“I always knew you were a good investment,” he says, and even though he doesn’t utter them, I’m pretty sure I can read the response to my unspoken words in his eyes.I missed you too.
“Are you coming?” Lizzie yells. “We don’t want to be late.”
Rafe runs a hand through his hair, a tiny smile on his mouth as he replies, “Coming.”
41
RAFE
Ican’t take my eyes off Diana. It feels like a miracle to be sharing space with her again, but I try my damnedest not to make it obvious. Thankfully, Lizzie seems preoccupied with the Hawkston boy and has barely looked at me since I came home. We’ve arrived at the venue, a hideous concrete monolith on the Southbank, and Lizzie’s vanished into the auditorium with Charlie, leaving Diana and me alone again.
“I got you something,” I say, handing her the package I’ve been touting around like treasure.
“For me?” Her cheeks turn rosy as she takes it from me. “Can I open it?”
“You should,” I say, and she tears at the paper, revealing the book inside. A special edition ofTaming the Beast, personalised and signed for her by Abigail Enwright.
Diana gasps as the gold foiling comes into view, staring up at me. “This is… wow. I’ve never seen one like this.” She turns it over, examining the back cover and then the spine, flicking it open to see the art on the end papers. “It’s even more beautifulthan the copy I used to have.” She clutches it to her chest. “Where did you get it?”
“I commissioned it.”
Her brown eyes go wide. “How many copies are there like this?”
“Just one.”
She draws in a sharp breath, tracing her finger over the gold on the foiling. “Thank you,” she whispers. “It’s beautiful.”
So are you.“You’re welcome.”
She traces the foiling again, then her gaze whips up to mine, eyes twinkling. “Did you read it?”
“Not this copy. But another, yes.”
She edges towards me, eager. “All of it?”
“Every page.”
“And what did you think of my favourite part? Where they finally kiss?” She touches her fingertips to her lips, looking suddenly shy and tentative, and it strikes me that if I said anything to criticise it, I could break her heart.
“I loved it. It made me think of you.”
She drops her hand and opens her mouth to speak, but—
“Diana Marchetti, you look exquisite.” A smooth British accent interrupts us, and I turn to see a man I recognise as Seb Hawkston. Diana smiles warmly at him, drawing him into a hug with one arm looped around his neck while keeping the book clutched against her chest with the other. I feel an uncomfortable pang ofsomethingwatching the two of them.
“Is that one of Erica’s dresses?” Seb asks, pulling back to take in Diana’s outfit, which is a knee length yellow satin dress that’s like summer being dragged backwards into fall by the leather detailing at the collar and over the skirt. The way his gaze trips up and down her body is a knife dragging up and down my spine.
“Of course. Is she here?” Diana asks.
“She came in the stage door.” He gestures towards the main entrance, where people are gathering before the doors officially open. “Too busy out there.”
Diana does a quick introduction, referring to me as Mr Bastion, like I’m nothing but her friend’s father, and Seb takes my hand in a firm grip. I search his face to see if there’s any hint that he knows what I am to Diana. She didn’t talk about him much, but I don’t know how much she speaks to him or what she might have told him. I never got the sense there was any animosity between them, and it only now occurs to me that they might have some kind of friendship.
His expression is open and friendly; there’s nothing to suggest he has any clue that Diana and I have ever had any inappropriate relations, and I can’t determine if I’m relieved or disappointed.
“What’s that?” Seb says, indicating the book she’s holding.
She smiles, offering it to him. “It’s a special edition ofTaming the Beast. Have you ever seen a more beautiful book? Mr Bastion gave it to me.”
