‘How did you find me?’ I ask.
‘LinkedIn,’ he says, looking at me strangely. ‘It wasn’t hard. Oddly, there aren’t that many recruiters called Tori in London. I think there were eight that came up, but only one of them looked like you. Look, I get that this is all a shock. You thought I’d sentyou that letter, and who’d blame you for thinking I was the worst person in the world? I cocked up, I freely admit that. I let Harvey railroad me at the airport and I behaved poorly towards you, but I’ll do anything to put that right.’ His expression is earnest and he turns his chair so he can take both of my hands in his. ‘I’ve never met anyone like you, Tori. You keep me real and I feel alive in your company. I don’t want to let that go. I don’t want to letyougo. I think I love you.’
I’m aware of a smile starting to spread across my face, but there’s still one thing that’s stopping me from telling him how I feel.
‘How does this work though?’ I ask. ‘Harvey’s right about one thing – I’m no classical music buff.’
‘Can I answer that with another question? If we could find a way to make it work, would you want to?’
Damn, all this outmanoeuvring Harvey has obviously lit something in his brain, as he’s just cornered me masterfully. I’m not going to fold that easily though. For some reason, my mind decides now would be the perfect time to whip out a bit of the corporate lingo bingo that Priya and I enjoy.
‘There are definite synergies,’ I begin, adopting a thoughtful tone. ‘Social, as well as recreational. Would this be a merger though, or a hostile takeover? It’s easy to be distracted by the low-hanging fruit, but would I find myself drinking from the firehose down the line? It’s all very well when you’re blue-sky thinking, but what happens when the rubber meets the road?’
Gabriel is looking at me as if I’ve grown an extra head. ‘What?’ he asks.
‘If we do this,’ I tell him, my mind now working properly again, ‘I’m not going to be subsumed by your career, got it? I’m my own person, and I’m not going to thrive as a mere Gabriel appendage, to be put down by the next Harvey, or whomever.’
‘Those are just some of the qualities I admire about you, that attracted me to you,’ Gabriel says. ‘Like I said, you keep me real. But if you don’t think I’m enough for you, then just say it now and put me out of my misery.’
My smile breaks into a full-on beam. ‘No more shitty letters?’ I ask.
‘Like the one I’ve just proved comprehensively I never wrote?’
‘Yeah, like that one.’
He grins. ‘I can solemnly swear never to dump you via a fake shitty letter written by my ex-manager again.’
I study him for a moment before nodding at him. ‘OK. You’re on.’
He wipes his forehead exaggeratedly. ‘Thank goodness for that. For a moment there I thought I’d made a total fool of myself. Do I get to hug you now?’
‘You do.’
As we stand and I fold myself into his embrace, I shed a little tear of happiness and relief onto his shirt. I didn’t get it wrong again. Gabriel the bastard never existed. He was the good guy all along. I can feel my heart swelling as I let that thought sink in. I wrap my arms tighter around him, pulling him close to me. I never want to let him go again either.
‘Can I ask you something?’ I say as I eventually start to loosen my grip.
‘Of course. Anything.’
‘Did you just drop the L bomb?’
He smiles. ‘I did.’
‘Hmm. I thought you did.’
‘Is that all right?’
‘Yes. In fact, I have a confession of my own.’
‘Go on.’
‘I think I might love you too.’
35
NINE AND A HALF MONTHS LATER
‘Oh, wow, darling. You look absolutely stunning,’ my mother says as I join the rest of my family and our guests in the bar at the Elixir.
