“Just a pub lunch,” she said sheepishly.
“See,” Thomas barked, turning back to Sasha. “I’ll have to introduce them to you.”
He said it like it was a bad thing.
Sasha looked down at her half eaten breakfast. She’d suddenly lost her appetite.
Thomas must have noted her deflation. He stood and went up behind her. He rubbed her arms. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean that the last time I saw my family was before the sex tape and Crystal situation. It will be embarrassing. For both of us.” He kissed her softly on the crown of her head, then rested his chin against it as he wrapped her up in his arms. “I mean, Aunty Mabel had seen your tits. That’s what she’ll be thinking about as she serves up tea and cucumber sandwiches.”
Sasha couldn’t help but laugh.
With his arms still wrapped around Sasha, Thomas spoke over her head to Pippa. “Can we just not do this? Not now. My first public appearance since the sex tape scandal shouldn’t be for a pathetic sexy man award. It’s crass.”
Pippa gave him a stern look. “It’s how you stay relevant and on film producers’ minds. Sorry, Thomas, but you know this is part of the process.”
“Fine,” Thomas replied, unwinding himself from Sasha.
But when she looked up at him, he looked anything but fine.
Across the breakfast bar, Pippa grabbed Sasha’s arm. “Oh Sasha, darling, this will be your first red carpet! Amore are emailing over their best designs. Do you prefer diamond or gold for the jewellery?”
Sasha shrugged. She’d never been one to wear much in the way of jewellery. “Diamond, I guess.”
“Fabulous. Fabulous. Now, I’ll speak to the driver and arrange the plane. You go pack. Run along! Quick, quick!”
Chapter Seventeen
Up in his room, Thomas began packing a suitcase. He seemed furious.
Sasha perched on his bed, looking up at him. She wasn’t quite ready to leave the place where she’d fallen in love with him, but this was part of being with Thomas Lloyd. Never quite getting to be the master of her own destiny. Being pulled around in different directions. But she’d made her choice. It was worth the sacrifice.
She noticed she’d had several more missed calls and texts since they went down for breakfast but she wanted to make sure Thomas was okay first before responding to any of them, so she turned her phone off and stashed it in her pocket.
“I wish we didn’t have to leave,” Thomas said, throwing some socks into the suitcase.
“I know,” Sasha replied. “Me neither.”
“It feels like stepping back into the lion’s den.”
“You could always quit,” Sasha said with a smirk.
“Don’t tempt me.” Thomas stopped what he was doing and turned to Sasha. He held her face in his hands and gave her an adoring gaze. “One day I will. Once Crystal is clean. But right now, her treatment is too expensive to quit. But I’ll give it all up for you.”
Sasha smiled. “I’m patient. I can wait.”
***
The flight to London took even longer than the one from Chicago had. Thomas and Sasha used the opportunity to have a marathon sex session in his bedroom. Something about it felt like the last time they would ever be at peace, and that made it all the more fantastic.
When they landed, Pippa filled them in on the specifics of the arrangements she’d been making.
“Sasha, we’re dropping you off to the Amore offices in Shoreditch. They have some amazing dresses for you to try on. Thomas, you’ll be coming with me to the hotel in Kensington for the London Weekly interview. Then we’ll reconvene for the award ceremony. Okay?”
Thankfully, the paps hadn’t yet got wind of their arrival and they were able to pass through the airport and into the back of the car with little fanfare other than a few giggling girls asking for selfies.
Even so, Sasha still felt a little nauseous about being back in the public eye. The feeling was even more pronounced when Pippa used the car journey to coach her on how to deal with the media’s intrusive questions.
“Just politely decline to answer,” she said. “Tell them you’re here to support Thomas, and nothing more.”
Suddenly the reality of everything seemed to hit her. Before she’d been thrust into the spotlight against her will. Now she was actively inviting it into her life. The Amore photo shoot hadn’t just been a one off experience, it had been the tip of the iceberg.
The car dropped Sasha off in a graffitied backstreet buzzing with people. It was a world away from the tranquil holiday home and sunny beaches she’d become accustomed too. And thanks to the jet lag and multiple orgasms Thomas had given her on the plane, she was more than a little disorientated.