Page 79

‘Not yet,’ I say.

Freddy smiles at his plate for a fraction of a second. Then clears his throat and says, ‘I don’t think you two should share a room. I mean, what would your mother say, Ahmet? You don’t want her screaming ‘slut’ and throwing red paint at the bride on your wedding day, do you?’

‘My mother is rather traditional,’ Ahmet admits. ‘But what she doesn’t know –’

‘But what if she finds out?’ Freddy challenges. ‘Kat can’t lie. It’s one of her biggest failings. Your mother might ask her outright about bedroom sharing, and then where would you be? Let’s not risk you being disinherited before the wedding. I’ll help move your things to the spare bedroom, Ahmet. In fact, I’ll do it right now.’

Freddy leaps up and heads to my bedroom. A moment later, he passes through the living area carrying Ahmet’s suitcase. ‘Just this lot, Ahmet? Or is there more?’

CHAPTER56

For the rest of the dinner, Freddy tries hard to focus on his ethical plate of food. But all he wants to do is stare into Kat’s eyes. She looks so different to him now. Softer. More vulnerable. Under that hard shell, she is sweet and earnest and so very, very interesting. He wants to kiss her every time she talks. Not to shut her up, which is sometimes why he kisses women. But because he likes what she’s saying.

Finally, the awkward meal finishes and Freddy suggests everyone has an early night.

‘Kat has a big day tomorrow,’ says Freddy, knocking back the last of his sparkling water. ‘Her meeting with Penguin Random House is at noon. And Ahmet, I’m guessing you’ll want to make the most of being in Frankfurt, won’t you?’

‘I do have a walking tour planned,’ Ahmet acknowledges. ‘And I was hoping to visit the German National Library. So yes, I suppose an early night is sensible.’

Ahmet gives Kat a chaste kiss on the cheek before retiring to the third bedroom. Freddy suspects he wanted to give her more than a chaste kiss but can’t because Freddy is watching like an overprotective father.

When Kat and Ahmet go to their bedrooms, Freddy assesses his options. Since the hotel is packed with Book Fair delegates, there should be plenty of single, female publishing editors downstairs. Freddy is learning that publishing is a pleasingly female industry. However, the idea of being with another woman right now makes him feel nauseated. He wants to be with Kat. He also doesn’t want to get drunk. What if Kat has a relapse? He needs to be on the ball.

So. An early night it is.

Freddy turns to his hotel room. But sleeping in there doesn’t feel right either. What if Ahmet decides to break the rules and sneak into Kat’s bedroom? Freddy needs to be between Kat and Ahmet’s rooms, like a guard dog.

Decision made, Freddy grabs a blanket and pillow from his room and makes up an uncomfortable bed on the sofa.

CHAPTER57

I wake to a grey, autumn sky and the sounds of a tap running and glasses clinking. I can hear Ahmet snoring too, which means Freddy must be the one pottering around the living area. Inexplicably, that thought makes me smile.

I put on a dressing gown and head out of my bedroom, hair all over the place. Weirdly, there’s crumpled bedding on one of the living-area sofas. Freddy washes glasses in the kitchen sink.

‘Did you go out last night, Freddy Stark?’ I ask.

‘What?’ Freddy turns. ‘No.’

‘So why is there bedding on the sofa?’ I nod at the blanket and pillow. ‘Were you too drunk to find your bedroom?’

‘I didn’t drink alcohol at all last night.’ Freddy sounds offended. ‘It wouldn’t have been responsible. What if you’d relapsed and needed someone to take you to a doctor?’

‘That’s not something you need to worry about.’ I smile, noticing breakfast croissants, fruit plates, nuts and orange juice on the dining table, plus a little dish of vitamins. ‘I’ve been dragging myself to doctors’ offices on dodgy legs for a very long time. Why didn’t you sleep in your bedroom?’

‘I wanted to be between you and the door.’

‘The locked hotel room door? On the seventh floor?’

‘Not that door. Ahmet’s door. I didn’t want Ahmet roaming around late at night, taking liberties –’

‘He’s my fiancé.’

‘You’re still an exclusive product.’

‘Yes, I wanted to talk to you about that. At what point do I stop being an exclusive product and sleep with Ahmet? Surely now I’m engaged it’s okay?’

‘I don’t think so.’ Freddy stiffens. ‘You should wait until your wedding night.’