Sam turned to look at her. ‘Your place or mine?’
She laughed. ‘I haven’t got a place.’
‘Neither have I,’ he admitted. ‘Let’s just drive for a bit,’ he suggested to the driver. ‘Head west.’
The cab pulled away, cutting a swathe through the bedraggled onlookers, the tyres splashing water to the left and right. As people jumped out of the way, Sam reached for Cesca, cupping her face with his hands.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked, breathless from the intense way he was looking at her.
The corner of his lips quirked up. ‘I’ve no idea. But it doesn’t really matter. As long as I’m with you we can drive around all night, if you like.’
‘It’ll cost ya.’ The driver’s interjection made them both laugh.
‘We could go and see my dad in a while,’ she suggested. Not that she was in any hurry for that. Not when he was about to kiss her, and it looked as though he was planning to do it for a while.
‘But now?’
‘Now I’d like you to kiss me again,’ she told him.
He ran his thumb along her lip then inclined his head to hers, until their mouths touched. When he dipped her back so that he could really plunder her mouth, Cesca closed her eyes, savouring every moment.
It was time for her fade to black.
Epilogue
Journeys end in lovers meeting
– Twelfth Night
‘Stop touching your face, you’re going to ruin your make-up.’ Kitty grabbed Cesca’s hand, pulling her fingers away from her cheeks. ‘Calm down, honey, it’s going to be fine.’
Cesca didn’t reply. Nerves had taken away all her words.
Lucy was sitting on her other side. It was strange, being sandwiched by two of her sisters when they’d been apart for so long. But it gave her a glow that outshone the brightener that the make-up artist had used.
‘We’re nearly there,’ Lucy said, squeezing her other hand. ‘Another five minutes, OK, Cess? You can make it that far, can’t you?’
‘I miss Juliet,’ Cesca said. ‘She should be here.’
‘Of course she should. But she can’t, not without leaving Poppy, and we know she could never do that.’ Lucy’s tone was matter-of-fact, but she didn’t catch their eye. ‘Though if her stupid bastard of a husband knew the meaning of the word compromise, maybe she wouldn’t have to dance to his tune all the time.’
‘Amen,’ Kitty agreed. ‘I think she’s a saint for putting up with him.’
‘She doesn’t have any other choice,’ Cesca murmured. ‘Not when they have Poppy in common. That poor kid.’
Her legs had started to shake. As the car snaked through the familiar streets of London, she could feel the nerves practically exploding out of her. If she’d managed to eat anything for the past few days, she might even have been sick.
When the car finally came to a stop outside the theatre, the crowd lining the red carpet turned to look at them, and a dozen camera flashes exploded at once. Then the paps noticed them, and started to surround the car, pressing their camera lenses against the tinted glass of the windows.
‘They’re going to be very disappointed when they realise Sam isn’t in here,’ Lucy remarked.
‘Not at all, our Cesca’s a star in her own right nowadays. She was in Hello! last month, and constantly splashed across the Internet. Did you see those pictures of that beach in Hawaii?’
‘Shut up.’ Cesca gave her sister a mock-annoyed stare. ‘We all know they’re only after one thing. And it isn’t a glimpse of my cleavage.’
‘That wasn’t just a glimpse,’ Kitty pointed out.
The security guy they’d hired for the night climbed out of the passenger seat, talking quietly into his microphone before walking around to open the door for them. She watched him push the paparazzi back with only the smallest amount of pressure. Whoever he was, this guy was good.