Stand-In Saturday: (A standalone romcom. Book 2 in the Love For Days series)

by Kirsty Moseley

  “Don’t let Amy do any of the hard work today,” I warn.

  He shakes his head. “She won’t; don’t worry.”

  Amy and I get on great. She’s like the sister I never had. In fact, I get on brilliantly with all his family. Even though Theo moved here to London for me, we still go to Cambridge a couple of times a month to visit with all his friends and family for day trips or nights out and sometimes for weekend-long visits. Plus, they come here too. It made sense for Theo to move instead of me. He can do his illustrations from home (mostly from the bed, I’ve since found out), so this is the only way we could make it work without me commuting. Though, I must admit, if he had been dead set against the idea, I would have moved to Cambridge to be with him. What’s a short train ride when you get to come home to the love of your life every night? It would have been worth every second. But thankfully, he was totally open to the idea of moving. Add another line to the Reasons Why Theo Is the Best Boyfriend in the World list!

  After pulling on a hoodie (it’s damn cold in February), he heads to the bathroom, brushing his teeth and fixing his sex hair, and then disappears into the kitchen.

  I settle back into the bed and reach for my Kindle; I have another half an hour before I need to get up and get ready for work. I can hear the kettle boiling and Theo making a huge amount of ruckus in the kitchen. Minutes later, he comes back to the bedroom and sets a cup of tea down on my bedside cabinet.

  Cue a mental swoon.

  Theo climbs on the bed, planking over me. It’s so hot that I immediately want him again. I can never get enough of his body. I’d feel sorry for him if he didn’t love it so much.

  “I love you. I’ll see you later,” he says, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on my lips.

  My insides dance with happiness. Every time he says those three little words, it’s like they have a direct line to my heart. They still thrill me every single time.

  “I love you too.” And I do, more than anything.

  “Have a good day. Oh, by the way, I just made you lunch. It’s in the fridge.”

  My heart stutters at his thoughtfulness. “You did? What did you make?”

  “Coronation chicken sandwich. That’s the last of it from yesterday.” He winks at me and plants a tender kiss on the corner of my mouth.

  Oh my God. My mind is instantly consumed by thoughts of the sandwich. I might even eat the thing for breakfast.

  Theo is an amazing cook. His mum taught him a lot when he lived at home, and his coronation chicken is to die for. He makes it from scratch at least once a week because he knows I love it. Right now, I don’t even care that our kitchen will be a mess when I walk in there. Theo is not a tidy partner to live with. Even simply adding his premade filling to bread just now, he will have somehow used every plate, bowl, knife, and chopping board we own. But it’s a small price to pay for him.

  “You are too good to me, you know that? Honestly, how did I get so lucky?” I trace my finger around his collar.

  Six wonderful months I’ve been with him, and every day, he makes me feel so treasured that I could cry. I love him so much, I could burst.

  He kisses me again, and I taste toothpaste and coronation chicken. It’s so hot that I groan as he pulls away.

  It looks like I’m still going to be a horny, unsatisfied beast all day after all.

  “I’ll call you. Love you, Luce,” he says over his shoulder.

  “Bye, baby.” A content sigh leaves my lips as I sink back into my pillows and grin up at the ceiling.

  Aubrey leans against the tea room counter, stirring her mug as she eyes me. “Let’s go for lunch today. Come on, let’s grab a big bowl of cheesy chips and a cream cake. Everyone knows calories don’t count on hump days.”

  I wince apologetically and shake my head. “I can’t. I brought lunch in with me.” As I think about it, I debate on eating it when I get back to my desk. It’s only just after nine in the morning, but if I did, it would mean I’d get to go for chips too.

  No, don’t be greedy, Lucie. Jeez, you have no willpower!

  Aubrey pouts and drops her teabag into the bin. “You suck. Let’s go for coffee then instead. I can get a cake from there.”

  “I don’t think I can. I have meetings all afternoon today, so I need to prep for those. I think I’m going to have a working lunch and eat at my desk.”

  I pick up my mug, emblazoned with the phrase Boys who draw books are better. Theo gave it to me as my Christmas present. It is a joke, a dig at my Boys in books are better work mug he’d seen on a visit to the office one time. On Christmas morning, I found it hilarious and loved it immediately, but then I loved it even more when I found the gold bracelet with a small diamond heart hanging on it, wrapped up inside the mug.

  “Ugh, fine. Looks like it’s lunch alone for Aubrey.” Aubrey rolls her eyes and picks up her mug, too, and we both walk out into the Hummingbird Ink office.

  “Don’t work too hard,” I joke.

  “Never.”

  We split off, going our separate directions. I head over to my desk and sit down, taking a sip of my tea and letting out a happy sigh as I press the power button on my computer.

  That’s right. I have my dream job.

  In the last six months, I’ve worked my arse off, which didn’t go unnoticed by David, my manager up in the children’s imprint. So, when a job came up for junior editor in the romance imprint, David didn’t hesitate in pushing me to apply. My CV, accompanied by his glowing recommendation, netted me the job, and for the last month, I’ve been living it up as junior editor. I love my job, and life couldn’t be better. All day long, I get to swoon over fictional heroes, and then I get to go home to my very own real-life one.

  Letting out a happy sigh, I give my mouse a shake, waking up my screen, ready to start my day.

  My morning is so busy that it flies by. By the time I put the phone down from an agent friend of mine I’ve been talking to about a submission for a debut author, my stomach is growling with hunger. Glancing at the time on my computer screen, I see it’s almost twelve already. My stomach rejoices.

  Reaching under my desk, I shove my hand into my bag and bring out a lump wrapped in tin foil. My mouth is already watering. When I peel back the foil and see a chunky sandwich with yellow saucy chicken oozing out of the sides, the bread cut thick, just how I like it, I grin down at it excitedly. When I take a bite, I groan in pleasure; it’s like an orgasm on the tongue. I never tried it before I got together with Theo, and now, I can’t get enough.

  Chewing, I pop the sandwich down on its foil package and turn my attention to my phone, about to message Theo to see how he’s getting on, when Aubrey, who is in the process of walking past my desk, trips and bangs into my chair, throwing whatever she was carrying in her closed fist all over my desk.

  I gasp and reach out to steady her. “What a klutz. Drunk much?” I chuckle. “Are you okay?”

  She stands and nods, looking down at my desk and grimacing. “Yeah, but your lunch isn’t.”

  I groan as I look down at it to see that my beautiful lunch is now covered in curls of pencil shavings and little flakes of lead. “No!” I pout and reach out, brushing the worst of it off. “Would you judge me if I still ate it?” It’s an honest question; I’m not averse to the idea.

  Aubrey half-gasps, half-laughs. “Yes! Don’t be gross.”

  I’m still debating on the pros and cons of risking lead poisoning when she takes it from my hands and throws it in the bin. I stare down at my sandwich in the bottom of my rubbish bin in a state of mourning.

  Aubrey brushes crumbs from her hands. “I’ll buy you lunch to make up for it. Come on, let’s go now.” She looks down at her watch.

  “Ugh, fine.” It’s not like I have a choice. “Why were you carrying pencil shavings anyway? Why not sharpen it over the bin in the first place, like a normal person?”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” She grins.

  Plucking my bag from the floor and shoving my phone back ins
ide, I follow Aubrey out of the office and around the corner to the lifts.

  As luck would have it, my manager, Judy, is just stepping out of it. “Oh, are you two heading out? Great timing. Here.” She holds the lift doors open and grins at us.

  Quickening my step, I smile gratefully and step in. “Thanks, Judy. See you in a bit. You want anything? Aubrey’s buying.” I playfully elbow my best friend as she steps in next to me.

  “No, I’m fine, thank you. You have a nice time though.” Judy winks at me, her eyes bright.

  There’s someone else in the lift already, standing in the corner, reading a newspaper. I can’t see them properly, only their legs. I reach out to press the ground floor button but see it’s already illuminated.

  “Oh, bugger. I forgot my phone.” Aubrey sticks her hand out, catching the doors as they’re about to close and stepping over the threshold. “I’ll meet you at the café. Grab us a good seat.” She shrugs and sends me a little wave as the doors slide closed, separating us.

  Groaning at the turn of events, I stick my hand in my bag again, intending to message Theo, when the lift suddenly judders, and the lights flicker as it grinds to a halt.

  My eyes widen in disbelief. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me. Again?” I reach out, jabbing the Help button. I should have learned my lesson from last time and taken the stairs. My non-existent thigh gap would approve.

  “Let me take a look. Here, hold this,” Newspaper Guy says. He places a lightweight, rectangular green-and-white box in my hands and reaches to press the Help button too.

  Flustered, I step to the side and roll my eyes. Oh, because, you never know, maybe I was pushing the button wrong … men!

  Taking a deep breath, I look down at the package in my hand. It’s a box of three Krispy Kreme doughnuts. On top of it, there’s a bright pink Post-It note. In black Sharpie, it says: Open me, Lucie.

  What the …

  I frown, confused, and pop the lid on the box.

  Inside are three biscotti doughnuts—my favourite—and each one has a word iced onto the top.

  Marry. Me. Lucie?

  My breath catches, and tears spring to my eyes as I turn back to Newspaper Guy. Theo is on one knee, a black leather ring box in his hand as he grins up at me, his eyes sparkling. My spare hand shoots up, and I cover my mouth, chewing on my lip as I smile so widely that my face aches. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.

  “Hi, baby,” I mumble through my hand.

  “Hey.” He chuckles and reaches up, taking the doughnuts from me and setting them on the floor before he pops the lid on the box, exposing a beautiful diamond ring nestled among the cream silk folds.

  My heart clenches.

  “Six months ago today, I met my best friend and the other half of my soul. Getting stuck in this lift with you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Lucie. I love you so much. I never imagined I could be this happy or be this in love with someone, but that’s because I didn’t know what love was until I met you. You’re my everything, Luce. Your smile lights my world up. I want to be with you for eternity, plus a day. Because even eternity isn’t long enough to spend with you.”

  Oh my God. A tear slides down my face at his sweet words. My heart is fit to bursting.

  “So, what do you say, will you marry me?”

  I take a deep breath, allowing his words to sink into my memory before I reply, “Yes, please. And thank you.” I nod eagerly, my insides glowing with pleasure.

  Theo laughs, his smile widening as he leaps up, wrapping me in his arms and crashing his mouth against mine. The kiss is so passionate and heartfelt that it almost knocks me sideways.

  He pulls back slightly, his eyes sparkling with joy as he plucks the ring from the box and looks at me expectantly. A squeal of delight escapes my lips as I hold out my left hand and watch as he slides his promise onto my finger.

  “You’re mine now,” he says, bringing my hand to his lips and softly kissing the ring.

  “I was yours six months ago. You had me in this lift when you mentioned day drinking.”

  We both laugh, and he wraps me in his arms again, pulling me against his body as he kisses me so sensuously that my brain almost malfunctions, trying to process it.

  “So, you didn’t really go to Cambridge today to help Jared?” I ask as we catch our breaths and he presses his forehead against mine.

  “Nope. That was merely a ruse to throw you off the scent.”

  I grin and tighten my arms around his neck. “I didn’t think you knew what today was.”

  “Course I did. Not likely to forget meeting you, am I? It’s imprinted on my brain.”

  Swoon!

  “And we’re not really stuck in this lift again, are we? Because you don’t look like you’re about to start panicking, like last time.”

  He laughs and shakes his head. “No. I had to bribe a few people to make this happen.” He reaches over and presses the intercom button. “We’re all done in here. Thanks.”

  “Roger that!” comes the security guard’s tinny voice through the speaker.

  As the lift starts up again, I smile and cling to him as I look down at my hand and marvel over his ring on my finger. I feel complete.

  When the lift comes to a stop and the doors slide open in the lobby, cheering and clapping and shouts of, “Congratulations,” ring in my ears.

  I flinch as party poppers explode, and I gasp when I see everyone from my office along with a lot of the people from the children’s imprint is here. Aubrey is at the front, grinning a big, toothy smile as she jumps up and down and waves a homemade Congratulations, Lucie and Theo banner.

  A rush of love for my best friend hits me full in the face. If I didn’t already know I had the best friend in the world, I would know it now.

  I pull her into a hug. “You were in on this?”

  “Of course!”

  It finally sinks in. “This is why you ruined my sandwich!”

  She smugly winks at me. “I had to get you in the lift somehow, didn’t I? You weren’t supposed to say no to lunch. Theo was adamant you’d have already eaten your sandwich before ten a.m., so you’d need to eat again.”

  “The cheek!” My mouth drops open in mock outrage as I slap Theo’s chest with the back of my hand.

  He knows me so well. I almost bloody did eat it several times over.

  Suddenly, a thought occurs to me. I turn to Theo and grip a fistful of his T-shirt, pressing closer to him as I look up at his handsome, grinning face. “Oh my God, imagine if I’d said I didn’t want to marry you. This crowd jumping out would have been so awkward.”

  He shakes his head. “I knew you’d say yes. We both know we’re endgame, Luce. I wasn’t worried.”

  His confidence in us thrills me.

  He continues, “I’ve actually been ready to ask for a while, but I wanted to wait until your parents came back from Italy, so I could get your dad’s permission.”

  My teeth sink into my bottom lip at his thoughtful gesture. That would have meant a lot to my dad. There wouldn’t have been any problems getting his blessing though; my father adores Theo. They even go golfing together whenever my parents do make it back from jet-setting around the world.

  “That’s so cute,” I coo. Another rush of love hits me so hard, I can barely cope with it.

  “Here you go, lovebirds.”

  I break away from Theo’s eyes and see that Donna, the receptionist, has wheeled over two small suitcases and set them in front of us.

  I frown in confusion. “What are those for?”

  Theo’s hand traces up my back, pulling me close to him. “For us. We’ve got a flight to Scotland in a couple of hours, and I rented us a wooden lodge for the week. It’s right on the edge of Loch Lomond.”

  No way! I gasp, delighted, and look from my suitcase to his face, my smile falling when I realise it’s not possible. “That sounds incredible, but I can’t.” The disappointment makes my stomach clench. “Baby, I can’t just sack off work. I ha
ve meetings all day.”

  Judy steps forward. She’s holding three expended party poppers. “It’s a good thing Theo has already cleared it with your manager then, huh?”

  My heart melts, and I let out a little whimper as I look up at my fiancé’s grinning face. “You did?”

  He wraps his arms around me. “I did. I thought it would be nice to go back to the loch, where I first got to know you. I figured we could celebrate our engagement in style. You know, wooden lodge, secluded setting with no one to bother us, roaring fires, maybe even a faux bearskin rug.” He suggestively raises one eyebrow. “And we’re definitely hiring out another boat. It might be a little cold this time of year, but I’m sure I can think of something we could do to keep you warm.”

  Excitement simmers in my stomach at the mere thought of a romantic getaway with him. I sigh and look at him in awe. “Theo, do I really get to keep you?” My eyes fill with happy tears. Honestly, how did I get this lucky?

  He nods, brushing his nose up the side of mine. “For eternity, plus a day.”

  The End

  Not had enough of Theo and Lucie?

  Well, good news … the third and final book in the Love for Days series is about Aubrey, Lucie’s hopelessly romantic best friend. As with the other two books in the series, there will be plenty of hijinks, hilarity, some off-the-charts chemistry, and of course, some Theo and Lucie!

  Fangirl Friday

  Book 3 in the Love for Days series

  Have you ever met the future father of your children but then accidentally friend-zoned him?