You And Me, Always(32)

Lily grinned. ‘Thank you. I didn't know until tonight that I liked it.'

‘Call it my gift to you. I taught you to enjoy whisky, you taught us to play Word Squares.'

‘I should go to bed.'

Yes, we should, thought Eddie.

‘Oh no! Just one more game, pleeeease,' Mira begged. ‘I want to beat your best score.'

‘You won't beat it.' Lily shook her head pityingly. ‘Forty-three is a magnificent score.'

Mira bounced up and down on the sofa. ‘Let me try, let me try! I love this game so much!'

‘Go on then. One last game. Draw your squares,' said Lily, stifling a yawn. ‘But after this I really need to go to sleep.'

‘Hang on, quick bathroom break.' Leaping to her feet, Mira held up a skinny index finger. ‘I'll be back in one minute.'

It took Eddie less than forty seconds to fetch a bottle of iced water  from the minibar in the next room, but by the time he returned, Lily had  already reached her limit. The notepad and pen were still resting in  her lap, her bare legs were curled up beneath her and her head had  fallen to one side. Her eyes were closed, her mouth was very slightly  open, her breathing slow and regular.                       
       
           



       

She was fast asleep.

Back from the bathroom, Mira stared in dismay. ‘Oh man, what did you let her do that for?'

Eddie shook his head. ‘I didn't. I just went to get a drink. The next second, she was out for the count.'

‘Well that's no good. Wake her up, I want another game!'

Mira was accustomed to having her every whim instantly catered for. Eddie said, ‘She's wiped out. I'll get her to her room.'

‘Then will you come back and play Word Squares with me?'

Their body clocks were both messed up after having just flown over from LA. Eddie wasn't tired either. Just disappointed.

He said, ‘I'm pretty shattered too. Going to call it a night.'

A night devoid of sex, thanks to you.

‘You're no fun,' Mira complained. ‘That means I'm going to have to call Monty, get him over here to play Word Squares.'

Monty was the long-suffering personal assistant who travelled everywhere with Mira and would be fast asleep right now.

‘You do that,' said Eddie. ‘I'm sure he won't mind at all.'

He bent down, put the pen and paper on the silver-embossed coffee table  and gently hauled Lily to her feet. ‘Come on, I'm taking you to your  room.'

Lily's eyes half opened and she nodded. ‘OK.'

‘Bye, sweetie! I totally forgive you for crashing out on me!' Mira had  already called Monty's number and was waiting impatiently for him to  pick up.

‘Bye.' Lily's dark lashes flickered as she leaned against Eddie's side  and allowed him to help her out of the suite. In his left hand he  carried her shoes and evening bag. She smelled of whisky and shampoo and  the chocolate they'd devoured between them from the minibar.

Finally they reached their rooms, adjacent to each other. Eddie found  Lily's key card in her bag and pushed open the door for her.

‘I'm so tired,' Lily whispered, placing her arms around his neck. Her  eyes still three-quarters closed, she gave him a clumsy kiss on the  cheek. ‘So tired. Thanks for everything. I can't believe I played  Scrabble with Mira Knowles.'

‘And with me,' Eddie reminded her. He was clearly second best.

She nodded in agreement. ‘Sorry, and with you.' Resting her face against  his chest, she yawned. ‘This has been the most amazing night of my  life.'

‘Good.' Now wasn't the time to tell her it could have been better still.  With a rueful smile Eddie said, ‘Don't forget. If you need anything,  anything at all, I'm just next door.'

Lily nodded again, her hair brushing against the skin exposed by the V  of his open-necked shirt. Eddie realised it was the most physical  contact he was going to experience. Then she stepped back, took her  shoes and bag and said sleepily, ‘Thanks so much. G'night.'

‘Night,' said Eddie as she shuffled inside and closed the door.



Lily woke with a start at 6.30. OK, time to get up, bit of a headache  but nothing a grown twenty five year old couldn't handle. She blinked at  the elaborate ceiling cornice overhead, then scanned the room and  wondered why there were no clothes strewn over the chairs. Had she  actually hung them up in the wardrobe last night? Because that was  uncharacteristically efficient.

Then she threw back the bedcovers and realised she was still wearing her  premiere dress. Well that solved that mystery. Too much excitement, not  enough sleep beforehand and a crash course in whisky had caused her to  zonk out. Which was good in one way but somewhat disappointing in  another, seeing as she'd wondered if last night might have ended up with  altogether less sleeping going on.

Then again, if the idea had only been in her head and not Eddie's, maybe  it was just as well. Imagine making a pass at him and being told,  gently but firmly, that as far as he was concerned he'd only invited her  along because they were friends. And with a bit of whisky inside her,  she might well have been tempted to give it a go.

Oh the potential for humiliation. Thank goodness she hadn't done it.

In the shower, to distract herself from thoughts of Eddie, Lily  marvelled at everything else that had happened yesterday evening: the  premiere  …  the mouse  …  her dress flying up  …  eating pizza from room  service with Eddie and Mira whilst teaching them how to play Word  Squares  …

Mad, just mad.

By seven o'clock, she was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, almost ready  to leave. The car would be waiting at the front entrance of the hotel at  7.15 to take her home. Should she knock on Eddie's door and say  goodbye, or would he be fast asleep and unamused at being woken up?                       
       
           



       

But as she gathered together her belongings and collected up all the  free things in the luxurious marble bathroom  –  shampoo, little sewing  kit, emery boards, disposable slippers!  –  Lily heard the sounds of  movement next door. Two minutes later, having let herself out of her own  room, she hesitated, then tapped on Eddie's door.

It opened almost immediately, and there he was, evidently just out of  the shower himself and wearing nothing but a white bath towel slung  around his hips.

Which was slightly less than she'd ever seen him in before, and a rather impressive sight.

‘Hey, how are you feeling?'

Lily hesitated, because the honest answer would have been: a bit  dry-mouthed actually, what with you being naked under that towel.

Instead she said brightly, ‘I'm great. Can't believe how shattered I was  last night! Anyway, just dropped by to say thank you for inviting me. I  had the best time ever.'

‘Good.' His smile held a hint of wryness. ‘I'm glad.'

One tiny thing had been niggling her. ‘I won't really be on the front  pages of the papers, will I? You weren't serious about that?'

‘Who knows?' Eddie shrugged. ‘To be honest, it's more likely to be a  photo of Mira leaping into the air to get away from the mouse. Alongside  another of the mouse itself.'

Lily nodded, reassured. ‘It'll be that.'

‘Did you want to come in?' He moved to one side, gesturing for her to do so.

‘Better not. It's ten past seven. By the time I get downstairs, my car  will be waiting.' Get me, saying ‘my car' as if I've been chauffeured  around all my life.

‘OK. Well, bye.' He placed his hand at the back of her neck and drew her  towards him. ‘And thanks for keeping me company. I enjoyed last night  far more than I usually do.'

His mouth was an inch from the side of her face, his breath toothpastey  and warm. As Lily inhaled the scent of him, he gave her a brief kiss on  the cheek  …  then another  …  and one more  …

Each time his mouth had edged closer to hers, until their lips met. Then  several brief kisses transformed into one long one and a rush of heat  spread through Lily's stomach, because she'd wondered so often how it  would feel to be kissed by Eddie Tessler.

She'd seen him kissing other girls in films, and now at last it was happening to her.

Except this time, hopefully, he wasn't acting.

On the last occasion, when it had seemed as if a kiss was imminent,  they'd been interrupted by Dan's unexpected arrival at the cottage.

Dan wasn't here now.

OK, thinking about Dan had to be about the most irrelevant thing she  could be doing. As she took a step back and gazed up into Eddie's eyes,  he said, ‘Coming in after all?'

It was definitely a tempting offer.

But Lily shook her head. ‘I can't. The car's downstairs.'