‘It’s down to me, I know. And if I fuck up one more time, then you can go– but I promise you, the thought of life without you has shaken me up enough to turn me into the man you do respect again, and who you truly deserve.’
‘Are you still sleeping with her?’
‘No, I’m not. She’s in the spare room– has been since she came over. How many times do I have to say it, but I love you. I want you.’ He tapped his head. ‘I know! November the fifth, Fireworks night and your birthday!Andthe date we met!’
‘You remembered an anniversary, well done you.’ But Sabrina took the crumbs gratefully.
‘How could I not. Bloody hell, we banged all night in the Hyde Park Hotel.’
‘So, what about it?’ Sabrina felt so confused. How could a heart still possibly be drawn to a man who had wronged her so badly? What exactly was this thing called love? For it certainly didn’t make any kind of sense. Even her usually strong mind was doing its darned best to shake the remnants of any feelings out of her and was failing miserably.
‘Yes! Your birthday. Let’s set that as a date. Francois will be out by then, I mean it. We can go on holiday. Somewhere like St Lucia, you love it there. We can start again. And when you’re ready, we can get married, and I’ll help you set up the acting school that you so wanted. So, yes, let’s do it, let’s give it a go from then!’
‘And they all lived happily ever after.’ Sabrina shook her head.
‘Don’t shake your head at me.’ He gave her a sexy smile, and her breath hitched. ‘That gives us both time. Me to sort out this bloody stupid situationship that I’ve got myself into, and you to hopefully start realising exactly what you are missing.’
‘I can’t just drop everything at a whim. I’m working down here now.’
‘Doing what?’
‘Running a market stall.’
Dom looked horrified. ‘Why?’
‘Because I want to.’ Sabrina shut her eyes for a second. Could she really imagine life without this man in it? Hadn’t she been doing just that for weeks now? But now he was offering himself and their life back to her, did she really want to say no?
‘You don’t have to do anything, just think about us and the amazing future I can give you.’
Suddenly the good times she had had with this man were running through her mind. ‘OK.’
Dom gasped. ‘OK, you’ll think about it?’ His face lit up like a full moon.
Sabrina nodded. ‘Let’s see how I feel leading up to November the fifth. But I’m not making any promises, and don’t book any holidays because I need this time. You’ve hurt me so much.’
‘I know, but never again.’
‘And Dom?’
‘Yes, my love.’
‘You know you said you’d do anything for me.’
‘Anything.’ He nodded his head wildly.
‘Well, I really do need help with something– and with your connections, I think you could be just the man…’
Sabrina was hoping that Conor would either be out or in his bedroom when she got back. In fact, he was lying with his legs draped over the sofa, beer in hand with the credits of the film, Notting Hill running. ‘She was just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her.’ He grinned. ‘How is my favourite actress?’
‘She is just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to shove up and share his beer with her.’
He moved his legs and patted her on the thigh as she sat down.
‘Good day?’
‘Shit day.’
‘Do you want to talk about it?’
