The It Girl by Katy Birchall Page A

dad?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œIs this a weird joke?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œYou’re not in cahoots with Jess?”
    â€œNo. I am being serious.”
    â€œBecause this is the sort of thing she would do.”
    â€œNo, I’m not in cahoots with Jessica.”
    â€œYou’re dating Helena Montaine, the actress who’s always in the newspapers.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œThe famous one.”
    â€œYes.”
    I sat in silence. I wasn’t sure how to process this information. I mean, it’s not like Dad hasn’t dated famous people before.He dated a fairly high-profile politician for a bit and even once went on a few dates with a model he’d interviewed.
    Not that any of them had ever taken any notice of me of course. I’m the least glamorous being they probably ever had contact with, apart from Dog maybe. But even he can look like a big shot after a good groom.
    Helena Montaine is big though. As in famous. Really famous. She is always on the front covers of all those glossy magazines that my dad won’t let me read because they “encourage things like more eyeliner requests.” (Seriously, he needs to get out more.)
    She’s even advertised skin products on television. You know the ones, where she’s running along a beach in a white floaty dress and touching her face because it’s so soft and wrinkle-free.
    â€œAre you all right, Anna?” My dad looked extremely worried and even reached out for my hand.
    â€œUm,” I said, trying to get past the images of Helena stroking her face and saying “so silky, so you” flashing through my mind.
    â€œLook, it’s important that you know how normal she is. I was nervous when I first interviewed her because I assumedshe would be a diva. But she’s extremely approachable and down to earth.”
    â€œRight,” I said numbly.
    â€œYou have to think of it as just meeting your dad’s girlfriend rather than meeting Helena Montaine. I promise, once you’ve met her, you’ll forget all that famous nonsense right away. She has a way of putting you perfectly at ease.”
    â€œYou interviewed her. That’s how you met?”
    â€œYes. I had to interview her a couple of times because she had such a hectic schedule. We couldn’t do the interview all in one go. But every time I saw her after that first interview it was like we were old friends. We clicked right away. After I wrote the piece, I asked her if she’d like to go for a drink some time, and well . . .” He paused and gave a shrug. “It all started from there.”
    â€œAnd now you’re her . . . boyfriend?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œShe knows about the tanks book?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œAnd she still wants to date you? Helena Montaine, the famous actress, is dating my dad, the author of a tanks book.”
    â€œI have done more with my life than just write a book about tanks. Not that that’s the point here.”
    â€œI’m about to meet Helena Montaine.”
    â€œYes. It’s difficult to digest, but she’ll be here any minute, and you can see how wonderful she is. I also invited Marianne—you know Helena has a daughter?—as I’ve met her a few times now. She’s very nice, Anna, a really lovely girl. We thought it would be good for you guys to get to know each other. Marianne is only seventeen, so there’s not much of an age difference between you. I know you’ll get along wonderfully. She’s a little high maintenance but it’s mostly for show—I think.”
    Dad may have all his hair, but he seems to have lost several of his brain cells along the way. Marianne Montaine and me get along? IS HE NUTS?! She is a movie star’s daughter who doesn’t have an actual job but is so beautiful and glamorous that she gets invited to every red carpet event anyway. Whereas I can recite Lord of the Rings passages