Chapter Nine

‘This isn't Theo,' I say, confused, at the same time as Edward says, ‘Clemmie is your sister?'

The bartender places our drinks on the bar and leans forward to make sure Edward gets a good look down her black tank top. He keeps his eyes on me and I'm not proud of the smirk that puts on my face, but some cavewoman part of my brain wants to wrap myself around the man and hiss at her like a cat.

My God, Clemmie. Calm down.

My sister is frowning at me and for a moment I worry she can read my mind. ‘What are you talking about, Clemmie?' She puts a hand on Edward's arm, tugging him forward. ‘This is Theo Eliott.'

‘No,' I say, putting my hand on his other arm. ‘This is Edward.'

‘Clemmie,' Edward interrupts softly, putting his hand over mine. ‘I was just trying to tell you: my name's not Edward, it's Theo.'

I'm so thrown by the way my body reacts to his warm hand covering mine that it takes a beat too long for his words to reach me. ‘W-what?' I ask when they finally do.

Theo-not-Edward says nothing, but removes his hand and sips from his drink. I think he looks nervous.

‘Edward?' Serena's face is baffled for a moment, then her eyes round in shock. ‘As in Double-O Edward?' she hisses.

Theo splutters into his glass, and I wonder if I have perhaps died and am in some sort of previously unwritten-about circle of hell. Dante would absolutely love this shit.

‘Double-O Edward?' Theo repeats, and there's a slow, delighted grin spreading across his face.

‘Don't you dare smile at me,' I snap, flustered. The reality of this bizarre scene is starting to sink in and I feel queasy. I poke him in the chest with my finger. ‘You're really telling me you're not called Edward?'

A look of chagrin passes over his face. ‘Yes. I mean no,' he says, ‘I'm not called Edward.'

‘And you are, in fact, this Theo Eliott person who is a famous musician?' I continue, my voice deadly calm.

‘Um, yes,' Theo says meekly.

‘So why did you tell me your name was Edward?'

‘Actually I didn't,' he says, and the smile flickers back to life, though it's more muted now. ‘I told you my mum calls me Teddy, which she does, and you extrapolated from there.' He looks pleased with himself.

I think back to our conversation, try to remember if what he says is true. ‘Teddy is short for Theodore?'

He nods.

‘But why didn't you correct me?' I ask, and I can feel that my calm is slipping now, but I cling on to it for dear life.

‘That's hard to explain,' he says.

‘Try,' I grind out.

He runs a finger round the rim of his glass. ‘I suppose at first it was because you didn't know who I was, and that was something of a novelty. And then… I got distracted.'

‘Distracted!'

‘Yes, and I honestly forgot about the whole name thing until the morning when I saw your note. I would have told you the truth then…' – he pauses here and treats me to a stern look from under his brows – ‘but you had already disappeared. Snuck out while I was in the shower.'

‘You're not going to make me feel bad about anything when you—'

‘Hold on,' Serena jumps in here. Up to this point she's been silently observing our back and forth like she's watching a tennis match, but she seems to have gathered her wits. ‘I think we need to move somewhere more private for this conversation.'

She glances over her shoulder, and I notice that several people are showing interest in our little group. At the moment they're all at a polite distance, and the music is quite loud, but that might not last. And there's also every chance that I'll end up shouting.

I glance at Theo's handsome face. Oh yes, there will definitely be shouting.

Stiffly, I follow Serena as she cuts through the crowds, very aware that Theo is walking close behind me. At one point someone steps out in front of me and tries to talk to him. Theo mutters something, his hand on the small of my back as he guides me past, his body curving protectively around mine. I shake him off as soon as possible, trying very hard to be unaffected by the tingling feeling that insists on running up and down my spine.

We duck through a door that says EMPLOYEES ONLY and climb a flight of stairs, eventually ending up in a small office that presumably belongs to the manager.

As soon as we're over the threshold, Serena whirls on Theo. ‘Let me catch up here. Are you telling me that you slept with my sister?'

‘I didn't know she was your sister,' Theo says, holding his hands up in front of him.

Serena whacks him on the arm. ‘Not the point, Theo! You are an absolute liability. Do you have to sleep with everyone?!'

Something flickers across Theo's face at that, something that looks almost like hurt, but it's replaced by that charming smile so swiftly that I wonder if I imagined it. He leans back against the wall, his arms folded. ‘I would say that what happened between Clemmie and me was just between the two of us, but it seems you've already had a thorough report.'

‘Oh my God,' I mutter, swigging from the Martini glass still gripped tightly in my fingers. (At this point they would pry the booze from my cold, dead hands.) ‘How can this be happening? I slept with someone and I didn't even know his name? And he's a famous rock star?'

‘Your tone is confusing,' Theo says. ‘Which of those two things is worse?'

‘The rock star thing.' I take another long drink. ‘Definitely the rock star thing.'

‘Huh.' Theo sounds nonplussed.

‘Put it together, genius,' Serena snaps, throwing herself into the chair behind the desk. ‘If Clemmie is my sister…'

‘If she's your sister then… she's also Ripp's daughter,' Theo says slowly. ‘Oh shit.' He looks at me. ‘You're Ripp's daughter?'

‘And you know my father,' I groan. ‘Of course. This just gets better and better.'

‘Clemmie, you are the only person in the world who could pick up Theo Eliott and not know about it.' Serena rubs her forehead. ‘This is what comes of being a cultural recluse.'

‘I'm not a recluse!' I exclaim hotly. ‘I hardly think knowing or not knowing a guy who makes a living singing about Post Offices is an indicator of how culturally engaged a person is.'

‘Post Offices?' Theo frowns.

‘She means coffee shops,' Serena says. ‘Clemmie doesn't acknowledge the existence of music made past 2003. It's a whole thing.'

‘I'm not living on another planet,' I break in, as Serena and I fall into the familiar argument. ‘Lots of people prefer audiobooks or podcasts or…'

‘Boring people. Elderly people,' Serena snorts.

‘Podcasts are the fastest growing media format in the world!' I hiss. ‘Michelle Obama has her own podcast, Serena. Michelle. Obama.'

‘I'm confused.' Theo looks bewildered. ‘Why are we talking about Michelle Obama now?'

‘Well, this has thrown a fucking spanner in the works,' Serena says, tapping her fingernails along the edge of the desk. She clearly recognizes the introduction of Michelle for the conversational checkmate that it is, and has therefore decided to pretend none of the argument ever happened. ‘The whole point of Clemmie going to Northumberland was supposed to be so there'd be no distractions.'

‘Clemmie is the babysitter you want to send with me?' Theo's face lights up. ‘Suddenly, I don't hate the idea after all.'

‘Well, I do!' I say firmly. ‘I'm not spending six weeks trapped in a house with you.'

‘Worried you won't be able to keep your hands off me?' Theo sighs lustily.

Now it's my turn to sputter into my drink. ‘Absolutely not,' I hiss. ‘I don't want anything to do with you!'

‘Then I don't really see the problem.' Theo turns to my sister with a shrug.

‘Theo,' Serena chides him. ‘This isn't a game, and you're in deep shit with me for upsetting Clemmie.'

‘Hey!' Theo objects. ‘I'm the injured party here. I'm the one who got dumped with a three-line note while I was having a shower.'

‘You didn't get dumped,' I say stiffly, putting my empty glass down on top of a filing cabinet. ‘It was a casual thing, remember.'

‘And there was me thinking I was special.' Theo straightens up, stepping towards me. My traitorous body reacts to his nearness, heat washing over me. ‘But now that we've found each other again,' he continues in a softer voice, ‘are you going to let me buy you a drink?'

‘The drinks are free,' I croak, staggering back like I'm trying to break away from some sort of sexy-rock-star tractor beam.

If flirting were a professional sport, then Theo Eliott would take home the gold. I realize, with a sinking feeling, that the chemistry I had with Edward – the chemistry that I thought meant we had a connection – is just something Theo has with everyone. He's a flirt, a womanizer, and I fell for the whole act like an idiot. You'd think I'd know better.

‘You might as well stop that right now,' Serena says to Theo, as if reading my mind. ‘I can absolutely guarantee that you'll get nowhere with my sister. It doesn't matter if you turn the charm up to eleven; she'd rather chew off her own foot than go out with a flirty rock star.'

Theo pulls back, a flash of surprise in his eyes. He glances at me.

I nod, cross my arms. Serena is completely right: whatever small fantasies I'd been quietly nurturing about running into Edward again are dead and buried in the face of the revelation that the man is actually Theo Eliott.

If Theo really is initially surprised by this, he shrugs it off almost instantly. When he speaks again his voice is soft, more serious than it has been. ‘Then there really shouldn't be a problem with Clemmie taking the job.'

Serena starts to speak again, but Theo holds up his hand. ‘Can I have a word with Clemmie, alone?'

My sister eyes him narrowly. ‘Why?'

Theo's poise slips a little, and he snaps, ‘For fuck's sake, Serena, I'm not about to ravish her; I just want to talk in private.'

Serena's eyes dart to me and I nod. ‘You should get back to your party,' I say. ‘I can sort this out myself. People will be wondering where you are.'

She gets to her feet and pushes away from the desk. ‘Fine.' She points a finger at Theo. ‘But you'd better be on your best behaviour, or I swear I will…'

‘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.