It sounds silly, but that’s the kind of information people like to know about her. Reporters always ask stupid questions and the fans just eat it up. It makes them feel like they know the celebrity intimately and then they feel special. They find out Annalise Divine likes warm, toasted bread and they are thrilled. I like warm bread too, they say excitedly, I am just like her!

Well, I didn’t know Annalise had a crush on warm bread when I first met her on the lovely Grecian beach one morning near the beginning of my holiday, but I knew who she was. Everyone on the beach did, though to do them justice, they tried to pretend they didn’t. The giant sunglasses did nothing to mask her identity. Even without her trademark miniature greyhound and Fiji water, and both were then in tow, Annalise Divine would have been unmistakable.

I suppose most people would have been thrilled to find themselves sunbathing next to a Oscar-winning actress and world-famous socialite. Most would have stammered as they begged for an autograph or a photo. I admit I felt a little curious. After all I had never met her and didn’t really know anything substantial about her. Mostly, though, I remember feeling surprise and relief that there were no cameras flashing.

The press just love to catch you doing something, or going somewhere, sensational. The most fabulous place I’ve ever been caught coming out of is Armani, which is certainly fabulous, but not exactly shocking. I detest clubs and most of my friends are far from wild. I live and shop mostly in London or Shanghai and though, now and then, I have seen pictures of myself coming out of Harrods in the fashion magazines, for the most part the press leave me alone because I fall under the category of “boring rich girl.” I guess that’s what I get for preferring Armani and Burberry to Dior and Versace.

I have always carefully avoided attracting public attention—rather difficult sometimes when your Mother is society heiress and artist. Mum is in the magazines all the time, but she loves the attention, craves it actually. So far I had managed to merely be pointed out as “Meg Monroe’s kid,” which suited me down to the ground.

For about three years, up until I took the trip to Greece, I had been abroad in China (which is a story in itself, and far too complicated to tell now), so I was rather forgotten by the English press. Even before I left, often when the press caught me on film, they thought I was my mother (we look a lot alike), so I led a relatively inconspicuous life. Of course, that was before the Mykonos incident.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Annalise Divine was anything but inconspicuous. The press loved her for her crazy, fun-loving antics, her daring fashion sense, and her willingness to pose gracefully for the camera. She had been seen in every club, at every party, and in every magazine since she turned five. Everyone who cared knew everything about her social life and, since her family was Hollywood royalty, a great deal about her personal life as well.

Observing her from behind the safety of my shades that day on the beach, I could see that, like me, her figure was slim, but she was curvy in places I would never be without extensive surgery. Annalise was known for a pair of full lips that, pouting or smiling, dazzled the world, and for her large, dark blue eyes that turned up on the outside corners, giving her a distinctly feline expression. Her face was heart-shaped and her golden-blond curls were thick and long, almost to her waist. In other words, she was even more beautiful in real life than she was on the screen.

What really surprised me was how tiny she was. She was maybe five-foot-two on her tiptoes, and though she had a fabulous figure, her curves were soft and feminine. She moved with a grace that came from natural ability and years of posing in front of cameras. She had very little muscle and owed her slimness, as I found out later, to dancing at clubs and watching her diet very carefully.

I, on the other hand, was rock solid in the muscle department and ate absolutely anything I could get my hands on. Years of Kung Fu training left me unable to go a day without an hour or two of good healthy sweat and burn.

I transferred my gaze to the dazzling blue of the Mediterranean and stretched lazily. I had been looking forward to this holiday for weeks and the sun felt marvelous. There’s something tremendously relaxing about feeling the sand between your toes and sipping an iced lemonade while your skin slowly bakes.

I glanced at Annalise again and wondered idly who had made her beautifully cut, navy blue bikini. My own cream colored suit was designed by Stella McCartney especially for me on my birthday a week or two before, and I loved it. Annalise’s, I was sure, had been custom-made as well.

Between my musings on fashion-friendly swimwear and a sun-induced sleepiness, I didn’t notice the silent approach of a tiny greyhound until it leaped into my lap. A little startled, I opened my eyes and stared straight into the little dog’s face. Whoever said animals couldn’t talk had never met this dog. His eyes very clearly asked if I would allow him to take his morning nap on my lap. I was ridiculously pleased and gave him a friendly pat. The dog understood that permission had been granted. He licked my nose gratefully, turned around three times and settled down.

I heard laughter nearby and looked up.

Annalise Divine sat watching us with her sunglasses on her head and her famous smile on her face. For an instant I was actually star-struck. It didn’t last very long, but it threw me a little. I suppose it happens to everyone sometime or other. No one can really be prepared for the moment when the fabulous face on the screen steps into their reality. I was suddenly unpleasantly aware of the sand in my hair and my unpolished nails.