Page 115 of The One That I Want

‘Tempting…’

He cups my cheek with one hand and leans closer to kiss me. Oh, I couldsolie here in this bed all day, just talking and…

‘Nope!’ I say, abruptly sitting upright.

Ewan responds with surprised laughter. ‘Hopefully that wasn’t an indictment of my kissing skills. I’m a little rusty, but…’

‘Definitely not that,’ I say, flinging back the covers and climbing out of bed. ‘But if I stay in this bed a moment longer, I will be late, and the repercussions will be… let’s just say,unpleasant.’ I begin scouting the room for my clutch and my clothes when it suddenly occurs to me that I’m completely naked, something I haven’t been in front of a man for ages.

I glance back to the bed where Ewan has propped his head up on two pillows and is watching me with a lusty expression on his face. I can conclusively say I’ve never had a lover who’s looked at me like that.

I stand still, cocking one hip and placing a hand on the other, meeting his eye with newfound confidence.

‘You are so sexy, you know that?’ he growls, and it takes all my willpower not to launch myself onto the bed and call in with that paltry excuse he fabricated.

‘Why, thank you, Mr Wilder. I could say the same about you.’

We hold each other’s gaze for a while longer and I am serious danger of my nethers erupting into flames.

‘Right!’ I say, snapping out of my sex-themed trance. ‘Shower!’

With Ewan accommodating all my (non-sexual) needs – a shower, a coffee, a cronut for the Tube, a kiss goodbye, and a promise to call later – I arrive atNouveautwenty minutes before my first meeting. That’s just enough time to steal into The Wardrobe and raid their make-up stash.

I’m applying some cream blush when Mimi comes to stand behind me, meeting my eye in the mirror.

‘Hi, Mimi.’

‘Hello,’ she says with a smirk. ‘I haven’t seen you in here before – like this… to… er…’ She draws a circle around her face with the forefinger.

‘To make myself up because I spent the night somewhere else?’ I proffer.

She’s shocked for a moment, but then she cackles with laughter. ‘Oh, to be that young again,’ she says with a sigh.

She wanders off towards her desk, but her words echo in my ear. For weeks now, I’ve been telling myself that the biological clock is ticking, and that I may have left it too late to fall in love and start a family.

Now I’m seeing Ewan – wonderful, funny, kind, sexy Ewan – and the life I want seems within reach for the first time.

And Iamstill young – relatively speaking. If I live as long as my Oma, who’s still as bright as a button aged ninety-six, I’m barely a third of the way through my life.

‘So stop being such a drama queen about ageing,’ I tell myself in the mirror.

I select a mini mascara from the vast array and do my lashes, then regard myself. My hair has this sexy, mussed-up vibe andmy make-up – hastily applied from samples – will do. Ewan even ironed my clothes while I was in the shower – darling man.

I stand and regard myself in the mirror.

‘Greta Fucking Davies, badass editor and recently shagged woman, at your service.’

Poppy

I arrive home on Wednesday evening to find Evie sitting at the breakfast bar, sobbing. Tristan meets my eye, panicked and telegraphing ‘Help’ with his eyes.

I dump my belongings on the hallstand and cross to her.

‘Evie, what’s wrong?’ I ask, wrapping her up in a hug.

‘I’m sorry to show up unannounced but Liv’s away and I didn’t know what else to do.’

It’s a good thing I speak ‘sobbing woman’ fluently – if I didn’t, that would have been totally unintelligible. I look to Tristan, who shrugs at me.

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