“Kind of.”
“Can you get me a provisional list by tomorrow? I have a venue I think will work.”
“Will do.”
She smiled and it was about as real as a nine dollar note.
“Sophie.”
She turned and looked at me. I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her slowly, encouraging her to open her mouth to mine. Slow seemed the way to go, the way to surprise her and push away the guard she’d erected.
I felt her stiffen, so I shifted a few inches closer, using one hand to move her legs over mine. It didn’t matter if the journalist coming in to interview us saw – it was only Amber – and what did matter was making this seem real.
It felt real to me.
When her hands went onto my chest I started to relax myself. When I opened my eyes to see her eyes were closed I felt relief. When she initiated a deeper kiss I forgot where I was.
A cough reminded me.
We broke apart, and I saw how Sophie was flushed, her eyes dilated, her breath catching. She was fucking turned on.
I knew the smile I gave her was smug.
“Sorry to interrupt.”
Amber wasn’t sorry at all. I kept an arm around Sophie and felt her relax into me.
“Sorry for starting late.” I tried to make eye contact with Amber but she dodged me, instead staring at Soph.
“It’s fine. I’m just glad you’re giving me another exclusive. You didn’t mention this lady in our interview a few days ago.” She raised her brows at me.
It was a challenge and she was pissed at me not telling her this. Amber could cause trouble. She already had – she was the journalist who’d revealed who my father was and I knew she would quite happily announce any other shit she could get her hands on, if it meant climbing up a few more rungs.
“We’ve been keeping it quiet. But she’s one of the reasons I took a step back from public life. It’s time for something different.” I kept my voice calm. It was practiced. Years of being coached on how to do interviews meant that this was just another day in the office – I just wasn’t sure on how Sophie would handle it.
“So why agree to meet with me now?”
I dug my fingers in Sophie’s side and made her flinch and giggle. It was one of the many things I’d learned in our single night together – she was ticklish.
“Because we’re getting married in a few weeks and although we’re keeping it low key, I wanted to be the one to announce it.” I leaned over and kissed the top of Sophie’s head. “It’s something to celebrate. Maybe I’ll get a few new songs out of it too.”
Amber’s smile was about as genuine as Sophie’s had been a few minutes ago. “What is it you do, Sophie?”
Sophie leaned forward. “I own and run a group of spas. In fact, I think you’re a client at one – Everlea in Pimlico?”
Amber smiled. “I have been there a few times. I thought the owner was older. Everlea’s been there for a decade.”
“Longer. I opened it when I was twenty-two. It was my second spa. The one near St Paul’s was my first just before my twenty-first birthday. I expanded both so that Everlea had a Hamman and St Paul’s a thermal suite two years later, and after that, I started to open up the other sites.” There was a coolness to Sophie’s voice and I could tell she wasn’t sure how Amber was going to portray her business.
“I didn’t know the two places were connected.”
“You’re not meant to know. They all have their own personalities so people can find one that suits them. I hope you like using Everlea.” Sophie’s voice had taken on the sales pitch I’d heard before. There was a charm to it that was dangerous. Seductive almost.
“I do. You’ve worked hard to build up your empire. Now I take it you’re ready to settle down?” Amber sat back in the chair.
Sophie leaned forward and looked at the device that Amber was using to record the conversation. “Am I looking forward to getting married and being able to work on growing our relationship – yes. But that doesn’t mean I’m not also growing our business.”
Amber looked at me. “How will being married affect your song writing? I know you have plans to open up a recording studio in Iceland – a retreat for artists.”
