DIANA
We’re in the green room. Me, Julian, and Henry. I don’t know where Charlie went, but I suspect he’s gone after Lizzie. I hope he’s comforting her somewhere, if she’s not still fighting with Rafe.
Dad didn’t hang about either; he threw a few curse words in my direction before staggering away with Sylvie when both Julian and Henry threatened to hit him again if he came near me.
I’m a jangle of nerves, and sitting still is challenging.
I don’t know what I’m waiting for, sitting back here, but leaving Julian and Henry, who are the only people left who witnessed what just happened, doesn’t feel like a good idea.
Lizzie must hate me. Rafe’s probably forgotten me in his rush to comfort his daughter.
Julian sits on a metal-framed chair, his elbows on his knees, cradling an ice pack provided by a member of staff in his sore hand. He can move his fingers, although he winces when he forms a fist and flexes them again. Henry sits beside him, scrolling on his phone.
“Fucking hurts,” Julian mutters.
“Very manly, complaining about it so much,” Henry says, ruffling Julian’s thick, dark hair with his free hand.
Julian jerks away. “When was the last time you punched someone? It’s painful.”
Henry tucks his phone into his pocket, leans back in his chair, and props one ankle on his opposite knee, exposing a mustard coloured sock beneath his navy suit trousers. “I don’t hit people. Ever. I’m a gentleman. You’re an animal.”
“You threatened to hit him too,” Julian says..
“I did not. You’re misremembering,” Henry says, wiping his hands against one another like the mere idea of violence makes him feel dirty. “I could have done it if necessary, but I prefer not to.”
Julian snorts and looks at me. “Come on, Diana. Back me up. Didn’t it make you swoon a little bit when I smacked your dad in the face?”
I screw up my face. “Erm. I mean, he was being fairly horrendous, so maybe a bit?”
Julian, pleased, turns to Henry. “See? See?” he says, nodding furiously and ignoring Henry’s responding eye roll before his focus returns to me. “What about your sister? Think she was impressed?”
“I doubt it,” I say, but his eagerness for Sylvie’s approval makes me smile.
“Julian’s my little bit of rough,” Henry says. “He thinks violence is the answer to everything.”
“I don’t,” Julian protests. “But Rafe was just going to stand there.”
“No, he wasn’t.” Henry gestures calmly with one hand, like he’s giving a lecture. “Rafe was going to kill him. So your little display of manliness did serve one purpose. We don’t have to watch our friend go down for murder.”
Julian makes a disgruntled sound and shuffles back in his chair, letting his head fall back so it rests against the wall. “I knew it was the right thing to do.” He breathes heavily for a while, then glances sideways at me. “Your sister is hot. She single?”
“Fucking hell, Jules,” Henry mutters. “Your hand can’t be that bad if you’re already chasing skirt.”
“She’s engaged,” I reply. “To a dickhead called Dave.”
Henry huffs, quietly repeating, “Dickhead Dave,” and grinning as if he thinks it’s the most amusing thing he’s heard all day.
Julian chuckles. “She’s available, then.”
It doesn’t sound like a question, so I don’t answer. Henry slaps Julian’s knee in reprimand, and the two of them start arguing about whether it’s appropriate to hit on a woman who’s engaged to another man.
Henry says no. Julian says yes, but only if the other guy is a dickhead she shouldn’t be marrying anyway.
My phone rings, and Handsome Stranger flashes up. I never changed Rafe’s contact details.
Julian and Henry pause their discussion, watching as I answer. “Hello?”
“Diana,” Rafe says, voice serious. “Can you come outside, please?”
“Why?”
“Because it’s just started raining.”
When I walk outside, the rain is already falling hard, but the air is still warm.
The scent of petrichor hovers in the air, and people rush to take shelter from the downfall.
I spot Rafe immediately, standing on the embankment, right by the wall that separates pedestrians from the drop to the Thames below.
As if he knows I’m here, he turns and looks up, and I take the steps down to join him.
I don’t see Lizzie, but by the way he’s staring up at me like I’m the most amazing thing he’s ever seen, as if he’s been waiting right here his whole life for me to appear, I assume whatever happened between them didn’t end too badly.
But I can’t force myself to worry about it, because my heart is racing, my body thrumming with anticipation, and with each step closer, a million scenes from books I’ve read and movies I’ve seen flit through my mind.
I’ve wanted someone to look at me like this my whole life. With my clothes on. In the rain.
It’s the most perfect moment. I wish I could record it and loop it on repeat forever. Even if he’s going to tell me we can never, ever see one another again, I’ll have the memory of this moment forever.
My chest tightens, and my throat flexes, swallowing down the lump that seems to want to lodge there permanently. I can’t cry. I don’t even know what he’s going to say. I can’t burst into tears; at least not yet.
When I reach his level, my belted trench coat is soaking, and my hair is wet. The blue shirt he’s wearing is two-tone, dark and wet across his shoulders.
He holds out his hand. “Dance with me.”
I can’t help grinning as I give him mine. “That’s so cheesy.”
“Wow,” he says, pulling me into him, swallowing me in his warmth, his scent. Home. “Tough crowd. I thought you liked the rain. I thought you wanted to dance in it.”
“I do. In books. In real life, it’s—”
“How about you stop resisting it and let me dance with you?”
A permissive heat floods me, and my body softens. “Okay.”
He holds me, swaying me to some imaginary song as the rain comes down around us, splattering against the concrete and churning the surface of the Thames. We might as well be the only two people in the whole world, and I press myself against him, allowing myself to relax.
“I missed you,” I whisper.
He squeezes me tighter. “I love you.” I freeze and look up at him, finding him staring back.
“Can you repeat that, please?” I ask.
The sweetest smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.
“I love you. I’m in love with you. There is no woman in the entire world who even comes close.
I’ve thought of you every single day since you left.
I’ve waited my whole life to meet someone like you, and I don’t care that you’re younger or my daughter’s best friend.
” He halts his monologue, continuing to sway gently with me in his arms as we resume our ‘dance’ without music.
“I care about that a bit, but seeing as Lizzie gave me her blessing—”
“She did?”
“She did. She was upset at first, but then she told me I looked so dreadful that she was worried I was terminally ill, and attributed it to you leaving and breaking my heart. Apparently, me being with you is better than me dying, so now she’s invested in both my health and our relationship.”
“You don’t look that bad,” I say through laughter. “I still think you’re the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen.”
“Does that mean I’m in with a chance here?”
“Well, I am dancing in the rain with you. I don’t do that with just anyone.”
He swipes his thumb across my cheek, and I don’t know whether he’s wiping away tears or rain. “You know what being older than you does mean?”
“Significantly older,” I add, which makes him smile.
“Yes, significantly older. It means I have enough life experience to know that what I feel for you, and the connection we have, is very unusual. I’d be a fool to let you slip away again. I’d ask you to marry me if I thought you’d say yes.”
Tears swell immediately. I blink. “That’s a bit intense.”
He smirks. “I have a history of falling extremely hard for women who are good in bed.”
A crackle of laughter breaks free. “Thanks, I think.”
The teasing expression on his face vanishes.
“I think you’re incredible. Amazing. I’ve watched your progress for months.
At first, I tried not to look because seeing your videos was—” He breaks off, frowning.
“Upsetting. But then, after I saw you outside Brooks, I couldn’t stop.
I watched everything you produced. Every podcast, every video, every interview.
Every single piece of content, I devoured.
I am completely obsessed with you, I have been for months, and I meant what I said in there.
” He nods back at the concrete building behind us.
“You are priceless, and I could never afford you, but if you want me, I’m all yours. Completely. For as long as you want.”
“Forever?”
“Forever is a long time,” he says, his eyes sparkling. “Even I don’t know what that feels like.”
I giggle, gripping the front of his shirt and tugging on it.
“Please say yes, because I love you too. So much. I haven’t stopped thinking about you either.
It’s driving me mad. I’m completely obsessed.
Completely,” I emphasise, unable to stop myself now I’ve started.
“I still touch myself and think of you every night—”
He kisses the smile from my mouth, and I slip into the warmth of his tongue and the feel of his arms around me. I’ve wanted this for so long, I can hardly believe it’s happening.
The sound of cheering and whooping crashes into my awareness, and it must register with Rafe at the same time because we pull apart and look to the balcony above, where Julian, Henry, Lizzie, Charlie, Seb, and Erica are all leaning over.
None of them have umbrellas, and all of them are getting wet, but no one seems to care.
Lizzie mimes putting her fingers down her throat and vomiting, and Charlie knocks her elbow, scowling at her.
She grins and throws her arms around his neck.
Erica raises my special edition book that I left on the stage so I can see it’s safe, and Seb whips it from her and tucks it inside his jacket to keep it dry.
Julian pounds at the air over his head with his good arm, and Henry shakes a bottle of champagne—God knows where he got it—opens it, and sprays it everywhere.
They squeal, and Erica covers her hair with her hands, Seb quickly sheltering her from the ejaculating froth of champagne.
“We have an audience,” Rafe mutters. “Should we give them a show?”
“I mean, sure. Don’t come on my face or anything like that, but—”
His deep chuckle vibrates through his chest and into mine as he holds me tight and dips me backwards, kissing me like we’re in a Hollywood Golden Era movie. Up above, the yells and hollers of encouragement only grow louder.
“Get a room!” Julian yells.
Rafe laughs. “Shall we?”
I kiss him again. “Yes, please.”