Page 85 of Love At First Fright
“So perfect,” Ellis chanted in her ear, as their breath and bodies slowed. Another phrase came to the tip of his tongue and almost spilled out. One he was desperate to tell her. But Rosemary deserved the truth about him, all of it. He just needed to be brave enough to share it.
30
Rosemary was a heavy sleeper.They’d had dinner, but the moment it reached 10p.m., she was already falling asleep on his shoulder on the sofa. Ellis had carried her upstairs, an equally sleepy Fig at his heels, and he’d left the two of them in the bedroom, Rosemary tucked under the duvet and Fig curled up on the rug. He bet when he finally went to bed himself he’d find Fig taking up his side next to Rosemary.
But Ellis couldn’t sleep, not yet. The sex might have stymied his anxieties for a moment, but they’d already returned with a vengeance. So he got back to work in the secret room, being as quiet as possible as he assembled the desk for Rosemary and unwrapped the beanbag chair from its packaging. Rosemary had told him it was the most comfortable chair to write in, and he’d scoured the internet to find one he thought might fit the bill.
The hours fell away as Ellis prepared the room for Rosemary. At one point he sat down, resting against a newly built bookshelf. He was just going to shut his eyes for a moment, he wasn’t really tired.
When he woke up, the sky outside was purpling with dawn.Fuck.His whole body ached from sleeping on the floor. At least the room was done.
Ellis looked at his handiwork. He didn’t want to over-decorate, so Rosemary could put her own spin on things, but he’d put up a row of fairy lights along the shelves to give it a cosy feel. He hoped this would be enough to make her stay. To make her want him, when he told her everything about himself.
Ellis went and made himself a coffee in the kitchen, letting Fig out into the dew-frosted garden to run out some energy.
Half an hour later, just before nine, Rosemary came downstairs. She was wearing mismatched socks, her long ginger plait all messed from sleep, and she was wearing one of his T-shirts from the previous day. Ellis thought, as she stumbled half asleep into the kitchen, that Rosemary had never looked more beautiful.
“Coffee?” he asked.
“Please,” she croaked. “I woke up and you weren’t in bed.”
“I’m sorry. I had some work to finish.”
She took him in, the rumpled clothes, the flecks of paint on his jogging bottoms, the dark circles likely under his eyes, and asked, “On the secret room?”
He nodded. They drank their coffee, and Ellis had to force himself to stop being antsy. Juliet’s words played over and over in his head. He made his decision: he was going to tell Rosemary the truth.
When she’d finished her coffee, he took her by the hand.
“Close your eyes.”
“Are we going to the secret room that’s definitely not a sex dungeon?”
He huffed a laugh. “We are.”
Ellis stood behind Rosemary and guided her to the room, pushing it open. He flicked on the lights.
“Open your eyes.”
He felt the gasp, the sudden rise of her shoulders, her hands clapped to her mouth.
“Ellis.What is this?”
“It’s for you. I know you’re stressed about the deadline, and you said you missed having your office space, so I thought you should have one.”
She swiped tears from her face and turned to face him. “You did all of this for me?”
Ellis wrapped his arms around Rosemary, tilting her chin up to face him, brushing away her tears with his thumb. “I would do anything for you.”
“I love it. So much.” She sniffled, going up on her tiptoes to kiss him.Christ, he loved this woman.“But I’m only here for a month,” Rosemary added. Ellis felt the smile fall from his face.
“Maybe I’m hoping you’ll stay,” he said. “I had a long time to think yesterday. I read Juliet’s journal.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “She wrote something new, you know? And it made me realise something.” Ellis sucked in a breath. “I haven’t been honest with you.”
Rosemary pulled back to look at him. “Okay. Is this about the fake dating thing?”
