Page 37 of Love ad Lib
‘I didn’t want you to worry.’
She held her sides, trying to hold the laughter in. ‘Henry, I don’t think anyone’s ever kissed my bum.’
‘Ah, okay. Are the items acceptable so far?’
‘Let me reserve judgement until I’ve got to the end.’
She continued reading.
Light, closed lipped kiss on the back of the hand
Light, closed lipped kiss on the palm of the hand
Slow dancing
Loving glances
Declarations of love
‘Declarations of love?Loving glances?They’re not physical.’
‘I know, but they are pretty intimate, so I thought I’d add them to the end. If you want to add anything else, be my guest.’
‘A little light bondage… Orgasm denial…’ She shrieked with laughter at the look on his face. ‘I’m joking!’ She read further. ‘“Safe words. Libby Fletcher is to supply Henry Foxbrooke with two safe words. The first should be considered a warning, and the second a hard no for him to cease whichever activity he is performing.”’ She looked up. ‘Are you expecting me to start shouting “red” if you throw too many loving glances my way?’
‘I just want you to feel safe.’
Her heart melted.
She reached across the table again and squeezed his hand. ‘I do. I think you might be the sweetest man I’ve ever met.’
She held his gaze and smiled. His blush was evident, so she let his hand go and picked up the papers again.
‘Right. Which chapters do we have left? Mark, Luke or John? Ah no, “Remuneration”.’ She read the page then fixed him with what she hoped was a stern look. ‘Henry,ifI take this job then this contract means I could scarper after a day and you’d still pay me five grand?’
He nodded.
‘That hardly seems fair. To you.’
‘Those are my terms.’
‘If you say so, hot shot. Remind me not to make you my financial advisor. Okay, what’s left? “Termination Clauses”. Yep, yep, yep, once again weighted entirely in my favour. “Non-Disclosure Agreement”. Fair enough. “Addendum”.’ She looked up. ‘My name is nowElizabeth?’
‘Er, yes. I was put on the spot by my mother and because I was about to go on a date with Elizabeth, I said her name. Everyone will still call you Libby. We can say it’s what you prefer Elizabeth to be shortened to.’
Her throat tightened. The laughter that had so easily spilled out had now gone, revealing the wretched chasm of her own inferiority when next to someone as all-together as Henry.
He cleared his throat. ‘So, when do you think you can give me an answer?’
7
Henry’s feet moved on autopilot, carrying him to the Central Line, while his mind churned over his meeting with Libby and Lucas. He thought he had a handle on Libby, a sense of what she was like. However, meeting her boyfriend had thrown these ideas into disarray. Understandably, Lucas was looking out for his girlfriend, but that hadn’t translated into his actions. Henry stared at his frowning face in the window of the tube as it rattled through the tunnels. Why did he dislike Lucas so much? Had he turned into such a miserable bastard that he disliked almost everyone?
No. Just a lot of men. He leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees and pinching the bridge of his nose. He hadn’t seen or spoken to his two best friends, Jack and Finn, for far too long. Jack had a flat in London but lived in the south of France, doing some kind of party-planning for the uber-rich. Finn was back in Foxbrooke, working as a carpenter and builder. Henry imagined ringing them up out of the blue.Hey, I know we haven’t talked in forever, but I just had to ask. Am I a misanthropic git?A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Finn would reply,not as much as me,and Jack would laugh and tell Henry he needed to try harder.
The tube reached Bank station and Henry stepped off, striding towards the Conqueror offices. He’d spent so much time over the last couple of days creating the contract for Libby that he was behind with his work. He’d have to work the weekend as well as take his clients out on Saturday night.
A text pinged in.
