Page 38 of Marry Me…Maybe?
She’d make sure it was.
7
After blearily waving Tristan and Lula off on their honeymoon at midday the next day, Theo and Emily went back to bed and slept till the afternoon, waking to have slow, lazy sex again, then doze in the late afternoon sun that poured in through the large windows of the guest house until Emily maintained she really had to go back home to London.
As much as she’d loved finally breaking through Theo’s iron control and making up for the time they’d wasted, she didn’t want to give him the impression she was moving in to stay. In fact, she was confused about exactly what she did want from him.
She’d assured him she wasn’t a hearts and flowers person, and was not looking for anything serious, but after confessing her deepest, darkest secrets to him the night before, their connection felt edgy and a little more unbalanced than she was comfortable with. He’d given no indication at all that he was interested in taking this thing further, and he was still refusing to tell her anything personal about himself, so she needed to be careful here.
So, after she’d finally peeled herself away from his addictive company, she made her way back home.
Her flat felt very small and cramped after being at Theo’s place, and she wasn’t able to stay in it long before the urge to go out again took hold of her.
She met up with some friends at a pub in Covent Garden and flirted a little with some men she met at the bar, but the experience didn’t satisfy her as it should have.
She left early, citing tiredness – which her friends ribbed her about – and was glad when she got home and was able to fall into bed. Drifting off into sleep, she told herself that things would be fine between her and Theo because neither of them wanted a proper relationship, so neither of them would have any trouble walking away at the end. After all, there had hardly even been a beginning.
The next morning, she woke to an urgent answer machine message from her agent, pointing out that the production company still hadn’t sent through her contract to host the new and improved version ofTreasure Trailon the more highbrow channel it was moving to, and that they were fobbing him off when he chased them about it.
It was time to get serious and sort this thing out once and for all.
Taking a deep breath, she called the executive producer on his personal mobile.
He answered with a terse, ‘Yup.’
‘Ben, it’s Emily. What the hell’s going on with my new contract? Apparently, my agent hasn’t had anything from you, and filming starts in less than a month.’
There was a long pause before he replied, as if he was waving for someone to shut up in the background. ‘Ah, yes… About that… There might be some changes being made to the show.’
Her skin rose in goosebumps as a feeling of unease flooded through her. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Look, Emily, the thing is some of the new station heads have been bandying around the idea of replacing you with Daisy Dunlop – you know, the ex?—’
‘I know who she is, Ben,’ she snapped, before she could stop herself.
There was an offended pause on the other end of the line.
‘I’m sorry for being short with you,’ she said quickly, ‘but you can’t blame me for being worried I’m about to lose my job.’
‘I get it, Emily, but hold your nerve, okay? We’re meeting soon to finalise everything and I’ll let you know as soon as I have all the information. I’ll be rooting for you. I want you to stay.’
‘Hmm…’ She couldn’t quite bring herself to believe that. The two of them had always had what she’d describe as a tricky relationship, at best.
‘So, what have you been up to since the filming wrapped?’ he asked, clearly keen to divert her away from the subject of her potential ousting.
That was okay, though, because it gave her an opportunity to point out that she was capable of non-sensational behaviour. ‘I’ve been helping my best friend with her wedding and hanging out at my boyfriend, Theo’s, place.’ She cringed a little at the word boyfriend, but told herself that what Theo didn’t know about wouldn’t hurt him.
‘The earl?’
‘Yes.’
He let out a surprised laugh. ‘So you’re really serious about this guy? I thought it was just another one of your over-the-top publicity stunts.’
Prickly irritation wound through her insides. ‘Nope. We’re serious. As serious as you can get.’ She was damned if she was going to let Ben try and make her feel bad about how she chose to live her life.
‘As in “engaged” serious?’
She shifted uneasily on the sofa, but held her nerve. ‘Well, I wouldn’t like to say, Ben. Especially as our friends and family haven’t heard us say that word yet,’ she said, loading her voice with innuendo and feeling a sneaking sense of shame at the little white lie. Not that Theo would ever get to hear about it. It was unlikely that his and Ben’s paths would ever cross.
