3• Driving his mum's car

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=5 Days Left=

The dawn wouldn't stop weighing a tonne, and Marina's bed sheets were making her swelter. Not soon after her eyes opened to an overcast sky, memories from the night before flooded into her stream of thought.

Alex was here. It had been years since she last saw him. He'd changed. She'd spent a sleepless night over it, how fame had changed him. After his year-long tour around the world, their...encounters stopped. Everyone knew what had happened at her cousin's wedding, and were vigilant to not invite them together again. Not even Jamie, who they were both friends with, arranged a proper ceremony and chose instead to elope.

Despite the growing distance, her job as a music journalist meant she'd often hear about his band's growing success. When they started, they were 'Britain's nervy breakthrough into a new era.' Now, they were 'British Rock Legends.' It'd taken them such a short amount of time to reach the A-List. So Marina couldn't figure out why he'd agree to show up here. He'd done it before, even when he was already fairly famous, so he was well aware of the risks. But Solana was an old friend of theirs, way back in the day. And she was asking them for their help.

Another question brewing in her mind was whether he'd shown up with anyone.

A waking grunt came from behind her, as Theo slowly roused from sleep. They slept on their sides, away and not touching one another. How he liked it.

Marina dropped her eyelids, wide awake but pretending she wasn't. Prolonging the inevitable of having to talk to him. Granted, she knew it wasn't right. It wasn't how relationships were supposed to work. But Theo...it was hard to explain. The effort it took to break it off and the inevitable consequences at work was tiring to think about.

He was her boss, he could get her fired if he so wanted. Then what would happen to her?

She sensed his presence looming over her sleeping frame, scanning her. His eyes burned laser holes onto her cheek. Then, he climbed out of bed, flipping the cover over. Silence. Marina heard the sounds of water sloshing and the flick of a kettle. She disguised a huff under a sigh, then re-opened her eyes to the broad form of Theo's back by the mahogany desk.

"Morning," she said, her voice groggy. Her head stung and knocked her vision out of focus.

"Morning," he replied, his back still facing her, "You came in late last night."

Marina rolled her eyes hard, especially as he couldn't see it.

"Sorry. I tried to be as quiet as possible."

"Is that why you slammed the door open and burst out laughing while pretending that you were whispering?"

Odd. She thought she'd been a lot quieter than she was.

"Anyway, how was that dinner you went to?" he continued.

"It was-a lot. Solana talked my ear off about wedding details." The lie was believable enough. Theo had seen her and Solana talk for hours on end sometimes.

"I bet," he said curtly, pouring hot water into a mug.

She wanted him to both look at her properly and also to get out of her sight forever.

"Is that tea?" she asked. He turned around, holding a quaint antique teacup, steam floating from the rim. He nodded.

"Could you-can you make me some coffee too?" He watched her, scanning again. "Had too much to drink last night."

His eyebrows jumped, spinning back around. "We haven't been here one night and already you've been drunk, Marina."

He'd said it so formally he might as well have addressed her by 'Miss Rodriguez.'

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