No, you would have tortured yourself and
it would have shredded your self-esteem. I can see exactly
why your mum didn't want to tell you. But now you
know, what are you going to do?'
    Valentine shrugged. 'I just don't know. I mean Chris,
to all intents and purposes, was my dad. Maybe I should
forget about Piers. I've lived twenty-seven years without
him and it's been fine, but then I think maybe I should
contact him and try and get to know him. I feel that if
I don't I might not ever really know myself. But then
again I don't know if I can bear it if he rejects me.' She
paused to bite her thumbnail. 'Oh God, does that sound
like a trailer for Oprah ?'
    'So long as you don't bounce on the sofa and whoop
when Piers and you get invited on to talk about your
relationship,' was Lauren's reply. 'I'd have to disown you
for being a total tit.'
    They spent the rest of the night Googling Piers. He
had made over fifteen films but never won an Oscar; he
had homes in LA and London and had been married to
Olivia, a famous American actress, for over twenty years,
which surely had to be something of a record for
Hollywood. He had no other children. The pictures on
the web showed a distinguished-looking man with blonde
hair and chiselled features who was still handsome in his
fifties. Valentine found herself staring at his photograph
and wondering what kind of man he was, wondering if
she had inherited her green eyes from him.
    Later, when she was in bed, she called Finn, wanting to
confide in him. But she only got his voicemail. Eva was
probably back from filming. From now on she'd have to
wait for Finn to call her. She felt lonely and hated being
the other woman. Just as she was drifting off to sleep her
phone beeped with a text. It wasn't from Finn as she had
hoped, but Jack; a flirty, teasing, Fleming, I'll get you back for the fluffer lie x . She was about to send back a