by Jill Mansell
“When you did your special forces thing and launched yourself across the carpet, your dress flew right up in the back.”
Oh. Oh. Lily sighed. “Just my luck. Did everyone see my panties?”
“Not quite. You had about an inch to spare.” He grinned. “But it’s a relief to know you were wearing some.”
Waaahhh, just imagine…
“Come on,” Eddie said, “don’t worry about it. Mira wants to see you, and I’m sure all the journalists are going to be desperate for a word too.” He led her over to Mira. “Here she is, then.”
And indeed, here she was.
“Hey, it’s the scene-stealer,” Mira Knowles exclaimed.
“Sorry.” Lily inwardly winced.
Mira smiled her dazzling movie-star smile—up close, her teeth were nothing short of astonishing—and said, “I’m kidding! You rescued me, and I’m so grateful! My whole life I’ve been petrified of little scuttly things, and mice are, like, the scuttliest. You were so brave doing that, catching it in your hands.” She shuddered at the mere thought. “Urgh, so gross. Anyhow, thank you for saving me.”
“No problem. I like mice.” Lily was still hyperaware of the cameras on her, the journalists attempting to attract her attention, and people murmuring to each other, “Who is she?”
And other people replying, “Her name’s Patsy Somebody-or-other.”
Whereupon other voices said, “No, it’s not. Her name is Coral.”
“Could we have some pictures of the three of you together?” In response to the photographers, the organizer was making squeeze-up gestures with her splayed hands. The next moment Lily found herself with Eddie on one side of her and Mira Knowles on the other. It was like being in a movie-star sandwich. And Mira had her arm around Lily’s waist.
Somewhere over to the left, she heard a voice say, “Did we get the shot with her skirt flying up?”
And the reply: “Yup.”
Then a camera crew approached them, and a reporter was saying, “Mira, how are you feeling after that close encounter?”
“Grateful toward my rescuer! She’s my new best friend!” As she said it, Mira clasped Lily’s hand and gave it a best-friend squeeze. This probably wasn’t the moment to tell her it was also the hand Snowball had peed on.
“Hey, Coral, turn this way!”
“Patsy! Over here!”
The organizer gave her an odd look and said, “Which one are you?”
“Neither,” Eddie said. “She’s Lily.”
“Oh, you’re Lily,” Mira exclaimed, turning her headlight gaze on her. “I didn’t realize! Eddie’s told me all about you!”
* * *
Once the movie was over, Mira said, “So, what are you two up to now?”
“I was planning to take Lily out to dinner,” Eddie said. “I’ve booked a table at—”
“Oh, don’t do that. No, no, no,” Mira protested, clutching Lily’s hand again.
“I’m hungry, though.” Lily was torn. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“Are you serious? Look at me.” Mira indicated her whippet-thin waist and hips. “I spend my whole life hungry. But we don’t have to go out, do we? We’re all at the same hotel, so why don’t we have dinner in my suite?”
“Well…” Eddie wasn’t sounding enthusiastic.
“Oh, please,” Mira begged. “My driver’s waiting out back; he can take us there now. I’ll die of boredom if you two don’t keep me company. Come on,” she reiterated, intertwining Lily’s fingers with her own. “Say yes! It’ll be fun!”
Chapter 25
It was one o’clock in the morning, and Eddie Tessler was marveling at the way the seduction he’d organized with such care had spectacularly failed to go according to plan.
The more time he’d spent with Lily the other week, the more he’d liked her. Everything about her, in fact. Her quirky character appealed to him; she was funny and bright; and with those huge, brown eyes and that riot of curly golden hair, she almost resembled a cartoon. She was also pretty but remarkably not vain, which was a draw. For the last couple of years, he’d felt as if all he’d encountered was girls obsessed with how they looked, from their acrylic nails to their fake tans.
So when he’d called to invite Lily along to this evening’s premiere, he’d have been lying if he’d said he wasn’t interested in getting to know her better and moving their relationship to the next level. When a twenty-five-year-old girl still lived at home with the person who was effectively her mother, it created a certain dilemma. Bringing her up to London had been intended to overcome that problem.
He’d envisioned a romantic dinner à deux, a deepening of the attraction between them, and an even more romantic moonlight walk along the glittering banks of the Thames as they made their way back to the hotel, followed by maybe one last glass of champagne in the bar before they headed, hand in hand, up to either his room or hers…
What he hadn’t counted on was having this carefully planned sequence of events ruined by an A-list actress with a low boredom threshold and a profound love of word games.
Worse, it was pretty much his own fault. When he and Mira had been in LA the previous week promoting the U.S. release of Catcher, he’d found himself telling her all about Lily. He’d also stressed how natural and unaffected she was and how utterly trustworthy she’d been, keeping the secret of his stay at Stanton Langley when so many others wouldn’t have been able to resist giving it away.
This had been the particular draw for Mira, who’d been famous for so much longer than he had. To be reassured that you could allow yourself to relax completely in the company of someone and not worry that they might be indiscreet was a wonderful feeling, and once Lily had said to her “Don’t worry, I don’t blab,” Mira’s relief had been palpable.
Then Mira had mentioned her passion for Scrabble and that had been it, because Lily loved Scrabble too. For the next two hours, they’d drunk whiskey, gossiped, and played a demon match narrowly won by Lily, who’d then gone on to introduce them to another game called Word Squares that had Mira entranced. More whiskey and laughter and boisterous debates ensued…
Undeniably, it had been a great evening, but to say it hadn’t been the kind Eddie had been looking forward to was something of an understatement.
“Oh God, we’ve finished the whiskey!” Lily was now pointing with disbelief at the empty bottle on the table.
“It’s fine, doesn’t matter,” Mira assured her. “We can call room service and get some more.”
Lily shook her head a bit wildly, her ringlets bouncing around her shoulders like springs. “No, no, we don’t want more. I mean, we’ve finished all that whiskey. And I have to be up in five hours to go to work, and I’m not even a whiskey-drinking person…”
“Well, you should be.” Mira had long ago kicked off her shoes and changed out of her pearl-encrusted evening dress into a camisole top and shorts. “You drink it very well.”
Lily grinned. “Thank you. I didn’t know until tonight that I liked it.”
“Call it my gift to you. I taught you to enjoy whiskey; you taught us to play Word Squares.”
“I should go to bed.”
Yes, we should, thought Eddie.
“Oh no! Just one more game, pleeease,” Mira begged. “I want to beat your best score.”
“You won’t beat it.” Lily shook her head pityingly. “Forty-three is a magnificent score.”
Mira bounced up and down on the sofa. “Let me try, let me try! I love this game so much!”
“Go on, then. One last game. Draw your squares,” said Lily, stifling a yawn. “But after this, I really need to go to sleep.”
“Hang on, quick bathroom break.” Leaping to her feet, Mira held up a skinny index finger. “I’ll be back in one minute.”
It took Eddie less than forty seconds to fetch a bottle of ice wat
er from the minibar in the next room, but by the time he returned, Lily had already reached her limit. The notepad and pen were still resting in her lap, her bare legs were curled up beneath her, and her head had fallen to one side. Her eyes were closed, her mouth very slightly open, her breathing slow and regular.
She was fast asleep.
Back from the bathroom, Mira stared in dismay. “Oh man, what did you let her do that for?”
Eddie shook his head. “I didn’t. I just went to get a drink. When I got back, she was out for the count.”
“Well, that’s no good. Wake her up. I want another game!”
Mira was accustomed to having her every whim instantly catered to. Eddie said, “She’s wiped out. I’ll get her to her room.”
“Then will you come back and play Word Squares with me?”
Their body clocks were both messed up after having just flown over from LA. Eddie wasn’t tired either. Just disappointed.
He said, “I’m pretty exhausted too. Going to call it a night.”
A night devoid of sex, thanks to you.
“You’re no fun,” Mira complained. “That means I’m going to have to call Monty and get him over here to play Word Squares.”
Monty was the long-suffering personal assistant who traveled everywhere with Mira and would be fast asleep right now.
“You do that,” Eddie said. “I’m sure he won’t mind at all.”
He bent down, put the pen and paper on the silver-embossed coffee table, and gently hauled Lily to her feet. “Come on, I’m taking you to your room.”
Lily’s eyes half opened and she nodded. “OK.”
“Bye, sweetie! I totally forgive you for crashing out on me!” Mira had already called Monty’s number and was waiting impatiently for him to pick up.
“Bye.” Lily’s dark lashes flickered as she leaned against Eddie’s side and allowed him to help her out of the suite. In his left hand he carried her shoes and evening bag. She smelled of whiskey and shampoo and the chocolate they’d devoured between them from the minibar.
Finally they reached their rooms, adjacent to each other. Eddie found Lily’s key card in her bag and pushed open the door for her.
“I’m so tired,” Lily whispered, placing her arms around his neck. Her eyes still three-quarters closed, she gave him a clumsy kiss on the cheek. “So tired. Thanks for everything. I can’t believe I played Scrabble with Mira Knowles.”
“And with me,” Eddie reminded her. He was clearly second best.
She nodded in agreement. “Sorry, and with you.” Resting her face against his chest, she yawned. “This has been the most amazing night of my life.”
“Good.” Now wasn’t the time to tell her it could have been better still. With a rueful smile, Eddie said, “Don’t forget. If you need anything, anything at all, I’m just next door.”
Lily nodded again, her hair brushing against the skin exposed by the vee of his open-necked shirt. Eddie realized it was the most physical contact he was going to experience. Then she stepped back, took her shoes and bag, and said sleepily, “Thanks so much. G’night.”
“Night,” Eddie said as she shuffled inside and closed the door.
* * *
Lily woke with a start at six thirty. OK, time to get up. Bit of a headache, but nothing a grown twenty-five-year-old couldn’t handle. She blinked at the elaborate ceiling cornice overhead, then scanned the room and wondered why there were no clothes strewn over the chairs. Had she actually hung them up in the closet last night? Because that was uncharacteristically efficient.
Then she threw back the bedcovers and realized she was still wearing her premiere dress. Well, that solved that mystery. Too much excitement, not enough sleep beforehand, and a crash course in whiskey had caused her to zonk out. Which was good in one way but somewhat disappointing in another, since she’d wondered if last night might have ended up with less sleeping going on.
Then again, if the idea had only been in her head and not Eddie’s, maybe it was just as well. Imagine making a pass at him and being told, gently but firmly, that as far as he was concerned he’d only invited her along because they were friends. And with a bit of whiskey inside her, she might well have been tempted to give it a go.
Oh, the potential for humiliation. Thank goodness she hadn’t done it.
In the shower, to distract herself from thoughts of Eddie, Lily marveled at everything else that had happened yesterday evening: the premiere…the mouse…her panties nearly on show…eating pizza from room service with Eddie and Mira while teaching them how to play Word Squares…
Mad, just mad.
By seven o’clock, she was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, almost ready to leave. The car would be waiting at the front entrance of the hotel at seven fifteen to take her home. Should she knock on Eddie’s door to say good-bye, or would he be asleep and unamused at being woken up?
But as she gathered together her belongings and collected up all the free things in the luxurious marble bathroom—shampoo, little sewing kit, emery boards, disposable slippers!—Lily heard the sounds of movement next door. Two minutes later, having let herself out of her own room, she hesitated, then tapped on Eddie’s door.
It opened almost immediately, and there he was, evidently just out of the shower himself and wearing nothing but a white bath towel slung around his hips.
Which was slightly less than she’d ever seen him in before, and a rather impressive sight.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
Lily hesitated, because the honest answer would have been: a bit dry-mouthed actually, what with you being naked under that towel.
Instead she said brightly, “I’m great. Can’t believe how wiped out I was last night! Anyway, just dropped by to say thank you for inviting me. I had the best time ever.”
“Good.” His smile held a hint of wryness. “I’m glad.”
One tiny thing had been niggling her. “I won’t really be on the front pages of the papers, will I? You weren’t serious about that?”
“Who knows?” Eddie shrugged. “To be honest, it’s more likely to be a photo of Mira leaping into the air to get away from the mouse. Alongside another of the mouse itself.”
Lily nodded, reassured. “It’ll be that.”
“Did you want to come in?” He moved to one side, gesturing for her to do so.
“Better not. It’s ten past seven. By the time I get downstairs, my car will be waiting.” Get me, saying “my car” as if I’ve been chauffeured around all my life.
“OK. Well, bye.” He placed his hand at the back of her neck and drew her toward him. “And thanks for keeping me company. I enjoyed last night far more than I usually do.”
His mouth was an inch from the side of her face, his breath toothpastey and warm. As Lily inhaled the scent of him, he gave her a brief kiss on the cheek…then another…and one more…
Each time his mouth had edged closer to hers, until their lips met. Then several brief kisses transformed into one long one and a rush of heat spread through Lily’s stomach, because she’d wondered so often how it would feel to be kissed by Eddie Tessler.
She’d seen him kissing other girls in movies, and now at last it was happening to her.
Except this time, hopefully, he wasn’t acting.
On the last occasion when a kiss had seemed imminent, they’d been interrupted by Dan’s unexpected arrival at the cottage.
Dan wasn’t here now.
OK, thinking about Dan had to be about the most irrelevant thing she could be doing. As she took a step back and gazed up into Eddie’s eyes, he said, “Coming in after all?”
It was definitely a tempting offer.
But Lily shook her head. “I can’t. The car’s downstairs.”
“The car would wait. That’s what they get paid to do.”
“I know, but I need to get b
ack. For work.” It was expected to be busy at the yard; Marty had the day off, and they were due a visit from one of their biggest overseas buyers.
“Could you not even be a little bit late?” said Eddie.
“I really can’t.”
“You’re breaking my heart.”
Lily smiled. “No, I’m not.” Of course it would be possible to keep the car waiting downstairs, then drive faster back to Stanton Langley to make up the time. But if she was going to sleep with Eddie, she wanted it to be more than a ten-minute quickie.
“If I wasn’t stuck doing interviews,” he murmured, “I’d come with you.”
“I’d still have to work.”
“Not all the time.” He stroked the side of her face, his smile regretful. “OK, I don’t want to, but I’m going to let you go. For now.”
The way he was looking at her caused Lily’s stomach to do a mini flip, which was doubtless what he intended. She nodded. “OK.”
“But this is definitely unfinished business. You do know that, don’t you? I like you,” Eddie said. “And I’ll call you later, OK?”
* * *
Lily emerged from the mirrored elevator on the ground floor and stepped into the foyer of the hotel. Her phone rang, and Eddie’s name flashed up.
She pressed Answer. “Hi, did I forget something?”
“No. Just wait there. I’m on my way down.”
“Um, is that wise, considering you’re not wearing any clothes?” A farcical scenario flashed through her brain, of Eddie emerging from the elevator just as the doors closed, snatching away the towel around his hips…
Then she saw him descending the staircase; in twenty seconds flat he’d pulled on jeans and a T-shirt, though his feet were still bare.
“Missing you already.” He was smiling. “Plus, how bloody rude of me not to walk you to your car.”
He picked up her overnight case, slid his hand around her waist, and together they made their way out through the doors and down the steps.
When the case had been stowed in the trunk of the waiting car, Eddie kissed her once more.
“What are you doing?” Lily pulled back. “People are watching!”
