Page 94 of Under Your Spell

‘Yes, we can talk about it.’ I frown. ‘But what did you mean about being based where I am? Wouldn’t you want me to come to LA?’

‘I mean, sure, if you wanted to,’ Theo shrugs, ‘but if you do decide you want to teach or whatever, you won’t have a huge amount of say, will you? As long as I can get to an airport I can be based wherever.’

‘But… won’t that be…’ I hesitate, unsure. ‘I mean, won’t it be really inconvenient? You’ve got a life in LA. You can’t just leave that behind.’

It’s Theo’s turn to frown. ‘You’re doing what my family do,’ he says finally, and he sounds annoyed. ‘Holding me to such a low standard. Firstly, any inconvenience is relative because – and I don’t wish to sound like a massive dickhead here – I am quite well-off and I can afford to spend the time and money on travelling. But secondly, and more importantly, why do you think I wouldn’t inconvenience myself for you? Why wouldn’t I compromise? Why wouldn’t I do the harder thing? You’re worth taking trouble over, Clemmie.’

‘Oh,’ I manage.

‘Yeah,’ he says. ‘And you’re lucky I didn’t throw my pillow at you for that one.’

I laugh, collapse into his chest, relief pouring through my veins. ‘You do sound like a massive dickhead,’ I snort. ‘Quite well-off, indeed.’

Theo responds by tickling me until I beg for mercy.

‘So where does that leave us for now?’ I ask once I’ve recovered.

‘Maybe you can fly out to LA to visit in a couple of weeks, and then once the record is done, I’ll head to London and we can make a plan from there?’ Theo suggests, like trotting around the globe really isn’t a big deal.

I sigh. ‘Tragically, we can’t just live in a house by the sea like two little mice. We were always going to have to re-enter the real world some time.’

He glances at me, rueful. ‘I loved living in that house with you.’

‘Well, I understand you’re a man of means. I’m sure Petty will give you the friends and family discount any time you want to take a trip down memory lane.’

‘Six weeks every summer, tell her to put it in the calendar.’

‘For someone who doesn’t usually make plans, you’re getting pretty good at it.’

‘I like the way the future looks right now,’ he says.

‘Me too.’

‘And I suppose when we’re apart we’ll just have to have plenty of phone sex,’ Theo muses. ‘I haven’t done that since the dawn of video chats.’

‘Well, it’s nice for couples to try new things together,’ I say.

‘Speaking of which,’ Theo’s eyes darken, ‘all those mirrors in the dressing room have given me a couple of ideas…’

‘I’m listening.’

The next morning I prise my eyes open just after ten and force my aching body up and into the shower while Theo sleeps. All these late nights of mind-blowing sex are taking their toll, not that you’ll hear me complain… well, except about the fact that I need to wear another high-necked dress today thanks to Theo’s continuing interest in my collarbones.

It’s a beautiful day for a wedding, all blue skies and marshmallow clouds, and I pad through to the dressing room, blushing at the sight of the handprints on the mirrors. I’ll have to clean those off before housekeeping arrive or I’ll never be able to look Cassandra in the eye again.

I brush out my damp hair at the dressing table and then creep back through to wake Theo.

‘It’s almost eleven,’ I say, pulling away when he tries to tug me back into bed. ‘There’s only an hour and a half until the wedding. We slept in late.’

‘How long can it possibly take to get ready?’ Theo murmurs sleepily, not relinquishing his hold on the belt of my dressing gown. ‘Five, ten minutes? That leaves us a good eighty minutes to fill. I can get an awful lot done in that time.’

‘I know that,’ I laugh. ‘But while you might be able to get ready in ten minutes, I’m afraid us lesser humans take longer.’

‘You look insanely beautiful just as you are,’ he insists.

‘Right, well, as I’m not turning up to your sister’s black-tie wedding in a dressing gown with wet hair, let’s just agree to disagree on this one.’ I move back round to my side of the bed and unplug my phone from the charger.

‘Oh, shit,’ I say, my eyes widening. ‘I’ve got eleven missed calls from Serena.’