Free The Reluctant Celebrity by Laurie Ellingham Page B

in every direction, as if the woman had a stream of
electricity running through her.
    ‘Sally
Pegg,’ the woman added, reading the confusion on Jules’ face. ‘Bill’s wife.
We’ve got the farm up the hill. We met last night, although I’m not surprised
if you don’t remember. I’ve had the pleasure of Rich’s lethal cocktails on more
than one occasion.’
    Jules
nodded and smiled. ‘Hi.’
    She
wished the haze of her hangover would clear and her memory return. The tight
grip she kept on her life seemed to be loosening by the minute. 
    ‘Look
I can’t stop,’ Sally continued. ‘One of the cows is as constipated as a cement
block. Just wanted to remind you about the invite to Sunday lunch soon okay?
The kids are dying to meet Cottinghale’s very own celebrity,’ she said without
taking a breath. ‘And I need to hear all about THE Guy Rawson, what a hunk.’
Sally grinned.
    ‘Great,’
Jules answered through gritted teeth, keeping her mouth in a smile as tiredness
overwhelmed her.
    It
was one thing for The Daily to force a ridiculous celebrity status on
her, digging up her past and stomping over her present, but if she had to deal
with the same from the local residents then her stay in Cottinghale would be
nothing like the tranquil seclusion she’d envisaged several months ago.
    Why
did she have to get drunk and open her mouth in the first place? Jules berated
herself.
    This
was all Guy’s fault.
    ‘Brill’
Sally crunched the old 4x4 into first gear. ‘Oh by the way,’ she shouted back
to Jules as she began to pull away. ‘We checked the paper and you’re off the
hook today.’ 
    ‘What?’
Jules asked more to herself than to Sally, who had already sped up the lane
before Jules had chance to process her last sentence.

Ten
THE DAILY
    WEDNESDAY,
FEBRUARY 18 TH
    GUY HIT SMASHES RECORDS
    Guy
Rawson’s debut single has become the most downloaded song of the year just two
days after its release.  His smash hit ‘Regret’ jumped to number one on Sunday
from radio play alone and looks to stay there for some time based on sales
figures released today.
    Since
turning his back on modelling, the 27-year old has established himself as a
successful solo artist. Within a matter of months, the London born singer has
swapped his super-groomed catwalk style for what editor of our style magazine, Lips ,
Tracey White has termed ‘The retro stubble look’.
    But
far from lower his status as Britain’s’ top hunk, White has tipped Guy to be
voted Hotty of the year in next month’s poll. “Not only is Guy more visible to
the public now, but his music really hits a chord with women.”
    Nominated
for best newcomer at next month’s Lotus Awards, Rawson looks set to take the
music biz and woman everywhere by storm.
    Is
Guy still your fav British hunk? Get voting online NOW!
    Only
when she entered the farm shop halfway between the pub at the bottom of the
lane and the guesthouse at the top, did Jules understand Sally’s last comment.
    ‘Sold
out,’ Stan explained, his hand passing over the remaining newspapers spread in
front of him.
    So
far, the balding shop owner seemed to Jules to be the only person in
Cottinghale who had not been injected with an overdose of friendliness. 
    He
narrowed his eyes on her. ‘But what did you expect, asking anyone who would
listen to keep their eyes peeled for stories about you?’
    ‘I
said that?’ Jules exclaimed, wondering what or who had invaded her body and
done the exact opposite of her wishes. Never in her right mind would she have dragged
the entire hamlet into her life. Bloody Guy and his newspaper, and bloody Rich
with his ridiculous concoctions, she fumed.
    ‘Yep.’
Stan moved out from the long counter covering the wall to the right of the
door. Stepping into the middle of the store, he began unpacking a cardboard
crate of large earth covered potatoes into a sloped display next to an array of
other vegetables.
    ‘Anything
else you were looking for?’ he asked