Page 56 of Love At First Fright

“W ay too small, where would you keep all your books?” Dina peered at the laptop screen over Rosemary’s shoulder as she made her a cup of rose tea in the small kitchen of Rosemary’s London Airbnb.

“But it’s near a park, and it allows pets. Those are my non-negotiables.” Rosemary sighed. Dina was right, she’d end up drowning in her book collection if she leased that apartment. She closed the tab, clicked on the next one.

“This is the apartment I’m seeing with Immy this afternoon.”

Dina looked it over but didn’t say anything.

“You hate it.”

“No…”

“I do. It looks so cold and clinical. But maybe that’s just the décor.” Rosemary shut the laptop and slumped back on the sofa. “It’s been nearly a week and I haven’t found anywhere. And I know why.” She grimaced.

Dina set the teacup before her and looked up expectantly.

“None of these places come with Ellis. I’ve been so stupid, Dina. I thought he was being selfish, but the more I think about it, the more I understand why he did what he did. I’m still mad about it, but it wasn’t unforgiveable. I flew off the handle, but we should have worked through it.”

“It’s not too late,” Dina said, and squeezed her hand.

“It is. I messed up. I hurt him, and I think it’s too late to repair it. I wish I could.”

Dina offered her a small, secretive smile and poured their tea. The scent of the rosebud tea carried through the air.

“You’ll get through this. You’ve got me and Immy, and that little darling over there.

” Dina gestured at Bee, who was busy attacking one of Rosemary’s socks—the sock was winning.

Dina couldn’t see her, but beside Bee was her mama, whom Rosemary had affectionately named Cherry.

As she’d been packing up her things in Blossom Ridge, she’d noticed that Cherry didn’t watch her other kittens, who had all graduated to farm cats now, as carefully as she watched Bee.

Perhaps because Bee was the runt of the litter, her mama needed to make sure she made it through.

Rosemary didn’t have a firm grasp on how animal ghost magic worked, even after Hank, but Cherry seemed to be connected to Bee, so that when Rosemary had brought the ginger kitten over to the UK, Cherry had come along to look after her baby.

Even with her support network, Rosemary still felt unmoored and hollow.

“Is the tea magic?” she asked, hopeful. She needed something to boost her spirits.

“Oh yes, it’s a very powerful love spell.”

“Dina.”

Her friend held up her hands in surrender. “Kidding. It will help you see the good in things, to take a balanced approach. I thought it might help with the viewings.”

Rosemary took a sip. Sweet and floral.

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry I can’t come with you to the viewing, it’s our monthly dinner with Scott’s mums and my parents.”

“You’re both adorable. I’ll see you this weekend.”

“You might be busy,” Dina said, that sheepish expression back on her face.

“What are you plotting, woman?” Rosemary raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing, nothing.” Dina waved her hand and kissed Rosemary on the cheek. “Bye, habiba.”

Rosemary used the tea to her advantage, after Dina left, and did some more apartment hunting online. Once she found somewhere, she could arrange to have all her stuff brought over from the storage place in New York. Until then, she was stuck in a rather boring Airbnb.

The doorbell rang. It was too soon for Immy to be coming over, they didn’t need to head off for the viewing until later today. Maybe Dina had forgotten something?

She opened the door. Ellis stood there, on her doorstep.

Rosemary’s heart jumped to her throat, leaving her utterly speechless.

He was as handsome as ever, taking up the entire doorway with his broad shoulders, a green knitted sweater pulled over his unfairly muscular chest. She sank into his gaze far too easily, drinking him in, taking in the new dark circles under his eyes and the silver hair that had started to spread from his temples.

Her body betrayed her, wanting to sink into his embrace, wanting to inhale his woody soap scent.

“Hi, love,” he said, his voice cracking. “Can I come in?”

She couldn’t speak, but nodded shakily. Before she had time to process, he was inside, the door was shut, and he was right in front of her in the dim hallway.

Bee had come to investigate and was meowing at Ellis’s feet and headbutting his calf. He picked her up and cradled the tiny cat in his arms.

“This is Bee?” Ellis asked.

“Yeah. How are you here, Ellis?”

He put the cat down. “Dina and Immy told me where you were. I didn’t message because you told me not to, but I really needed to speak to you. Please let me just say what I need to say and if you still want me to leave afterwards, I’ll go.”

The rawness in his voice cut her deep. Ellis stepped closer, and Rosemary’s traitorous heart was thumping its way out of her chest. How had she thought, even for a second, that she would ever have fallen out of love with Ellis Finch?

“What did you want to say?”

She might love him, but the anger still bit at her. Some of it—alright, a lot of it—was aimed at herself, but it bit all the same.

He walked ahead into the small living area of the apartment, kitchen and dining room and sofa all in one cramped space.

“I didn’t think I’d get this far,” he joked, but it was hollow.

Ellis stood in front of the window, and turned back to her.

She wished she’d put on something else to wear instead of her moth-eaten university sweater and a pair of old cosy leggings.

An outfit that would have made her look more put together.

“You moved to London,” he said.

“I was always happier here,” she admitted. With you, her heart whispered.

Outside, the clouds that had been threatening to storm all morning finally gave in, and a heavy sheet of rain began hammering at the windows.

“This reminds me of that time I found you crawling through the window at the Gatehouse,” Ellis said.

They looked at each other for a long time.

“I’m sorry. Forgive me.” They both blurted out at the same time.

Ellis shook his head and smiled. “Please, let me apologise.” His hands gripped the back of a kitchen chair.

“I should have called you. I should have told you, before I went on about the footage, and it kills me to think that my action in that one moment has fucked up the best thing I ever had.”

“Yes, you should have.” Rosemary felt a softening.

Maybe she was being helped along by Dina’s magic tea, but she was tired.

Tired of not being in Ellis’s arms. Tired of this fight that now felt within their capacity to fix.

Of course there was a huge part of her that was worried about her life and career if the footage was released, how it would affect her family and friends.

But Brody was a bully, and she was done dealing with his shit.

“I understand why you did it, Ellis. But I need you to know that I don’t care.

” For a second, Ellis looked struck, anguish ripping across his face, but then she kept speaking.

“I don’t care if the entire world sees me giving you head on the top of a hill, I don’t care about all the ridicule or the notoriety.

I can handle all of it, we can handle all of it, together. ”

Ellis came close, a smile slowly tugging at his mouth. He wiped the tears from Rosemary’s cheeks with his thumb. She hadn’t even realised she’d been crying.

“You don’t need to, you don’t need to,” he said, “there was no footage.”

Rosemary stilled, and looked up into Ellis’s warm brown eyes. Hope fluttered in her stomach.

“It was a hoax?”

“It was blackmail. I wish I’d figured it out sooner.

I thought it was weird that he never showed me the footage, or mentioned specifics, and when I ran into Jenna at an event, we talked it through.

And then we went to see a lawyer. Brody confessed he never had anything, it was all a fucking bluff so that I wouldn’t fire him. ”

Rosemary placed her hands on Ellis’s chest. His heart was running a mile a minute.

“I fired him. He has no leverage against me anymore. In fact, Jenna and I spoke to all of Brody’s other clients. Told them everything. They all fired him. He’ll never work in the industry again.”

“You did it.” She blinked back tears. “You’re free of him.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you.” Ellis pulled her closer, brushing her nose with his. “Come back to me, love. I fucked up, but I love you, and I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you just how much.”

“Ellis—” Rosemary’s voice broke. “I love you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, their bodies flush. The heat of his skin was a furnace burning right to her core.

“Say it again,” Ellis demanded, nipping her lip.

“I love you.”

Ellis’s arms circled her waist, kneading into the dimples of her back.

“Again.”

“I love you. I missed you like crazy.”

It felt like a dream. The smile that crinkled his beautiful eyes. Being held in his arms. She wanted to remember every detail. Ellis brought his lips to her forehead, her temple, leaving a trail of heat in his wake.

“ Ellis. ”

He traced the curve of her neck with his lips, reaching her collarbone. Shivers of anticipation trickled down her spine and she arched into his chest. Ellis seemed to exhale as she returned his touch, his grip on her growing more possessive.

“Missed the way you say my name.”

His hands edged around the waistband of her leggings as his lips found her ear.

“Missed the way you taste. Missed the way you take me so fucking well.” At the first feel of his fingers on the bare skin of her stomach, Rosemary let out a soft moan, and Ellis claimed her mouth with his.

It was a furious kiss, and she was in free fall. All those weeks of missing him, loving him and hating herself for it, came crashing down. Unbridled desire shot through her at every one of Ellis’s touches, but she needed to be closer, closer.

“Ellis, please,” she whimpered against his lips, giving him permission.

Grabbing her by the waist, he lifted her to the edge of the kitchen countertop.

“Off,” he commanded, pulling her leggings down her legs in one swift motion.

Like a starving man at a feast, he kneeled before her, pressing his open mouth to the mound of her panties.

Ellis lathered a kiss on her through the soaked material, the heat of his breath shooting pleasure right up her spine.

“Oh my god,” she cried out.

Rosemary watched, transfixed, as he tugged her underwear to the side and claimed her pussy with his tongue, lapping deep into her centre.

He moved fast, as if every taste of her wasn’t enough, and when he began pumping his fingers into her, Rosemary’s head tipped back, her mind going blank, the orgasm ripping through her, as she moaned his name again and again.

“I love you,” he said, standing and resting his forehead against hers. Rosemary felt a joyous laugh bubble out of her. “Move in with me?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” She grinned and sank into Ellis’s embrace, and wondered if you could die of happiness.