Page 55 of One Last Thing
‘Me too.’
When he brings his eyes up to meet mine, my heart flutters at their intensity. I want to look away, but I don’t want to ever look away, and when his throat bobs, I begin to hope that he’s feeling as nervous as I am for all the same reasons. He reaches up to brush his fingers lightly along my cheekbone, pushing my hair back from my face, leaving his hand cupping my jaw as his eyes flicker to my lips. My breath is caught in my throat as he leans towards me, dipping his head to press his mouth against mine. I close my eyes, melting into the kiss as his hand drops to my waist and I swivel to face him, allowing him to pull me in closer, praying that I’m doing this right, learning as I go, flushed with excitement and gratitude for the confidence the champagne has provided.
I’m so giddy with breathless happiness, the rest of the world fades away.
He breaks the kiss once to say he doesn’t want me to leave, and I tell him I don’t want to leave, and then we get back to kissing. It gets more and more urgent and heated until I feel excited and terrified all at once, and then we both have to accept it’s time to go. My parents and his aunt and uncle are a relaxed group but sooner or later, one of them will discover we’re not anywhere we normally are. We both get to our feet and reluctantly go to the door, leaving the champagne behind. He tells me he’ll collect it tomorrow. Before we leave the room, he puts his hands on my waist and pulls me towards him for another kiss, a slow, gentle, meaningful kiss. It’s one I’ll dream about for years to come and gradually convince myself it can’t have been as perfect as I remember because we were teenagers and no one’s a good enough kisser at that age. I’ll attribute the magic of it to the chateau ballroom setting and the slow build-up of our simmering tension and I’ll try to push thoughts of Nico out of my head.
‘Next time, I will find the courage sooner,’ he says, threading his fingers through mine.
‘The courage for what?’ I ask, wishing that we never had to leave this room.
‘The courage to kiss you.’
We leave the ballroom and he lets go of my hand. I blink back tears, believing it unbearable that it will be another year until our next family holiday and I get to see him again, wondering if he’ll still feel the same way then.
Mum leaves us two months later.
18
DAWN
Jemma answers on the second ring and just from her ‘Hello?’ I can tell she’s frazzled and in the middle of doing something she doesn’t want to do.
‘What’s going on?’ I ask, taking off my shoes and propping up the pillows on my bed so I can sit up against them. ‘You sound distressed.’
‘That’s because I am. This fuckingthing.’ She sighs. ‘The window in my office has jammed. Something is wrong with the latch and it’s boiling in here. We’ve been having nice weather here this week, by the way, so don’t be all smug about the French sunshine.’
‘I’m delighted for you. Ask Iris to open the window, she’s the practical one.’
‘I can’t at the moment.’ I hear her plonk herself down in her chair. ‘Right, how are you? I can’t believe I’ve only had a couple of messages from you since you’ve been there. You haven’t told me any details about this itinerary Henry drew up for you. How has it been? What have you been doing? Tell me everything.’
‘You won’t like it.’
‘I still want to know.’
‘I’ve just come back from a day at a luxury spa.’
‘Oh, sod off.’
I chuckle. ‘Henry booked Megan and I in for a couple’s massage.’
‘How excruciating. She must have hated that.’
‘She was more awkward than ever.’
Jemma gives a light laugh. ‘I can imagine. But a spa day, that sounds wonderful.’
‘It made up for the horse trekking and camping the day before.’
She gasps. ‘He got you up on a horse? Did someone get photos and videos?’
‘If they did, I won’t be letting you or anyone else see any,’ I tell her in no uncertain terms. ‘It was an unforgettable experience I hope to forget very quickly.’
‘Sounds like you’re having the time of your life. How are things going with Megan?’ she asks cautiously, having borne witness to mine and Megan’s relationship in real time.
I take a deep breath, wondering how best to answer that question. ‘I can’t be sure. She’s. . . reserved. It’s hard to get through to her.’
‘These things take time, Dawn. What did you expect? What didHenryexpect?’
