Ed asked.
‘Baby, you are not going to believe this.’
3
Visit The Love Resort — It’s All About Love
Anne-Marie Langdale had a vision. The vision was of a place that can only be described as heaven on earth, a place that epitomises Love. As Anne-Marie describes in her own words:*
If Love were a place, it would be here
If Love was a flower, it would grow here
If Love was the stars, they would glow here
But Love is a feeling, so warm and true
And as Love is a feeling, it is felt here.
Official Love Resort Brochure
*This is an extract from an exclusive poem by Anne-Marie Langdale, given as a gift with every booking.
*
Todd Cortes sat in the boardroom, looked at the legal document in front of him and sighed. What on earth had he done?
He was a movie star. He was a heart-throb. He was a good actor. He had built his career on ‘pretty boy’ parts, but now after proving he could take on serious roles, he was in a strong position. However, his personal life wasn’t. Todd was gay. He’d known he was gay for as long as he could remember and despite modern society’s increasingly laissez - faire attitudes, Hollywood wouldn’t let him be gay. He had always been honest with the Studios he’d worked for, and in return they had told him, honestly, that he had to pretend to be straight. Hence a number of fake girlfriends (normally using women that needed publicity), and a real private life so highly secret the CIA would be proud of it.
But that had all changed. He was working for a Studio who had offered him the chance to direct his next film. It was his ultimate aim; he loved acting but had been itching to get behind the camera for a while. After two big smashes for the Studio, they had given him their offer. And then they’d given him their price.
He’d had a close call—almost too close—and the result had been that the studio publicity department had ordered Todd to date Katie Ray, an actress with the biggest ego on the planet. She was a terrible actress, a horrible person, a typical diva, who, Todd knew, had used sex to get her where she was. She was everything he despised about Hollywood, although, with his lies, he was becoming so too.
Katie had been generating bad publicity due to her attitude, and the Studio still had her under contract for more films. They wanted the public to like her, to ensure that the box office reflected that, and the publicity department decided that the only way to do this was to get her to date Todd. She would also appear in the film he was to direct. Everyone loved Todd, so therefore if Todd loved Katie, everyone would love Katie. And they would also be convinced that Todd was straight. Simple. Katie agreed; she would do anything for fame. But now the situation was out of control. And Todd didn’t know what to do. He also knew, deep down, that he had no choice.
Todd looked at his watch. Why was she always late? He wondered how many marriages were discussed in a meeting room. Probably more than he thought. Todd, as usual, did as he was told. He didn’t believe he had a choice. His career meant the world to him, thus he had sold his soul to the Studio. That wasn’t the worst of it, he mused as he took his seat, as everyone started fawning around him. The worst thing, the very worst thing, was that he was a total fraud and he was going to be living an even bigger lie.
‘I’m sooo sorry I’m late, Todd,’ Katie said, as she flung open the door and made her entrance. She went straight up to him, kissing him on the lips before plonking herself down in the chair next to him, purposely flashing as much leg as she could, and her knickers into the bargain. Todd rolled his eyes.
‘At least you’re here,’ Harriet, their appointed publicist, replied dryly. ‘As we don’t have much time, I’ll get straight to the point. The wedding is soon. The planner is working on the details now, and will be seeing me tomorrow to discuss it. Then we’ll pick a date. The