Page 26 of Under Your Spell

‘Curse me, I know.’ Theo holds up his hands.

‘Actually, I was going to say methodically destroy your entire life.’ Serena smiles back at him, showing her teeth. ‘But yeah, the curse thing too. Don’t know if you’re aware of this but my sisters and I are some pretty powerful witches. If you ask Lil she’ll tell you we killed a man.’

Serena sweeps out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her, and Theo exhales loudly. ‘Your sister scares the shit out of me,’ he says.

‘I’m sure she’ll be delighted to hear that.’ I move to perch on the edge of the desk, wishing I had another drink which would at least give me something to do with my hands.

‘Look,’ Theo starts, coming to stand in front of me, ‘I’m sorry about the whole name thing. I didn’t think about it from your side, and that was really selfish. I hope you can forgive me, but I understand if you can’t.’

I’m thrown by the simple sincerity of the apology. ‘Oh,’ I say. ‘Okay.’

‘And about the job…’ Theo clears his throat. ‘You should take it. If you want to. I absolutely promise to leave you in peace. Despite what your sister seems to think, I am 100% in control of my own libido. You’re not interested, I get it, and totally respect that.’

‘I don’t think us working together is a good idea,’ I say, my brain trying to catch up with his words.

‘Have you found a new job?’ he asks gently.

I shake my head.

‘And I take it Len hasn’t come to his senses?’

I forgot how much I had told him. ‘He got engaged.’ I try to keep my face and voice neutral but I’m not sure I succeed.

Theo mutters something under his breath that doesn’t sound complimentary.

‘And if I hadn’t been me,’ he starts, then breaks off with a frown. ‘I mean, if Theo Eliott and Edward weren’t the same person… would you take the job?’

I tug at the hem of my dress. ‘I think so, but—’

‘Then you should take it. I know you’ve had a shit time recently, and I’m guessing this job could help you out. I have to be in the UK for a family event anyway so I’m staying either way. Who knows, maybe Serena is right and this will be good for me. We’ll forget anything ever happened between us and it will be completely professional.’

I look up at him. He’s not wearing his usual winning smile; instead his face is serious. His dark eyes bore into mine and he seems utterly genuine. Forget anything ever happened between us? How can I, when the night we spent together is branded on my brain? Would it really be so easy for him to ignore what had happened between us?

Of course it would. He’s a rock star. You know a bit about that. He has women throwing themselves at him all the time, a constant stream of one-night stands. Serena said he dazzles people, and you were just another person who fell for his charm. That night probably barely registered for him.

It is this thought that reawakens the spark of pride in me, and I’m so grateful for it. If he can forget what happened between us then so can I. It wasn’t real. I didn’t even know who he was. Of course I shouldn’t let a silly, insignificant thing like that stop me from accepting a job. I’m hardly going to let him think that I’m pining for him, unable to move on.

My spine straightens and I pull myself up to my full height. ‘Fine,’ I say crisply, holding out my hand. ‘Completely professional. It’s a deal.’

‘A deal,’ Theo replies, and he wraps his hand around mine to shake on it.

I only imagine him pulling me in for a scorching kiss for a fraction of a second.

A new job with the man I had hot sex with. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the universe certainly has a sense of humour when it comes to those wishes we made.

This will be fine. Six weeks alone together. In the middle of nowhere. Completely professional.

I glance up at Theo’s face, then down to where his fingers gently rest against the pulse in my wrist.

Who am I kidding? This is going to be a disaster.

PART TWO

Chapter Ten

I change my mind about working with Theo approximately one thousand times over the course of the following week. My first mistake is looking him up online, which I do as soon as I get back to Lil’s flat from Serena’s party.

Theo Eliott.