I took another sip of my port and tried to keep a straight face. ‘Just to be polite,’ I said. ‘I don’t want to hurt Ricardo’s feelings.’
Leo took a slurp of his. ‘Yes, it would be rude to reject theirfinest vintage.’
Not to be outdone, I had another mouthful and we silently dared each other to keep going, sip by sip, and by the end of the glass, it wasn’t nearly so bad.
‘Winner!’ I said, feeling light-headed as I finished my port and pushed the empty glass away.
‘I didn’t realise it was a competition,’ Leo said, smiling. ‘I’d have made more effort.’
‘Isn’t everything?’
‘In that case I’ll… race you to the lift!’ he shouted, jumping up. He was halfway there before I’d even registered what he’d said, but I gave it a go anyway, chasing him through the empty restaurant. All the other couples had gone to bed without us realising and we’d been left alone. Not that we were a couple of course.
‘You cheated!’ I teased, as the lift doors opened and he waved me in.
‘Ladies first.’
‘Why thank you, sir. A cheat, but a gentleman – and a scoundrel to boot.’
‘I got a headstart to save you the trouble. It is our anniversary, after all.’
The lift was small and we had no choice but to face each other to fit in, both breathless from the run, a magnetic heat in the space between us. Leo silently reached behind me topress the button and my nose brushed against his neck, his musky aftershave was intoxicating and I felt myself being drawn towards him. I leant back to counterbalance the attraction, and he reached his hand out to steady me, his touch making me tingle. He was so tall and strong, and I felt wobbly inside as I looked up into his eyes.
‘Goodnight then,’ he murmured as the lift pinged for my floor. I tilted my head back to kiss him on the cheek, but he went the same way at the same time and nearly caught me on the mouth. We stopped for half a second, his silver eyes on mine, and then our lips found each other, tentatively at first, then kissing more deeply as I pressed myself into the corner of the lift and the doors started to close.
‘Goodnight,’ I said, running my fingers through his hair.
He stroked my cheek, kissing me again, deep and slow this time, then pulled back to look me in the eyes.
‘Goodnight,’ he said throatily, and I realised he’d stuck his foot out to jam the doors open.
I held on to his belt as I backed out of the lift, pulling him towards me, and then pushed him back in. ‘Happy anniversary!’
Seventeen
Tuesday 29th June
I woke up with a smile on my face, and my first thought was of Leo. That kiss had been something else, and it had taken every ounce of willpower I’d had not to drag him back to my room. His lips had drawn me in somehow and I’d been helpless to resist as he’d kissed me, his arms wrapped tight around my waist, holding me close. Or had I kissed him? I shivered in pleasure at the memory then ran into the shower to remember it some more. We’d talked our way through cocktails, dinner, coffee and port and it was only when the clock chimed one that we’d realised the time. I didn’t want to go back toEsmeralda. I wanted to stay here with my pretend husband and enjoy our pretend anniversary break. I’d forgotten how funny and interesting Leo could be. And cute of course. So,socute. I’d done my best to ignore all that when we worked together, to try and stay professional, but it was proving impossible on this trip.
I squirted the tiny toiletries onto the pouffe, lathering them up one by one, and luxuriated in the space one lasttime. I scrubbed my body, washed my hair, shaved my legs again and slathered myself in mini moisturisers. It was back to the peacock dress today; yesterday’s outfit was still full of shale and festering in a carrier bag.
The cotton layers filled with air as I skipped down to breakfast and I felt light as a ballerina. These dresses were gorgeous – I shouldn’t have resisted buying one in every colour; a rainbow of puffball dresses was exactly what I needed to brighten my wardrobe up. Although the carefree vibe wouldn’t have been quite the same back in London; fighting against the December wind as I sloshed my way into the office.
Leo wasn’t up yet – ha! – I’d finally beaten him at something. I poured us both an apple juice and ordered two espressos, then filled a plate with pineapple slices, apricots and a selection of mini pastries. He liked his fruit in the morning, and I wanted to do something nice for him to show my appreciation. The poor man had booked me into a hotel, paid for my flight and taken me for dinner, and I’d accused him of being a nepo-baby snob.
I heard a whistle behind me and turned to find Leo looking spick and span in a dark green shirt and matching shorts. His quiff perfectly gelled to one side.
‘What time do you call this?’ I teased.
‘Mid-morning? I’ve already been up an hour.’ He eyed up my breakfast display. ‘Expecting someone?’
‘Just you.’ I gestured to the empty chair opposite. ‘And me. Obviously.’
‘Oh. Right. Thought you might be having a double breakfast for the hangover.’
‘Now there’s an idea. Perfect conditions for it – an all-you-can-eat buffet and plenty of time to kill.’
‘Not masses,’ he said, checking his watch. ‘I’m an anxious traveller so I like to get to the airport early. Missing the boat yesterday was my idea of hell, especially running for it in front of all those people. Chris has booked us a cab for ten.’
