London
Two Years Earlier
‘Are you sure they’re not going to mind you bringing a plus-one?’ I asked.
‘Course not,’ he said. ‘Anyway, I hate going to press events on my own. Standing awkwardly in a corner, thinking that I should be making small talk with someone but not quite having the energy to approach anybody and start it off.’
I laughed. ‘So, basically, I’m only here to make you feel better.’
‘Basically,’ he said, grinning at me.
We passed through the Shard’s security in record time and got into the lift up to level thirty-five.
We were moving so fast that my ears popped and when we stepped out into the foyer, it felt as though I had arrived in a different, quieter, head-in-the-clouds world over a hundred and twenty-five metres above London.
A woman with a clipboard ticked off our names.
‘Welcome to the Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts press event,’ she trilled. ‘Help yourself to champagne and food. And don’t forget to take a goodie bag on your way out!’
I raised my eyebrows at Aidan. ‘You didn’t mention goodie bags,’ I said out of the corner of my mouth as we headed for the drinks table.
‘I was keeping that as ammunition in case I needed to pull out the big guns to persuade you to come,’ he replied.
‘You had me at free champagne,’ I teased.
‘Thought so,’ he said, winking at me and handing me a glass.
‘Do you get to go to these things all the time, then?’ I asked. ‘Because, if so, I’m in the wrong job.’
Aidan shook his head. ‘Sadly not. The last press event I went to was for the Essex tourist board. Slightly less glamorous. And if we do get swanky invites like this, the editor of the newspaper tends to go himself.’
‘How did you manage to wangle this one, then?’ I asked.
Aidan tapped the side of his nose. ‘I cannot possibly reveal my sources, but let’s just say there may – may – have been some bribery at play.’
I laughed. ‘Well, whatever you did to get us here, I’m glad you pulled it off. This is stunning,’ I said, going closer to the window.
We were in the Shard’s highest restaurant, TīNG, which served Asian fusion food, so basically my favourite cuisine ever.
Not that I’d ever eaten here, but I’d repeatedly looked at the menu online, wondering if I would ever be able to afford to.
It was all marble floors and dark wood features, the floor-to-ceiling windows allowing us the most perfect view of London in all its twinkly glory.
Tower Bridge looked particularly dramatic, as it always did when it was lit up at night.
‘It’s like the opening sequence to The Apprentice,’ I marvelled.
We each grabbed a perfect-looking canapé from a passing tray and when I popped it in my mouth, it was like a taste explosion, all soft, squidgy aubergine and miso and garlic.
‘Oh my God,’ I said, once I’d swallowed it.
‘That really was something,’ agreed Aidan, shaking his head in awe.
We beamed at each other, which sometimes we tended to do for absolutely no other reason than we enjoyed being together.
I thought back to that moment on the beach a month before, when he’d first told me that he couldn’t stop looking at me, and nothing had changed since then.
Except that my feelings for him grew stronger the more time I spent in his company.
‘Well, cheers,’ said Aidan, clinking my glass. ‘Here’s to a great night.’
‘You do realise this is officially our one-month anniversary,’ I remarked, smiling.
‘Hmmn,’ he said. ‘Are you counting day one from the moment we first kissed on the beach or the next night?’
‘The beach. I still can’t believe we did that, by the way!’
‘Why not?’ he teased. ‘What’s so wrong with kissing a perfect stranger by a lake in the pitch black with bagpipes squeaking in the background?’
I laughed softly, looking down at my champagne, self-conscious, suddenly, about the connection we’d had so instantly, by how I hadn’t held back like I normally would.
On the level below, I could hear a pianist playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, which I thought was quite possibly my favourite classical piece (not that I had an extensive knowledge of classical music, you understand).
‘Maddie,’ said Aidan.
‘Yes?’ I replied, forcing myself to look at him.
‘I think I might be falling in love with you.’
I bit my lip. ‘You do?’
He nodded earnestly. ‘I do.’
I frowned a little, because this was what I wanted to hear, of course it was, but I had this punishing voice on my shoulder telling me that I didn’t deserve any of this, that it was a fantasy, that there had to be something I was missing because things never went this well for me.
Nobody ever liked me this much. So what did Aidan see in me that other people couldn’t?
‘What is it you like about me?’ I asked, trying to use a tone that didn’t sound too needy and desperate, but I thought it would probably sound like that no matter how I worded it.
Aidan looked into my eyes, as though he was trying to work out what was going on in my head. Which part of what he’d said I was overthinking. It was something he teased me about mercilessly. You think too much! Switch off that big brain of yours!
‘I like that you work harder than anyone I’ve ever met.
That you’re passionate about the things you love.
That you care about the state of the world, and about other people.
That you’ve struggled a bit and have come through it and are a stronger, more brilliant woman for it.
And I also think you’re very beautiful. Does that answer your question? ’
I suppose it was my own fault for asking, but I was seriously cringing. Despite what he might think, I hadn’t been fishing for compliments, because I never knew how to react when somebody actually gave me one.
‘You do realise you’ve gone bright red?’ said Aidan.
‘Yes. Yes, I do, thank you,’ I replied, downing the remainder of my drink.
Aidan laughed, holding my chin between his thumb and forefinger, tipping my head so that he could swoop down and kiss me.
I wrapped my free hand around his waist. It always felt so good to hold him, or to be held by him.
I felt safe when I was with him, which didn’t make sense when we’d only known each other four weeks.
I took a deep breath, determined to tell him how I felt, too. Because I didn’t want to hold back anymore. It was a risk, but it felt like one that I wanted to take with him.
‘I think I like every single thing about you,’ I said, stroking my fingertips up and down his back. ‘Even your questionable cooking skills and your terrible taste in films.’
He was like a big kid, all into Marvel and Star Wars. I joked that he needed to grow up and watch some bleak, edgy foreign films and that then there would be no going back.
‘There is absolutely nothing wrong with a grown man having an Iron Man obsession,’ he said, tickling me under the ribs, where he knew I couldn’t bear it the most.
I laughed, squirming out of his reach.
‘Seriously, though,’ I said, ‘I think I’m falling in love with you, too.’
He nodded, pressing his forehead against mine. ‘Good. That’s good.’
We stood there for what felt like ages with these big grins on our faces and London shimmering beneath our feet.