Page 35 of Love ad Lib
She turned her attention back to the contract and sucked on her lip. How could she measure up to what was needed for this role? Her mind jumped to Lucas, where it always went when she was down. But thinking of him now was like listening to the off-key organ music droning in Coffine House. Was she crazy to have hoped for so long that their relationship was ever going to be more than friends?
‘Libby, you’re perfect for this.’
She summoned a smile. ‘Am I perfect because I exist?’
‘That is a bonus,’ he admitted. ‘Look, you need to take your time going through the contract, but if you agree to this, I’ll advance you half the money now so you can get anything you think you might need.’
Like the removal of my overdraft…
She turned the page to find a list of all their supposed previous dates, her heart skipping a beat.
‘You took me boating on the river? We climbed the O2 arena? We took a spin on the London Eye? Bloody hell, Henry, we’ve been busy.’
‘Feel free to delete any you don’t like and add in any others.’
‘We swam with sharks at the Sea Life Centre? Seriously?’
‘I googled date ideas in London and put in a selection.’
Dear god. She caught his eye and raised her eyebrows. ‘How about we stayed in and watched telly?’
He took the contract from her and scribbled notes in the margins.
‘Or I introduced you to Serafina, and the joys of sourdough?’
‘Serafina?’
‘She’s my starter. I’ve had her since I was a teenager. It’s the longest co-dependent relationship I’ve ever had.’
‘Starter?’
‘A starter is a mix of flour, water and live yeasts. I keep feeding it, sorry,her, and she gives me bread.’
‘Will she be coming with you to Foxbrooke?’
Libby nodded. ‘You can put starters in hibernation, but I like to keep her close. Serafina is very well-travelled.’
Henry wrote more notes on the contract, then handed it back to her to read.
Next up was ‘Personal Requirements’, which was also left blank.
‘What’s this for? My rider?’ she asked.
‘Kind of, I suppose. It’s things like dietary specifications, ideal room temperature, exercise equipment needs, whether you need to watch or listen to certain programmes at a particular time. That kind of thing.’
‘Woah. Okay. I think I’m pretty easy.’Said the actress to the bishop…
She turned the page to ‘Intimacy’, her eyes widening as she read.
‘“I, Henry Foxbrooke will remain at least eight inches away from Libby Fletcher at all times, in accordance with paragraph four, clause nine, and appendix one.”’ She glanced up. ‘Henry...’
‘Yes?’ He looked nervous.
‘How are you going to keep to eight inches? Are you going to carry around a ruler?
‘Um—’
‘And why eight inches?’
