“Okay, great. The car will pick up from here at 9 a.m. tomorrow to take us to the hotel where Janice is taking meetings, so meet here about 8.45, okay?”
“More than,” I said gleefully.
Later that evening, I let myself into Elliot’s apartment with the spare key he’d given me that morning, takeaway sushi in hand. It was past eight o’clock and I was ravenous after some last-minute premiere prep with Michelle. She’d offered to order in beers to mark the occasion of my leaving, but I’d made excuses; I only wanted to be with Elliot. However, as I walked through the door my phone pinged:
I’m stuck here for a little longer, he said.Make yourself at home.
I wasn’t entirely shocked. I could only imagine the delays they’d had to deal with thanks to the feud. I messaged him not to worry and shoved his sushi in the fridge, before plating mine up. I ate smoked eel and wasabi shrimp alone, then showered, afterwards dressing in one of Elliot’s boxing hoodies that was soft from repeated washes and smelled just like him. Although I was shattered, I was determined to wait up for him, and I was pleased to find aMarried at First Sightepisode that I hadn’t watched, followed by a few that I had. As I watched mind-numbingly entertaining reality TV, the apartment gradually darkened around me. Its vastness seemed to magnify my solitude and I wondered if I should have taken Michelle up on her offer of company because, as gorgeous as Elliot’s home was, his absence made it less appealing. I huddled further down into the sofa for comfort.
I woke up, cold and stiff, to the distinctive scrape of the lift door creaking open, the TV now blaring an ancient episode ofSister Wives. My mouth was furry from the amount of soy sauce I’d consumed, my eyes sticky.
“I’m sorry,” Elliot said guiltily as he dropped his backpack to the floor and cricked his neck. “Did you get my texts?”
I glanced down at my phone and, sure enough, I’d received several messages from him over the past couple of hours bemoaning the fact he was stuck on set. “Sorry,” I said. “I missed them.”
“No, no,” he said. “Don’t worry. You didn’t have to wait up.”
“Does this even count as waiting up?” I yawned.
“Well, you aren’t in bed, so yeah.” Elliot kicked off his shoes and dropped onto the couch with a groan. He was pale, his hair mussed up as if he’d run his hands through it multiple times. “I’m sorry I’m late. There’s just so much to go through and the network want my opinion on everything.”
Despite his tiredness and his repeated apologies, there was a fire in his eyes. “You’re loving it.”
“It’s awesome,” he admitted.
“Then don’t apologize for being late,” I said. Despite my lonely evening, I meant it. “You’re right where you need to be. It’s just …” I clamped my lips shut. I couldn’t ruin things by making this entirely about me.
“What?” Elliot grabbed my hand and brushed a kiss across my knuckles.
“Tomorrow’s the premiere, then I have, what, two days left in New York?”
“You’re pissed I spent tonight working.” He spoke gently, without judgment.
“More like … sad,” I said.
“You’re sad?” He leaned closer, rubbing his thumb across my lips. My pulse quickened. “I can’t have that. How on earth do I cheer you up?”
“I can think of several ways,” I said languidly. “Have you noticed I’m wearing yourjumper?”
His gaze flickered down to what I was wearing. “You mean, mysweater? Do you have anything on under it?”
I lifted a shoulder. “Why don’t you have a look?”
“Mm.” He grunted in appreciation and pushed me back against the sofa cushions. He parted my legs, his hot breath on my thighs as he inched my knickers down. “Let’s see how long it takes me to make you smile.”
It took him less than a minute.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Thanks for a wonderful pitch,” Janice Kittredge said, rising to her feet.
“Thankyou, as ever,” RJ said effusively, taking her outstretched hand in his. “For your support of my art, now and always.”
Janice’s cheeks pinked. “Of course.”
“If you have any questions, do reach out,” Sadie said, shaking Janice’s hand. “And we’ll see you tonight, at the premiere?”
“Naturally.” Janice beamed. “Although I won’t have an answer for you by then. I’m going to send your script and notes to my team and get their feedback. It might be a week or so, if you can wait?”
