Page 52 of Christmas off Script
‘Thank you.’ She took a fresh pair of PJs from a drawer, then went into the bathroom to change.
Leo stood by the side of the four-poster bed, suddenly unsure of himself. Had he crossed a line by kissing Ella’s elbow? Why did it feel as if he had? And why did it feel so…differentto normal?
Ella re-entered the room, her long hair brushed and falling around her shoulders in black waves. Leo had the sudden urge to run his fingers through it.
Woah! Get it together, you creep!
Getting onto the bed, Ella gestured to it. ‘There’s enough room for you. I know it’s not as big as your dictator-sized one next door, but it’s big enough.’
He got onto the bed next to her. ‘Dictator-sized?’
‘Sorry, Supreme Leader-sized. Is that right?’
He rolled his eyes. ‘It’s an Emperor.’
‘Apologies, your eminence. And thank you for slumming it in this antique four-poster bed.’
‘Still too small for sleep jogging,’ he grumbled. ‘And too high off the ground. I’ll fall out and give myself an owie.’
‘Well, if you do, I promise I’ll kiss it better.’
Without thinking, Leo threw himself out of the bed, landing with an almighty crash on the wooden floor. ‘Fuck!’
He looked up to see Ella’s laughing face as she peered over the edge of the bed at him. ‘No kisses if it was intentional.’
‘That hurt way more than I thought it would. I don’t know why I did it.’
‘Because you’re selfless when it comes to cheering me up. Now come and tell me how your hot date went.’
He got back into the bed next to her. ‘Bloody marvellous. Best first date yet.’
‘Oh. Really?’
‘Yep. She spent most of the meal trying to teach me how to do a quadratic equation and left with the waiter’s phone number in her pocket.’
‘What?’
‘She’s a maths teacher, and the waiter wasextremelyFrench.’
Ella clapped a hand to her mouth, but it didn’t stop the laughter from bursting out. ‘Oh, my god! That sounds horrendous!’
‘She also said I was a “really sweet guy”, but that we would never be more than friends.’
‘I’m sorry. Did you really like her?’
He shrugged. ‘Not as a girlfriend. And she also looked a lot like Lila, which was weird.’
Ella didn’t reply.
‘Anyway, on the way home, I deleted the dating app.’
‘Why?’
‘I can’t be arsed right now and besides, I don’t have time.’
‘Sorry.’
‘Huh? What for?’
