Page 90 of You Had Me at Chateau
My voice trails off.
‘I should have known you wouldn’t have done that,’ Caleb tells me. ‘Instead, I acted like a baby, and I’m sorry. I think it just freaked me out, how much I was enjoying spending time with you, and then thinking that you might have sold me out, and then Annabelle turning up… Look, when you came back, we were in the middle of talking. I was telling her that she and I were over, apologising for making it seem like I was still with her, but making it clear it was only for the money. And she’s not that bothered, it turns out, because I offered her my share of the money, and she took it, and she left.’
‘And they say romance is dead,’ I manage to joke.
‘I can send you your share now, by the way,’ Caleb says.
‘Keep it,’ I say with a shrug. ‘I never really deserved it in the first place. Plus, I had an email from my editor, and I think her brain must have malfunctioned because I sent her my godawful book, and she reckons she wants to give me an advance for it. It makes no sense. I’m sure she’ll realise her mistake in the new year.’
‘Amber, wait, is that all she said?’ Caleb asks.
‘Yeah,’ I reply. ‘I think maybe she meant to send it to someone else or something, because she can’t have meant it for me.’
‘Or, maybe, it’s because I sent my manuscript to my editor and told him that I had co-written it with you. That you had added the extra scenes. And then maybe I pitched our other ideato him, and he loved it, but I said we came as a team, so we would have to write it together,’ Caleb explains.
‘You did what?’ I blurt. ‘You did that for me?’
Caleb shrugs casually.
‘Oh, I only did it so that you would be stuck with me,’ he jokes. ‘If you want to be partners in crime, that is.’
Imagine, not only getting to write the kind of books I want to, but doing so with someone like Caleb who is not only genuinely talented but a big enough name to get actual marketing, Tube adverts, TV spots – the works.
I grab him and give him a squeeze.
‘I would love that,’ I tell him. ‘Thank you.’
‘No, thank you,’ he replies. ‘I would have put out a crap book and it probably would’ve flopped. You’ve made it something special.’
I can’t wipe the smile from my face.
‘You didn’t have to come to my mum and dad’s weird party to tell me that,’ I point out.
‘No, I didn’t,’ he replies. ‘But when Tom set me straight, saying you seemed like you might miss me, I knew what I needed to do, if I wanted to win you back.’
My breath catches in my throat, not that I let Caleb see that.
‘You’re here to win me back, huh?’ I say.
‘Yep,’ he replies. ‘I had hoped the book deal would do it but you’re tougher than you look so, I don’t know, name your price.’
‘I don’t have a price,’ I tell him. ‘I have a punishment. If you’re serious then I want you to walk into that house and meet my parents and all their weird friends. If you survive that then maybe, just maybe, we can talk. What are you doing for Christmas?’
‘No plans,’ he says. ‘I got a bit too distracted to make any, with any of my friends, so…’
‘Oh, so you’re here for a dinner,’ I tease.
‘You know I love a free dinner,’ he replies with a smile. ‘And I love a weird family party so, let me at them.’
‘Are you sure?’ I reply.
‘I’ve never been more sure,’ he tells me. ‘Look, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but can I please kiss you already? I don’t mind if you taste like a Scotch egg.’
‘Shut up,’ I say, pulling him close, making the first move.
Just like that, everything feels right again. It’s like I’ve never been away from him, like I didn’t feel a second of heartbreak. All that matters is now.
As our lips part, Caleb grabs my cocktail and knocks it back.
