Chapter 24
Carter
It was three more weeks before we could make the reservation at The Ritz, which involved three weeks of Laurie teasing me about needing lessons about what to do, because Rose and I had taken things at the same pace as a stoned snail.
We’d hung out like teenagers who fancied each other but didn’t really know what to do and it had been fun and frustrating at the same time.
We’d gone to the cinema, Rose managing to eat popcorn through the entirety of the film; we’d seen a couple of shows in the West End, visited the British Museum and done the tour of the Tower of London, which neither of us had done since the first summer I’d lived in Borough, and we’d spent the holidays exploring the capital.
I’d kissed her at the top of the Shard and pulled her down an alleyway near St Paul’s because I’d missed the feel of her lips on mine, and she’d giggled like she hadn’t been kissed before.
We avoided each other’s houses, although I was dragged out to a Callaghan Sunday lunch, one where pretty much every Callaghan aunt, uncle and cousin managed to attend, including Eliza who still terrified the life out of me and every other male, all while Rose swore she was harmless. I remained on the fence.
It wasn't an appearance that we made as a couple, that would be a while off yet, the timing didn't seem right and I could still sense some uncertainty from Rose. Seph, Rose’s dad, knew it was more than friends, and he did drag me into a corner when no one was watching and issued a few threats. He’d known me since I was a kid, and the threats were ones he repeated from fourteen years ago, when Rose and I had been hanging out like we were doing now, only it was more innocent.
The Ritz wasn’t easy to book into, not for the sort of suite that the voucher covered, and voucher wasn’t the right term to explain it either. We ended up with a Wednesday night, no weekend nights available for six months, but they had a cancellation midweek.
Rose booked it, taking two days of annual leave so we could enjoy the suite, and I swapped my shifts around, so I was free as well, making sure I wasn’t on call, because what I didn’t need was a phone call halfway through the night that we had an emergency.
This wasn’t going to be a night for interruptions.
I was nervous, which was out of character for someone who was used to carrying out life saving operations.
I didn’t want to fuck this up by saying something that was too much or underplaying what I felt or missing an opportunity like I’d done before.
I had a haircut, I bought new clothes and topped up the aftershave that I knew Rose liked because she sniffed me like a dog in a butcher’s shop when I wore it.
I arranged for flowers from me to her to be in the suite, and stopped short at a bottle of champagne, because we’d have that anyway, and I was afraid of overkill.
We met outside The Ritz, me with a compact suitcase with a change of clothes in and an extra helping of nerves, and Rose with an overnight bag and a soft smile that told me she saw straight through any pretence of bravery I was wearing.
“You look like you’re about to be shot.”
I laughed, which I think I was meant to. “That wasn’t the look I was going for.”
“Have you ever stayed here before?” She looked up at the hotel, the iconic sign the subject of photographs from tourists.
“No. First time. I did wonder if the voucher was valid. That acquaintance of Laurie’s grandfather didn’t seem that legit.” I’d wondered whether it was a show of generosity rather than genuine.
“It’s valid. All booked, and includes an evening meal from room service, so we don’t need to leave the suite.” She turned away from me and I wondered if she was nervous too. “Unless we want to. We have time.”
“Something we don’t usually have much of.
” That was true. Our shift patterns had been all over the show, or rather mine had.
Rose’s job tended to be more stable hours, as some of her day was outpatient appointments, with some longer shifts or evening ones for emergencies.
Time together had been hard to come by, but I knew that hadn’t been a bad thing because the temptation would’ve have been to go too fast too soon.
“Let’s check in and see what this suite’s about.” She led the way, her hair blazing and more than one person checking her out.
The desk service was efficient and polite, the concierge taking our luggage to the room, with another staff member seeing us to it, pointing out the other areas of the hotel, including the restaurant and bar.
The suite was bigger than some London apartments, the style exactly as advertised, Louis XVI with gilded chairs and a four-poster bed in the main bedroom that dominated the room.
We were finally left alone, the silence of the suite stifling, neither of us knowing what to say.
It had been nearly four weeks since we’d slept together, our dates limited to going places and holding hands, lingering kisses at the end of the night not continued behind a closed door. And we hadn’t talked about it.
Now we were sharing a huge suite, intended as a wedding gift, with a bed that was big enough for us to both sleep in it and not touch each other all night.
“This is something.” Rose looked around the bedroom. “I can’t believe how much people pay to stay here.”
“You’re staying in the same room as royalty and the famous.” I sat down on the bed. “Feels surreal.”
She sat down next to me, our legs touching. “I saw the flowers. I knew they were from you. Thank you.”
There was a bunch of red roses in the sitting room, simple rather than the fancy bouquets that were also dotted around.
“I thought you’d like them.” I let myself fall back on to the mattress, giving in to the tiredness that came with doing nine days in a row at work so I could have these two days off together.
Rose laughed, her hand resting on my thigh. “Shall I go shopping and let you sleep?”
“I’d rather not. What do you want to do?”
She pulled her boots off and then sat fully on the bed, crossing her legs. “This feels strange.”
“It does.” I sat back up. “We’ve not been on our own together since we last slept together.”
“Because we’ve been hanging out. But I think I’m done just hanging out. What about you?”
I picked up her hand and threaded my fingers between hers. “I don’t need to redo us being teenagers anymore.”
She nodded, leaning closer to me. “So how does this look? Not being teenagers? Because we get to miss a chunk of the normal courting process out.”
“I don’t know, I think I’ve done a pretty good job of courting you. Your dad would be impressed, if he knew.”
She laughed, tossing her head back, her hair moving like a wild veil. “He’s not stupid. I know he threatened you.”
“Rosie, he’s been threatening me since I was eighteen. Seph’s threats are nothing new.”
“Did they work?”
“Yep. Not going to lie. You were sixteen and I was at university but home for a holiday and he came at me in the kitchen with a knife, not like that - ” I saw the look on her face – “he was carving beef for Sunday lunch, but it still made a point. He told me to just be your friend.”
“So you did.”
“Because he was right. He said sometimes you could go into a relationship too young, because you haven’t had the experience you need to be the person you’re meant to be, and he told me about your aunt Claire and Killian.
It made sense.” I watched her, hoping to be able to read what she was thinking.
Claire and Killian might have missed being together. They'd hooked up early and spent years pretending to hate each other because the breakup was so hard. They'd eventually gotten it right, and had several of Rose's favourite cousins, including Eliza, who she was forever texting.
“We’re not kids any more. You’re thirty-two. I’m nearly thirty. We’ve both had at least some experience.” Her fingers tightened around mine. “You’ve experienced a wedding.”
I shook my head. “Not a proper one. The next one will be for real and the opposite of what happened in that room.”
“Fallon told me it was pretty basic.”
“It ticked boxes. We should hear about the annulment in another couple of weeks.” Laurie had chased up the solicitor a couple of days ago, which she hadn’t needed to do. It didn’t matter to her how long it took to be granted. “But I’m not waiting on a judge to tell me it’s okay to be with you.”
She waited a while before speaking, watching me.
“I can’t promise that if we ever get to the point of getting married, I’m not going to think about you and Laurie, but I know the motivation was totally different.
I know it was a favour and that there was nothing between you. I have dealt with that.”
“Good. I’m sorry it happened.”
“I’m not. I really like Laurie, she’s fun and intelligent and if you hadn’t offered to help her out she wouldn’t be here now in London. So I’m glad it happened. Also, if you’re ever a shit, she’ll be the second person I’d call to help me bury the body.”
“I take it Fallon’s the first.”
“Absolutely. She'll help with the pre-burial.”
“You mean the killing bit.”
“That bit.”
“Not going to lie, I feel slightly scared right now.”
She nodded, slowly. “You should, but I don’t think you need to. I trust you, Carter, and something feels right about this.”
“I know.” My arms were around her now. “I’m going to want to rush things.”
“I won’t let you. But I won’t let things drag either.”
Then she surprised me, swinging her leg over my lap so she was facing me, her legs wrapping round me, her hands on my shoulders.
The awkward anticipation left the room, not even leaving a memory, and her mouth met mine with a kiss that was soft and sweet, tentative at first and then picking up speed.