Page 92 of Never Gonna Happen

‘You look happy,’ said Jamie, giving her a kiss.

‘You look tired,’ she said.

‘I’m going to head off soon,’ he said. ‘But don’t let me drag you away from your birthday party.’

‘Don’t be daft,’ said Emily. ‘The DJ wraps up in ten minutes, everyone will leave then.’

‘Kelly said she wanted to take you clubbing,’ said Jamie. They both looked over to where Kelly and Leon were grinding against each other to ‘Naughty Girl’ by Beyoncé. Her mum and stepdad had taken Beth home hours ago.

‘I think Kelly has a better offer right now,’ said Emily with a grin. ‘Will you dance with me? I said no last time you asked, but I’ve changed my mind.’

Jamie hauled himself to his feet and propped himself up on one crutch so he could wrap his other arm around Emily’s waist. They swayed on the spot in time to the music, Emily feeling the heat of his skin through his shirt. The smell of him still made her feel a little heady, even though tonight it was aftershave rather than sweat and horses.

‘Is there any chance I can take you to bed?’ he whispered in her ear. ‘Much as I love that dress, I’d really like to get you out of it.’

‘Where are you staying?’ she asked.

‘Leon and I are both in the Goodwood Hotel, I needed a double bed and a big shower.’

Emily smiled at him. ‘Is there room for one more?’

‘At least,’ said Jamie.

‘Very funny. Can I get room service food? I’m starving.’

‘Whatever you want.’

Emily weaved her fingers into his. ‘Let’s get to end of this song, then start saying our goodbyes.’

Emily sat cross-legged on the four-poster bed in Jamie’s room at the hotel, wearing a giant fluffy bathrobe as she drank room service champagne and ate a gourmet cheeseburger. It was 1.30 a.m. and officially her thirtieth birthday, and she couldn’t imagine a better start.

Jamie hobbled out of the bathroom on his crutches, wearing nothing but a white towel around his waist. He flumped on the bed and grabbed a handful of chips from the bowl on the tray then drained Emily’s glass before reaching for the bottle in the ice bucket to fill it up again.

‘Happy birthday,’ he said.

‘Thank you,’ said Emily, polishing off her burger. ‘Thirty is proving to be pretty awesome so far.’

‘I got you a present,’ said Jamie, leaning down the side of the bed and picking up a large box wrapped in blue paper covered in birthday balloons. Emily squealed and got up to wash her hands, then carefully pulled away the wrapping. Inside was a tissue-lined Smythson of Bond Street box holding a tote bag in the same sea-green leather as the notebook Mark had given her exactly one year ago.

‘I took a peek at your notebook,’ said Jamie. ‘Saw where it was from and got you the matching bag.’

‘It’s beautiful,’ said Emily, slightly breathless at the feel of the bag and the tissue and the cloth dust bag nestling underneath. She’d never owned anything this lovely in her life. ‘This must have cost a fortune.’

‘There was a brief moment when I wondered why you couldn’t have gone notebook shopping at WHSmith,’ Jamie joked.

‘It’s the best present ever,’ said Emily, reaching over to kiss him. ‘Thank you.’ The kiss deepened and the box was pushed to one side as Jamie slid his hand under her bathrobe, but his progress was interrupted by a shriek and a thump in the corridor outside their room, followed by a cackle of laughter.

‘That sounds like Kelly,’ said Emily, her eyes wide.

‘Leon’s staying in the room next door,’ said Jamie. ‘Indications are that Kelly is too.’ They heard a door close, then more laughter and a piece of furniture falling over.

‘She sounds wasted,’ said Emily.

‘Leon’s a gentleman,’ said Jamie. ‘I don’t think he’d have brought her back if it wasn’t Kelly’s idea.’

There was quiet for a few minutes, during which Emily used the bathroom, cleaning her teeth and brushing out her freshly cut and coloured hair. It had been pinned up all evening and now it fell in soft blonde curls down her back. She checked her phone for a message from Kelly and hoped she was OK.

Jamie was waiting in bed when she came back, the duvet folded back so she could snuggle into his arms. He kissed her hair and trailed his fingers down her shoulder, making her shiver with anticipation.