With or Without You Read Online Free Page B

against the pale beige of her dress, was a perfect iron-shaped hole,
through which the top of her red lacy knickers was clearly visible.
    ‘Oh shit!’ she wailed, suddenly wanting to cry. How could she possibly go out there and interview the most famous film star in the world right now with a hole in her dress and her
knickers visible? There was nothing for it. She would have to stay in the bathroom. She dropped the lid and sat back down to think through her options.
    After a while there was a tentative knock at the door. ‘Er, hello?’ said Charlie’s unmistakably gravelly voice. ‘Are you OK in there?’
    ‘No!’ Martha shouted back. ‘I’ve got a massive iron-shaped hole in my dress!’
    There was a snort of laughter from outside the door, followed by a long pause, as Charlie apparently composed himself. ‘Sorry,’ he said in a slightly strangled tone. ‘I
won’t laugh again. It’s hardly noticeable . . .’ His words were swallowed up by another bout of laughter.
    Sitting on the loo, staring down at the gaping hole in her dress, Martha felt the beginnings of a smile tugging at her lips. It was quite funny, she supposed. She would probably laugh about it
herself one day. But not yet. It was just too bloody embarrassing.
    ‘Look, do you want to borrow something of mine?’ came Charlie’s voice from the other side of the door after another couple of minutes had elapsed. ‘Maybe some sweatpants
and a t-shirt?’
    Martha took a deep breath and looked down again at her exposed midriff. ‘That would be great,’ she admitted meekly.
    After another pause she heard a swish as something was dropped at the door. ‘There you go,’ he said. ‘I’ll wait in the bedroom. Let me know when you’re
ready.’
    ‘Thanks.’ Martha waited until she heard his footsteps retreating, before opening the door and scooping up the clothes he had left there. She whipped off her dress and deposited it
into the bin with a mournful stare. She knew that it was unsalvageable, but was nevertheless reluctant to let it go. Then she dressed quickly in Charlie’s clothes, trying not to notice the
faint scent of expensive cologne that still clung to the navy blue t-shirt, even though it had been laundered.
    Feeling idiotic in her over-sized outfit, she emerged from the bathroom and cleared her throat loudly. ‘Er, I’m ready!’ she called out into the empty space.
    There was a click as the bedroom door opened and Charlie appeared, all dark curls and handsome amusement.
    ‘Sorry about that,’ Martha smoothed herself down in an attempt to look briskly assured. ‘Now, shall we finally get down to business?’
    Charlie threw her a sideways stare and nodded warily. ‘Sure. Those sweats look great by the way. Who knew they could work so well with gold platform sandals?’

Chapter 5
    ‘Sweetie, eat your cereal,’ entreated Liv, as Felix sat with his head bowed and his shoulders hunched over the games console in his hand.
    Felix looked up at her in surprise, as if he’d forgotten she was there. ‘Oh, sorry, Mom,’ he said, giving her a conciliatory flash of his gap-toothed smile. Liv gazed across
the table at him, wondering how it was possible that he could look so much like his father at such a tender age, with his dark eyes and curls and wide, cheeky grin.
    Liv took a sip from her cup of English Tetley tea, several boxes of which her mother had brought over with her on her last visit. She couldn’t function in the mornings until she’d
had at least three cups. Danny laughed at what he called her ‘quaint English habits’, but she didn’t care. For her, the American obsession with coffee seemed just as strange.
    In the background, Radio 1 burbled out from the laptop on the steel work surface. It was another way for Liv to connect with home, even if it did mean listening to the afternoon show at
breakfast time due to the time difference between LA and the UK.
    A tiny hammer pounded against the inside of Liv’s