The One You Fear Read Online Free PDF Page A

arced around the golden coast, hugging the cliffs and offering a spectacular view across the bay and out to sea.
    ‘Yes, amazing.’ Dan was watching a flock of seagulls that circled overhead before allowing the wind to carry them away into the near distance. The sun was still shining in a clear blue sky, and it felt as if he and Emma had just stepped into a vivid oil painting.
    They strolled through a quaint alleyway of micro-galleries, restaurants and boutique shops. Dan held up the town-centre map that they’d picked up from their apartment. ‘The beachfront is the next right.’
    ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing,’ Emma said, as she peered into the window of a shop that sold beautiful knitwear, ‘to run something like this. Just move out of London, come down here, and live the quiet life – early morning seafront walks, fresh air, no stress.’
    Dan moved up to her shoulder. ‘Is that what you’d really like to do?’
    She shrugged. ‘Sure, why not?’
    ‘Sounds idyllic, but I thought London was the place to be for those in the,’ – he put on a mock posh accent, as opposed to his usual South Yorkshire twang – ‘acting profession.’
    Emma elbowed him playfully in the ribs. ‘Plenty of actors live in the countryside, you know. I’ve heard Gloucestershire, the Cotswolds, is full of them – Kate Winslet, for example.’
    ‘Ah, but Gloucestershire is about an hour and a half train ride from London, or a short drive in a fast car, while St. Ives, Cornwall, well, it’s a lot further away.’
    ‘True,’ Emma acknowledged. ‘But if I wasn’t acting, it wouldn’t matter.’
    ‘Really?’ Dan said. ‘You’re not thinking of walking away from it all, are you?’
    ‘Maybe.’
    ‘Because of what happened?’
    ‘I’ve considered it.’ Emma expected Dan to come back with a reason why she shouldn’t even contemplate the thought, but he didn’t.
    ‘Are you going to say anything to Diana?’
    ‘No,’ Emma replied. ‘I’m just going there to listen to what she has to say.’
    She was meeting Diana , her prospective new agent on Wednesday, the day after they were due to return from holiday. Diana had contacted her a week ago, wanting to meet about a potential ‘amazing opportunity’, as she had put it. Emma’s existing agent had just announced her retirement, so it had seemed like good timing. She wasn’t totally convinced that Diana Saunders would be right for her – she had a fearsome reputation in the business and from all reports was the kind of person you either loved or hated. But Diana had been charming on the phone, and extremely persuasive – which surely had to be an agent’s most important trait. She could be just the person Emma needed batting for her, especially given her rejecting the part in the movie. And what harm could one meeting do, even if it didn’t work out?
    ‘You know, Em, I’ll support you in whatever you decide to do, but just make sure you do it for the right reasons. If you really want to move down here and live the rural seaside life, I’ll be with you all the way. I mean, I could go freelance.’ Dan was a graphic designer at a small but successful company based in London. ‘With graphic design, it doesn’t matter where you live if you’re freelance – it’s just about building up a reputation, and you can work with people anywhere in the world. But don’t let what happened scare you into giving up your dreams.’
    Emma hugged him. ‘Thanks. I won’t.’
     
    Their first morning in St. Ives was fantastic. They strolled along the seafront, taking in the sights of the fishing boats in the harbour and the holidaymakers spread out over the beach, enjoying the sunshine. It might have been the dying days of peak holiday season, but St. Ives was still a resort that was buzzing with people. Children splashed in the clear blue waters, and around the headland an army of surfers rode the waves, flipping off and onto their boards in the quest for the perfect ride. At