Page 34 of Total Creative Control

“I know.” Aaron smiled; he couldn't help it. Sometimes Lewis could look—couldbe—surprisingly vulnerable.

“I know I ask you to run errands and… You really didn’t have to clean my rug this morning. Or buy my breakfast, or—” Again with the hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up in spikes that Aaron itched to smooth down. “Fuck, I don’t want you to think I’m anything like Charlie fucking Alexander.”

“I don’t,” Aaron said, touched. “You’re not. And I don’t mind doing those things for you. Iamyour assistant, and I’m happy to assist.”

God, the things he’d assist with if he only had the chance…

“But I meant what I said—youaremore useful to me than anyone else.” Lewis held his gaze, eyes bright and clear and devastatingly honest. “Not the fetching and carrying—anyone could do that—I mean with the show. I value your creative input, your opinions. Your judgment.” He looked away, seeming uncomfortable now. “I know I can be a moody bastard in the office, but I hope you know that you’re… valued.”

And that knocked the stuffing right out of Aaron. It took him a moment to catch his breath, so he sounded rather winded when he said, “Good. I mean, thanks. I mean, you’re welcome.”

Lewis glanced at him, his gorgeous mouth ticking up at one side in a tiny smile. Then he looked away again, gazing out of the window. “Swanage, huh?”

Relieved by the change of subject, his heart still racing, Aaron said, “My grandparents retired there, so we stayed with them for two weeks every August. It was great. I loved it there, tourist trap or not.”

“We used to go to Brighton,” Lewis said, lost in thought. “Just for the day, on the train. Me and Owen, I mean. We’d eat fish and chips on the beach. It’s a really fucking pebbly beach, and the sea was always freezing.” He gave a soft huff. “But I loved it anyway. Then we’d mess about in the arcade on the pier and get candy floss and those big sugar dummies. And get home after midnight. It was brilliant.”

Aaron was silent, not knowing quite what to say and not wanting to spoil what felt like a fragile moment. Lewis rarely talked about his past or his family. Aaron knew his mum had died when he was pretty young, and that Owen had cared for him in the teeth of opposition from social services. Most of that he’d read in an interview in DigitalSpy, picking up other tiny details from throwaway comments Lewis had made over the years. It wasn’t something he mentioned often.

The picture Lewis painted now, of two motherless boys taking a day trip to Brighton together, pierced his heart. It made him ache for the difficult, talented, prickly man sitting before him. One arm twitched, as if trying to reach for him, but Aaron overruled the desire. Instead, he said quietly, “That sounds like a good memory.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Andthat’sa staycation by the way.”

“Right?” Lewis glanced up, their eyes meeting in shared understanding. “Charlie lives in a different world.”

“Yeah,” Aaron said softly. He turned away and reached into his backpack, pulling out the shirt and waistcoat he’d brought in case he needed something smart for dinner. “And the funny thing is, he has no idea.” He went to the wardrobe to hang his clothes up, hoping the creases would drop out. He hadn’t had a garment bag at home and hadn’t had time to get one. He’d done his best to fold his stuff into his backpack, but everything seemed to be creased to hell, and the room didn’t offer anything as prosaic as an iron. Probably because Charlie had ‘staff’ who did that sort of thing for him. “He doesn’t seem to realise how different most people have it.”

Lewis sighed. “Yeah, well, none of them do.” He got to his feet; Aaron could hear the bed creak as he moved. “Wait until you meet fuckingMils. A tenner says she’s mentioned Oxford within the first two minutes. She and Charlie went to the same college.”

“I’m not taking that bet,” Aaron laughed, turning back to face Lewis.

Lewis grinned. “The worst is, she always does it with a dash of Uriah Heep.”

“Oh my God, I know the type,” Aaron said. He mimicked a posh accent. “God knows why they let me in. I’m such a dolt!”

Lewis snorted, his laughter lighting up his whole face and turning his handsome, often forbidding features into something boyish and, frankly, heart-stopping. Laughing with him, Aaron felt giddy with the pleasure of the moment.

Suddenly, Aaron realised he was staring at Lewis, fixedly. Lewis cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets, his gaze sliding away from Aaron’s.

“I’d better get moving,” he said. Then he sighed. “Charlie wants to talk at three.”

Aaron raised his brows. “I thought the meeting was Sunday. You know, after he’s broken our spirits?”

Lewis laughed, but this time he sounded strained. “Yes, themainmeeting is on Sunday. This is more of a quick chat—Charlie called it a‘pre-meeting’.What he really means is that he’s going to tell me and Toni what he wants to happen, then leave us to chew on that for two days. It’s a tactic he always uses.”

Aaron made a face. “All right,” he said. “Are you going to give me a knock when you’re ready to go down?”

Lewis blinked. Then his expression shifted guiltily. “I, um… look, I think Toni and I can probably handle this pre-meeting ourselves.”

Aaron’s face instantly flooded with heat.

“Oh—oh right, of course,” he stammered. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have presumed—”

“No, don’t be daft,” Lewis said quickly. “Ordinarily, I’d definitely want you there. It’s just—”

“You don’t have to explain,” Aaron said quickly. “You’re the boss.”