All That Glitters (3 page)

But Ella was barely listening to him. She’d walked up the path to the house, and had gently pushed the front door open.

‘Hey! Wait!’ Danny yelled, jogging over, and it snapped Ella out of her reverie. ‘Don’t go in there!’

Ella turned and stared at her husband.

‘Don’t you know it’s bad luck not to let me carry you over the threshold?’

He effortlessly scooped Ella up in his arms, and carried her into their new home.

Castle House was divine. Everyone said so. Once they’d got settled they had Freddie and Chastity Taylor over for dinner, and Ella took great pride in showing Chastity around.

‘I know it looks Georgian from the outside,’ Ella explained to her new friend, as she started the tour of the house, ‘but it’s actually really modern. Come and take a look at this – it’s amazing. I’ve never seen
anything
like it.’

Ella had led Chastity through the house to the back garden, and in contrast to the front of the house – which was built from honey-hued brick – the back was a wall of glass and industrial steel joists, overlooking a twinkling swimming pool that was lit by ever-changing rainbow colours. Ella pulled a tiny remote control from her pocket, and with the slightest touch of a button the glass wall instantly turned black. Nobody could see into the house, but whoever was inside could still see out. It was perfect for foiling any paparazzi who managed to get through their top-of-the-range security system.

‘It’s all right,’ Chastity sniffed, and she glanced at her Chopard diamond cube watch. ‘It’s kind of standard, you know. Everyone has that.’

Ella’s face dropped. ‘What do you mean? Everyone has a pool, or . . .?’

‘I mean, everyone has that black-out-the-windows thing. It’s been out for a couple of years. Don’t tell me you’ve not seen it before.’

Ella bit her lip. Since she’d got back from her honeymoon she’d barely heard from any of her friends, and had only spoken to Stacey once. She knew she had to integrate herself with the partners of Danny’s teammates – who better to understand her new life than people who were already living it? – but she wasn’t sure how to do it. They seemed impenetrable. Normally she’d talk about her job, but since Danny had insisted she didn’t need one, she didn’t feel like she had much to talk about. And her first approach, to share the excitement she had about her new home, didn’t seem to be working.

She tried again.

‘And, guess what! Our swimming pool turns into a dance-floor! You touch this button here, on the remote control, and the pool drains and converts itself in ten minutes. It’s amazing. I can’t even begin to imagine what our summer parties are going to be like.’

Chastity eyed Ella and sighed. She looked bored. ‘That’s great babes, really cool. Shall we go and rejoin the boys again?’

Ella tried not to feel disappointed. Just because Chastity took luxury for granted, it didn’t mean she ever would.

‘Do you know what Danny’s got you for a wedding present yet?’ Chastity asked conversationally, as Ella led the way back to the dining room. ‘In our circle, wives normally get gifts a month after the ceremony, depending on how the day went, what sort of press coverage it got, etc. Freddie got me my darling Gus, who I keep in our stables. But I expect Danny won’t have got you a horse. You don’t really have anywhere to keep it and your grounds aren’t
quite
big enough.’

‘I don’t think we’re doing wedding presents,’ Ella began, but Chastity cut her off.

‘Of course you’re doing wedding presents. Oh darling, I know you’re
very
new to this still, but you must remember that we have our own way of doing things, and players for Kingston United have their own ideas about stuff, too. I can guarantee that whatever you get it will be big, and Aaron Kohle will have been involved in the gift-advising stage, too.’

Ella was silent for a moment. ‘Am I meant to get Danny a gift? Because I haven’t . . . I didn’t really know I had to.’

Chastity snorted with laugher. ‘Don’t be silly. You don’t need to get Danny anything at all. You’re the
wife
. It’s not like you have a job, and spending all your time shopping and going to the gym doesn’t exactly pay, does it?’

They walked back into the dining room, where Danny and Freddie were talking about another player’s latest sponsorship deal.

‘Danny,’ Chastity said, rolling her eyes. ‘Why haven’t you given Ella her wedding present yet? She was asking me all about it in the garden.’

‘Um, well, I wasn’t exactly asking about it,’ Ella began. ‘I didn’t know we were doing wedding presents, you see, and . . .’ She trailed off. She felt desperately awkward. She didn’t need anything at all. She had Danny, she was living in this amazing house, and she was blessed. She hated the thought of anyone thinking she ‘deserved’ a present when she was so lucky already.

Danny chuckled. ‘I was planning on giving it to her tonight, just after you both left, but I can see you’re desperate to know what it is, Chas.’

‘It’s
Chastity
, and I’m not desperate at all. Just looking out for my new friend here.’ Chastity hated anyone shortening her name, and hated the insinuation that she was being nosey. Whatever Danny gave her it wouldn’t be as good as her beautiful thoroughbred colt.

‘Well, it’s outside. Ella, would you like your wedding present now?’

Ella blushed, and took Danny’s outstretched hand. He led her to the front door, and put a blindfold on her. She could feel Chastity and Freddie standing behind them, and then the sweet smell of the evening air as Danny opened the door.

‘Easy now, just a few steps; that’s right.’ Danny led Ella down the gravel path, and she laughed nervously. Where were they going? But as quickly as she wondered how far they were going to walk, they stopped. And Danny whisked off the blindfold.

Ella blinked. She couldn’t quite believe it. Was this for her?

‘What do you think?’ Danny asked easily, as though he was asking how Ella’s supper was. ‘Do you like it?’

‘Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!’ Ella screamed, and she jumped up and down in excitement.

In front of them was a gleaming, bright-red retro Ferrari, with a large white bow around it. It was beautiful.

‘Thank you for being my wife,’ Danny said, as Ella jumped into his arms and smothered him in kisses.

‘I can’t believe you bought this for me! I can’t believe it!’

‘It’s a recreation of a 1961 convertible Ferrari, no expense spared,’ Danny explained, as Ella began walking around it in exhilaration. It had gorgeous brown leather bucket seats, a silver interior, and was absolutely perfect.

‘Wow,’ Freddie said, as he stared at the car. ‘Those are some wheels.’

‘Yes,’ Chastity agreed, trying to keep the jealousy out of her voice. She only had a Mercedes, and she couldn’t quite believe that little Ella had a better car than she did. She’d have to upgrade, and fast.

‘My wife deserves a carriage good enough for a princess,’ Danny smiled, and Ella’s eyes shone.

‘Danny, I don’t know what to say,’ Ella began, but Danny put a finger to her lips.

‘You don’t need to say anything at all,’ he said. ‘You deserve this, and so much more. And I hope this car makes you as happy as you make me.’

‘I’m glad you’re home and not out shopping,’ Aaron said insultingly, his eyes fixed to Ella’s breasts as she poured him a cup of tea. ‘One of my meetings fell through at the last minute – stupid fools, I won’t agree to see them again – and as I was in the area it seemed like the perfect time to drop in.’

Ella smiled as brightly as she could. Okay, so she
had
been thinking about going to the shops to kill some time, but just because she didn’t have a job it didn’t mean she was some vacuous bimbo obsessed with clothes. Yes, she liked clothes, but she thought she had a bit more depth than that.

‘I’m pleased to see you,’ Ella said charmingly, hoping her murderous thoughts weren’t reflected in her expression. ‘It’s been ages since I saw you last.’

‘Quite,’ Aaron said, and he stretched out on the sofa as if he owned the place. In a way, Ella thought, he did. ‘I hope you’re settling in okay in this house? And I heard you loved your wedding present.’

‘Oh God, that was such a surprise!’ Ella exclaimed, and this time her smile was genuine. ‘It was so generous of Danny. I drove it over to my step-sister’s house, and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She couldn’t believe it!’ Which was true, she supposed. As Stacey stood next to her beat-up VW Polo and checked out Ella’s Ferrari she had struggled, hard, not to appear sick with jealousy.

Aaron smiled. ‘Danny wanted to get you a car, and I suggested something a little different. So many footballers’ wives drive around in Mercedes, Porsches or four by fours, and I think it’s important that you stand out from the crowd, don’t you? I thought it was important to get you a classy little number.’

Ella beamed. She wasn’t quite sure what to say. She knew her car made a statement – she just wasn’t sure
what
statement Aaron thought it conveyed. Could a car that ostentatious be classy? Really?

‘Which brings me to what I want to talk to you about. When Danny first introduced you to me, I thought you were perfect for my plans, and since you’ve been back from your honeymoon, I can see that I was right.’

‘Your plans?’ Ella asked with interest. ‘How am I involved in them?’ Aaron was Danny’s agent – or manager, as he liked to call himself – and while he mainly brokered marketing and sponsorship deals, Ella knew that Aaron took more of an interest in Danny than other agents did with their clients. He controlled his image – his brand.

‘Quite simply, darling, I’m going to make Danny Riding a superstar – bigger than Rooney, Gerrard and even Beckham – and you’re going to help me do it.’

Ella took a deep breath. She knew Aaron was ambitious, but it was the first time she’d seen him in action. When he talked about Danny, his whole demeanour changed. His brown eyes narrowed, his facial expressions became more intense, and even his body language became more overt. He became the man that intimidated the fuck out of Ella – but she was determined not to let him see it.

‘Aaron, when I first met you – after Danny and I got engaged – you talked a bit about the obvious
benefits
of Danny having a wife. I married Danny because I love him, and I don’t mind doing the media things, like having our wedding in magazines and doing interviews sometimes, because I know it goes with the territory . . . but I don’t know what else I can do to make Danny even more famous.’

Aaron smirked knowingly, sat back on the sofa, and let his eyes slowly wander over the girl in front of him. Ella looked sensationally sexy. She was wearing a gaudy, floral fitted Dolce and Gabbana dress with cap sleeves, and it fitted her so closely that it looked as though it had been made just for her.

‘I don’t want you to be just another footballer’s wife.’ Aaron remarked matter-of-factly, and Ella took a sip of her tea to steady herself. What was he saying, exactly?

‘I want you to be
the
footballer’s wife. I want you to be better than all the others, and I want you to be something different. Something amazing.’

Ella bit her lip uncertainly. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked.

‘Well, look at what you’re wearing, to start with. Where did you get that dress?’

‘Chastity and I went shopping in town last week,’ Ella began, and Aaron jumped to his feet.

‘Exactly! You went shopping with Chastity and bought this dress because it’s what footballers’ wives are supposed to wear. Everyone’s the same. They want to look as sexy as possible to try to keep their man, but as a result they go overboard and end up looking trashy.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Think about it. You’re married to a footballer who has girls throwing themselves at him all the time, so when you’re a wife you make more of an effort to keep your husband interested. You wear revealing designer clothes and get manicures and pedicures and funny face treatments that freeze your face. You get your eyebrows over-plucked, your eyelashes tinted, and you always wear full make-up, even when you go to bed, because you can’t stand the thought of your husband seeing the “unpolished” you,’ Aaron exclaimed. God, Ella thought. He was intense.

‘You go to the gym five times a week and lose your curves in an effort to stay thin, you get your pussy waxed to nothing, and you get boob jobs, your bum bleached, and shiny white veneers.’ Aaron’s eyes flashed angrily, and Ella tried not to flinch at his language. Truly, he could be disgusting.

‘But Aaron, I hardly do any of those things, and I’m not about to start,’ Ella said, hoping she sounded stronger than she felt. Nobody dared talk back to Aaron Kohle, ever. He was a former boxer and he looked like it. ‘I know that Danny won’t leave me or stray – we both know he wouldn’t – so why
would
I do any of those things?’

‘Exactly!’ Aaron practically yelled. ‘Why would you? So why are you dressing like Chastity? Why are you already conforming to type?’

Ella looked down at her outfit. Okay, so the dress was slightly revealing, and her Louboutins were quite high for an afternoon of doing practically nothing, but so what? She wanted to look nice for her husband, and prove she was a good enough wife for him. She wasn’t going to extremes.

‘I didn’t think I was,’ Ella said eventually. ‘I just thought it was a nice dress.’

‘Ella, think about it. If you’re married to a footballer, if you’re a WAG, people don’t take you seriously. You’re seen as a shopaholic who doesn’t have a proper career and whiles away her days spending ridiculous amounts of money and getting beauty treatments. People think WAGs are a joke, and to a point, they’re right. Why should women who are married to footballers be famous? What have they ever done to get that sort of attention?’

Ella frowned. She didn’t know what to say. She’d never thought badly of WAGs – in fact, when she was going out with Fin she used to love reading about them in trashy magazines – but she also knew he had a point. WAGs
were
thought of quite badly. He was right.

‘Sweetheart, I don’t want people to
ever
think badly of you – not when you and Danny make such a good couple, and, more importantly, when Danny is teetering on the edge of being one of the all-time greats.’