Chapter 22

Twenty-Two

HENRY

I hear the door click open and without thinking, I turn to steal a quick glance at Lucy. She’s wearing black jeans and a beige jumper that is a few sizes too big. She looks comfortable, which makes her all the more appealing.

Fixing my face, I let her know, “It’s almost ready.” She certainly saw me checking her out. “Just adding the finishing touches.” I need to stop acting like such a teenager around her.

She steps up beside me and her perfume overwhelms my senses. In truth, this entire apartment smells like her. “How can I help?” she asks.

Struggling to remember how to speak, my response comes out a little gruff. “I’ve got it.”

“Well, then I can set the table.” She moves to reach up into the cupboard and begins to pull out plates. “Sorry, I don’t have any champagne for our celebration,” she says with a frown.

“I brought wine.”

“Not champagne?” she asks .

“No, I know you don’t care for it.” She smiles at my remark and I return it before turning to the sauce preparation.

I need to control myself—this is not a date, it is not a romantic evening. This is simply a thank-you dinner to celebrate the success of her grand scheme. I plate the pasta and carry it over to the small table Lucy has set for us.

I raise my glass to her. “To you and your success.”

She replies, “To us, and Pride and Prejudice .”

“To Jane Austen,” I add.

We both smile and sip our wine. Cautiously taking my first bite of the pasta, I’m relieved to find it is delicious, if I do say so myself. I believe I actually did a fine job.

Lucy confirms, “This is fantastic, is it your recipe?”

If this were a date, I would have lied and taken the credit, but it’s not, so I proceed with honesty, “No, my mate, Max, shared it with me. Or, as you may know him, Mr. Tilney from my Northanger Abbey movie adaptation. And, in fact, you will now know him as Mr. Bennett. After I signed on to the movie, he agreed to the part.”

“How exciting!” She beams with a huge smile. “Well, I look forward to meeting him. His portrayal of Mr. Tilney was perfectly done.” The way she lights up at the mention of Max in Northanger Abbey makes my stomach turn, I don’t like the idea of her swooning over my closest friend.

“Yes, I’ll be sure to introduce you. Perhaps when we visit the set locations.” Max can be captivating, on or off set, but hopefully, she will be too distracted with everything else going on during shooting, she won’t have a chance to fall for him .

“Oh, that’s right! I would be so grateful to visit the sets. Having spent months in the UK, I had expected to visit more of the English countryside I’ve spent so much time reading about, but I haven’t left the city yet.”

“Well, you are planning to stay with me at the end of the month. I don’t live in the country, but it’s close enough to visit. I’d love to take you sightseeing,” I offer while mentally accumulating a list of places to take her.

“Henry…” She puts her fork down and sits back in her chair, then brings her hands to her lap and looks down at them. “What does this mean going forward?”

I pause, thinking of what I should say. Should I tell her that in the last two hours, I’ve realized I have feelings for her? But what do I want from that? I haven’t given myself a moment to think what I would want that to look like. Do I want to jump into another relationship? Does she? She’s been open about her disinterest in a relationship since we met. Is she asking because things went better than I realized with her ex, and she is looking to get back with him?

While I’m thinking of every possible option, she must take that for confusion and clarifies, “Now that you have secured the director role, does that mean we will stop with the fake relationship posts?” She turns her face to show no emotions in either direction.

If I say yes and go back to being friends, I will lose most of my reasons for contacting her. I could tell her the truth, Viewmont Productions credited my new social media presence as the reason they decided to go with me, but they didn’t make this relationship requirement by any means. She doesn’t know that .

This might be my way of keeping her close for a few more weeks or months until I can get a better understanding of what is going on between us and if it is mutual or just one-sided.

I lean forward, “Just the opposite, in fact. The studio credited the social media account as the reason they decided to select me for the director, well that and my resume. They would like us to continue to share our love story on social media and Mark recommended more photos of us together, which we already have planned. As long as you are all right with continuing?” I hold my breath, waiting for her answer. If she is planning to rekindle her relationship in the States, this will surely force her to confess it.

“Oh, well.” She sits back up and takes a sip of her wine. “Of course, that was the plan all along. I’m all right to continue as we scheduled.”

“Well, good. That’s settled.”

She tries to hide her smile behind her wine glass, but there’s no hiding it as her eyes give her away. “So, tell me what happens next. What will you do on Monday?”

“As most of the pre-production has already been in place, I will spend most of December in meetings getting caught up on casting and locations, reviewing the scripts, and making any necessary last-minute changes.” Her eyes light up as I speak. “I plan to stay in London with Oliver and Finn because most of the work will be done from the main offices in the city.”

“This is so exciting, Henry.” She looks delighted. “Don’t tell the others, but I think I’m going to be reading Pride and Prejudice again soon, maybe even tonight. I’m sure they will guess that with the news that you have the director position.”

“Hold that thought,” I say as I get up from my chair and move to grab the package I wrapped at the bottom of the grocery bag. Back at the table, I hand it to her. “For you.”

She takes the gift and pulls on the large red bow on top. Then, carefully unfolding the paper, her mouth falls open and her eyes go wide. She pulls the three small old books with gold designs on the spine and a solid dark cover away from the wrapping and looks back and forth from the books to me. I purchased this first edition years ago, after I started making movies and real money, it was a promise to myself that I would one day direct that film. Now, that goal has only been achieved thanks to her. They belong with Lucy.

“Henry?”

“You mentioned you often thought about how people felt while reading Pride and Prejudice when it was first published. I can’t take you back in time, but maybe this book will connect you to the time it was printed,” I say to her, still standing next to where she is sitting.

She jumps out of her chair, clutching the book close to her chest as she uses the other arm to wrap around my neck. It feels like the most natural embrace. I take the opportunity to wrap my arm around her back, caressing her gently. This feeling, her in my arms, feels…just as it should. It must mean something.

Can I consider being in a relationship again? Can I be good for her?

“Thank you,” she whispers genuinely into my ear. I give her one more squeeze, then release her as she pulls out of our embrace. “This is not necessary. It’s too much, Henry.”

“Nothing will ever be able to convey my appreciation for your assistance in securing the film I’ve waited my career to direct. Thank you, Lucy.”

“I will treasure them,” she promises.

Her gaze moves toward the window. “Don’t you think this would be a good post?” Before I can answer, she places the books on her chair with gentle movements. Then hands me both of our wine glasses as she takes out her phone and moves to the window. “Come join me.” Following her direction, I kneel next to her in front of the windowsill. She leans in close to me and holds her phone in front of us to get the perfect angle that gives us a backdrop of the moon in the night sky above the city lights. We hold our glasses in front of us and smile.

The phone clicks and we both check the photo. This will certainly gain the coveted spot as my home screen’s wallpaper. She sends it over and instructs me to post it.

“What should the caption be?” I ask.

“I’m not sure. Maybe just a couple emojis—use the pasta and wine and the moon.” She smiles. “That pretty much sums up our night…as much as your adoring fans need to know.”

After clearing up the dishes, I bid her a reluctant goodbye and make my way back down to Finn’s car.

When I arrive at the boys’ townhouse, I find Oliver in the kitchen finishing up his dishes and offer to help him dry them.

“Where were you this evening?” Oliver asks .

“I picked Lucy up from the airport and then got her something to eat.” Oliver pauses his scrubbing to look over at me. I pretend not to notice.

“Is that your payment for her being the mastermind behind your social media fame?” Oliver asks.

“Of course.” I’m not discussing this with Oliver. I don’t even know how I would express the feelings I’m having. I have to figure this out on my own first.

“Hmp.” He thinks he knows everything. People say he gets that from me, so I suppose I deserve it.

Changing the subject, I tell him, “I did ask about her plans for the holidays. She’ll be going to the States for Christmas, then be back before the New Year.”

“Do you think she would be interested in spending the New Year with us? At your place?” he asks.

“Oh, yes. She was excited when I asked,” I answer.

“I bet,” he says as he looks at me with a side-eye. “New Year’s Eve will be the perfect night to propose. That settles it. I’ll do it then.”

“Splendid. I’ll call the shops we decided on to finalize the arrangements. You’ll still be coming up before the twenty-fifth?” I ask.

“Of course, I think we will head up the Saturday before like usual.”

“If you have any special dietary requests, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll plan to have the place stocked before your arrival.”

“I’m home!” Finn yells from the entryway as we finish up the last of the dishes. “Hey pops, where have you been all night. ”

Before I can answer, Oliver does, “He’s been with Lucy. Celebrating the movie deal.”

Finn walks over to me and places his hands on my shoulders, “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” I turn back to the more subtle of my two sons. “I’m going to retire for the evening. Going to go over the script some more.” Walking out, I wish them goodnight.

“If you have any questions, you should call Lucy!” Finn yells behind me, but I don’t bother to acknowledge it.