Heart beating madly, she stared at her surroundings. The hall was absolutely enormous, almost as big as her front room, with Victorian tiles broken up by an expensive woven rug. Ahead of her, a staircase wound its way up elegantly. He said he was on the ground floor, but the house was huge with a myriad of rooms to the left and right of the staircase. She smoothed down her skirt with perspiring hands and peered into two reception rooms, a study and some sort of cinema room, judging from the huge mounted flat screen, before she eventually hit the library towards the middle of the house.
Through the half-open door, she glimpsed him with his head buried in a mountain of open books on the heavy oak desk he was sitting at. Hesitantly, she knocked.
11
Theo, glanced up and, for a moment, shock registered in his piercing eyes before he quickly composed himself.
“Elizabeth. Where’s Alison?” He regarded her quizzically and she saw he was watching her intently.
Elizabeth averted her eyes, the familiar heat spreading into her cheeks as she felt a tightening in her chest as if she was about to have a panic attack. She looked at him, trying to depict an ease she didn’t necessarily feel.
“I’m sorry; she couldn’t leave the office and asked if I could drop these files to you.” Moistening her lips, she cautiously stepped forward into the room and towards his desk. Placing the files in front of him, Theo didn’t say a word as he just continued to stare at her.
The tension was broken with her mobile phone ringing loudly in her bag. Startled, she mumbled an apology and started to rummage through her satchel looking for it. Theo sat back in his chair, watching her fumble and getting increasingly frustrated at her lack of discovery. Finally, she retrieved it and holding a finger up to him, she answered the unrecognised number.
“Hello, Beth speaking.” Elizabeth listened to the caller on the other line.
“What? No, this can’t be happening! What am I supposed to do? I can’t go on Monday. No!” Theo listened to the one-sided conversation and could see Elizabeth getting visibly upset.
Elizabeth hung up the call after a few minutes. She couldn’t believe it. The ticket office had called to inform her that her pre-booked train ticket was cancelled due to a morning strike. Feeling a rush of emotions and panic, tears glistened in her eyes as she tried to figure out the best way to get home. Theo got out of his chair and walked around the desk, concern etched in his features.
“Beth, is everything okay?” he asked softly.
Fighting an overwhelming need to be close to him, Elizabeth shook her head as she quickly brushed away her tears.
“No! I have to be home tomorrow for my parent’s anniversary party, but that was the train company. They’re on strike and my ticket is cancelled.” She teared up again at the thought of missing the party. “I have no way of getting back in time and I don’t know what to do.” She shrugged her shoulders helplessly.
“I’ll take you.”
“Wh…what?” She stammered. “Oh no, I couldn’t ask you to do that. Thank you, but I’m sure you have better things to do on the weekend than to attend my family party.” She shook her head, surprised at his offer. She was truly stuck. If she said no, she would miss her parents’ party. If she said yes, she’d have to face more alone time with him, which right now, she wasn’t sure she could handle. There was a lot of unspoken words between them and it felt like a choice between a rock and a hard place. He interrupted her thoughts.
“It’s fine, I’d like to. Please, let me.” His face finally broke into one of the rare smiles and Elizabeth felt her resolve melting. “And no, I didn’t have any particular plans this weekend. So it’s settled then.” He walked back around to where he was sitting and looked up at her again. “What time shall I pick you up in the morning?”
* * *
At ten o’clock the following morning, Theo buzzed the intercom on her flat. Grabbing her weekend bag, she hastily gave herself one last look over in the mirror. Her long blonde hair was hanging straight down over her shoulders, sunglasses perched in anticipation on her head. Keeping her make up light, for she had acquired a lovely golden tan over the summer, she chose to wear a simple white t-shirt and denim cut off shorts. She slipped her feet into her wedge sandals and shut the door behind her, making her way downstairs.
She felt a tingling in the pit of her stomach at the thought of spending most of the weekend with Theo and despite her nerves, she couldn’t deny the spark of excitement at the prospect. Yesterday, he had booked a room at the same hotel she was staying at, happy for the chance to explore Somerset for he had never visited before and was looking forward to seeing that part of the Country.
In turn, she had tried to call her parents last night to explain the situation and let them know she was bringing a guest, but they must have been out dining with their friends for she couldn’t get hold of them.
Opening the downstairs door, her breath momentarily caught in her throat as she spotted him, leaning casually against the bonnet of his Porsche. She paused, as she drank in his appearance. The deeply tanned muscles rippling on display under his white polo shirt quickened her pulse and his stance emphasised his strong thighs and slim hips in the light khaki trousers he was wearing. She took in his tempting and attractive male physique as she watched him adjust his brown aviators. Elizabeth felt she could stand and happily watch his handsome profile all day, but taking a deep breath, she walked towards him, smiling shyly.
“Hi.” She looked at him not being able gauge his reaction behind the sunglasses in the bright sunlight.
“Hi, yourself,” he spoke in a low voice, his lips turning upwards in a half smile. Elizabeth’s hair blew around her face in the light summer breeze and before she had a chance to sweep it out of her way, Theo reached out and tucked a few strands behind her ear. It was such a small gesture, but the feeling of his hands on her face, like a soft caress sent sparks shooting through her. She couldn’t help but lightly colour. He took her bag out of her hands and put it in the boot, whilst she stood there watching. Coming back to her, he opened the passenger door.
“My lady, your chariot awaits.” His fake English accent and theatrical bow had Elizabeth smiling and shaking her head as she stepped into the car.
“Thank you, kind sir.” She flashed him a grin as he raced around to the driver side.
“Nice wheels, Theo,” she admired, running her hands over the smooth dash. The engine roared to life and Theo turned to face her.
“Thanks. This is one of my babies that I keep for weekend travel.” He gave her a wink and Elizabeth’s heart started fluttering wildly.
“Just “one” of your cars?” She teased.
“Yup.” He elongated his word, popping the end, grinning at her. “What can I say, I like my toys.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Boys and their toys she smirked to herself.
“Are you okay to ride topless?”
She spun her head towards him. “Pardon?” Her eyes widened and feeling flustered, she was unsure if she had heard him correctly. Her reaction seemed to amuse him as laughter rose up from his throat.
“While I have no issues with you riding topless, Elizabeth, I was actually referring to the roof.” His laugh broke off and his eyes smouldered at her. Blushing furiously, Elizabeth simply shook her head and turned to her window to catch her breath as all sorts of emotions ran through her. She could feel her nipples tightening under her t-shirt and drew her arms over her chest. If he noticed, he didn’t comment as he waited for the roof to recline back before he manoeuvred out into the morning traffic.
The drive down to Taunton was filled with laughter and banter between them. Elizabeth was a bundle of nerves at the start of the day, fearing their trip would be awkward, but Theo had an amazing quality of making her feel completely relaxed in his company. Although they were both very aware of how things were left between them last weekend, tactfully, neither of them chose to discuss the event during the journey down. Instead, their conversation was light and at times flirty, a
s they talked about their favourite music, bands, books and other easy-going topics. She was surprised that they both enjoyed mostly equal taste in music, had a mutual love of Asian food and by the easy banter they shared, it was clear they had a very similar of humour.
Elizabeth was fantastic at doing impersonations of famous people and at many times throughout the journey, Theo threw his head back and roared with laughter. His laughter was marvellous and catching and Elizabeth couldn’t really remember the last time she had so much fun with anyone.
A few hours later, after a short stop for lunch, they arrived at their hotel in Taunton and checked into their separate rooms. It felt a bit surreal being back in a hotel room, near home, exactly a week later from her Cinderella experience last week. She sat on her bed in her modest room and reflected on her journey with Theo. As much as she tried to keep a check on her feelings, she just couldn’t help the way he made her feel. It was bittersweet because she knew her feelings were not reciprocated but, at the same time, even she could see that he was somewhat attracted to her, except for the part where he had zero desire to sleep with her.
She shook her head trying to diffuse her thoughts. Her parents’ party was due to start in a couple of hours and she was due to meet Theo downstairs in the reception area soon.
After a quick freshen up, Elizabeth slipped into her hot pink maxi dress, pinned her hair up, leaving a few loose tendrils around her face and put on some fresh light make-up. She spritzed herself with her favourite perfume, grabbed her clutch and set off downstairs to meet Theo.
She spotted him sitting by himself reading a newspaper on the large comfortable sofa and walked over to him. He had also changed into a light shirt and trousers and his hair still looked damp from the shower he had taken. She moistened her lips just as he looked up, catching her staring. She quickly looked away, but not before she saw him smirk at her.
“You look lovely, Elizabeth.” He folded the newspaper and raked his eyes over her dress.
“Thank you. You don’t clean up too badly yourself,” she joked. “Shall we go?”
She directed him to her family home, which was just outside Taunton in a small village. As she neared her house, she felt both excitement and nerves building up in her. En route, she pointed out a few of her favourite spots, especially the field where she liked to take long walks with their dogs.
They turned into a small winding lane and Elizabeth directed Theo to her house which was just along a small dirt road, off the lane. There were plenty of cars already parked up and soon, the cottage came into view. She smiled happily when she saw it and glanced at Theo for his reaction.
“Elizabeth, this is beautiful.” He seemed genuinely impressed which made Elizabeth happy – it felt good to delight the man who had everything. They pulled up to park on one of the empty spaces in front of her house and immediately she could hear the sound of barking.
“Theo, I hope you like dogs. Because here come Meg and Lupo.” She opened her car door and was immediately set upon by two golden Labradors. Knowing not to jump up, they surrounded Elizabeth with barking, tail wagging and tried their best to lick her face, which she managed to keep away. Laughing and hugging her dogs, she told them to settle down and looked over at Theo who was smiling and watching her intently.
“Theo, come and say hello. Meg, Lupo, behave.”
Theo walked around the car, holding out his outstretched hand for the dogs to sniff. After a few cautious sniffs, they started barking and wagging their tails, trying to lick him as if he was their long lost friend.
“I think they approve, Theo.” Elizabeth laughed as Theo’s expression lit up with her compliment.
“That’s because they know who the boss is here,” he teased, winking at her.
“Oh please, you’re full of yourself,” she playfully shoved him in his chest and he grabbed hold of her hand, holding it against him. The laughter broke away as the air became charged with something else as Theo’s eyes darkened. He opened his mouth to speak and Elizabeth held her breath.
“Beth, we thought it would be you with the commotion the dogs were causing. Come here, darling.” Elizabeth dropped her hand from Theo’s chest and dragged her eyes away from his. She turned around to see her dad standing by the open door. She ran into his arms.
“Daddy! So good to see you.” She smiled, hugging him fiercely. “I’d like you to meet, Theo.” She stepped out of John’s embrace and gazed at Theo, who was standing behind her. He held his outstretched hand to John.
“Mr Morgan, sir, pleasure to meet you. Thank you for extending the invitation.”
John shook his hand, smiling warmly at Theo.
“Please, Theo, call me John, son. We don’t have any of that formality nonsense in my house.” He patted Theo on his back and Elizabeth sensed him relaxing behind her. “Come on in you two, food is out back in the marquee, the waiters are serving drinks and the band should start playing shortly.” He looked over Elizabeth’s shoulder at someone who was trying to get his attention. “If you don’t mind, please excuse me for a moment.” John gave Elizabeth another squeeze and wondered off in the direction he was being hailed.
“Great guy,” Theo commented, looking around her home. She flashed him a smile and led him into the kitchen where she spotted her mum with a few of her girlfriends. Elizabeth was a younger version of her mum and standing there observing her for a moment, Elizabeth was struck by her elegance and beauty, hoping to age just as beautifully as her one day. Just then Sally looked up and spotted her daughter, a grin splitting her face.
“Beth, you’re here.” She stepped away from her friends and grabbed Elizabeth into a hug.
“Mum, you look lovely.” She hugged her tighter, realising just how much she had missed her.
“Who is this lovely gentleman you’ve brought with you?”
“Mum, this is Theo.” She pulled Theo up beside her and stepping behind him for a moment, Sally fanned herself, making Elizabeth laugh and blush. Theo turned around to see what she was doing, looking puzzled at the secret joke passing between mother and daughter.
“Mrs. Morgan, pleasure to meet you. You and Elizabeth look like sisters.” He gave Sally a devastatingly handsome smile as he kissed her on both cheeks.
“Oh, Beth. He’s a keeper.” Her mum laughed and Elizabeth coloured deeply, looking away in embarrassment.
“Mum, please. Theo’s my boss.” She tried to laugh off her mother’s joke, cringing as Theo laughed.
“I’m just joking, Theo. It’s lovely to meet you and, please, call me Sally.” They made small talk for a few minutes with the rest of the group in the kitchen and Elizabeth observed just how charming and at ease he was with her family. They seemed to take to him straightaway as he stood around chatting with various friends and family members.
The party was great fun, the band played some wonderful songs and both Theo and Elizabeth even danced to a few fast numbers. They mingled with everyone, enjoyed the food and generally had a really good time together. She needn’t have worried about the thought of Theo being bored as he fit into her family extremely well and they accepted him as if they had known him for years.
Every now and then, if they were apart, they would steal glances at each other. Each time his gaze met hers, her heart turned over in response. She felt herself being drawn into him and a tingling sensation spread low in her belly as she envisioned his mouth on hers. Fighting her thoughts, she would be the first to tear her eyes away from their heated stares.
It was after midnight when the party was winding down and Elizabeth and Theo were back in his car after a few long goodbyes. She smiled at him, feeling shy and uncertain.
“I hope you had a good time and it wasn’t too boring for you.” She looked at his strong profile as she spoke, her eyes lingering on his large hands lightly gripping the steering wheel, remembering the feel of them on her.
“Are you kidding? You have an awesome family; it was so much fun.” He glanced at her, smiling and revealing his dim
ple. “Your parents are so in love with each other.”
“Yes, they are. Someday, that’s what I want too.” She whispered the last bit, looking out of her window at the country lanes. They would be at the hotel soon and Elizabeth wasn’t ready to say goodnight to him. Her body ached for his touch, her whole being seemed to be filled with waiting.
A few minutes later, they reached the hotel and made their way to their rooms. Elizabeth was filled with a sense of déjà vu, but this time was determined to keep her feelings in check for fear of being rejected once again. The booking team had placed them in rooms next to one another so they turned to face each other once they arrived at their door.
Theo’s expression was dark and intense as he looked at her. The very air around them seemed electrified, the pull between them getting stronger and stronger. He ran his knuckles gently over her face and Elizabeth unconsciously leaned into his hand.
“Fuck.” He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.
Breaking the spell, Elizabeth opened her door as her heartbeat throbbed in her ears. If he wanted her, he could make the move, she decided, willing him to find her desirable.
“Goodnight,” she said and shut the door, deliberately putting some distance between them. Her pride was damaged once and she couldn’t put herself through that again, no matter how much her body was singing otherwise.
She leaned against the door. Listening. Waiting.
When she heard his door open and close a short time later, the first tear fell down her face.
12
Tired, but also so wired from the events of the day, Beth hoped a soothing shower would relax her. Taking her time, she washed her hair with the sweet spa-smelling shampoo and after standing under the warm spray for a few more minutes, she finally turned off the faucet and wrapped herself in a huge fluffy towel. She towel dried her hair and combed it though, lightly drying it with the hairdryer and was just about the step out of her towel when she heard a knock on the door. Padding across the room and wrapping the towel firmly around her, she answered the door. Theo was standing there, one arm leaning against the door frame.
Wanted: Love in London Series 1 Page 8
