Diving Deep (UK Crush #2)

Chapter 52

He turned to look at me again, and, almost against my will, I turned to him, too. His dark hair, with his eyes, made a nice combination. He was handsome, really handsome, and his words had some pull.

I was very comfortable in this environment. I'd performed my first concert when I was twelve. I felt safe between walls like these. The constant anxiety of being Theo Shelley's girlfriend would be gone.

The sound of his voice brought me back to the room.

"Is it me? Are you just not attracted to me?" This was almost exactly what Teddy had asked me in Japan when I'd refused his first kiss.

"Richard, please. You're very attractive." And that was almost exactly what my response had been back then as well.

"Well, I think you're lovely," he said, smiling at me.

"Thank you," I responded, hoping that the actual act of the kiss was off the table. I moved to stand up. "I think I'd better go," I said apologetically.

He rose, moving to make room for me.

"And next week will be Christmas, so I assume we won't be meeting?" I continued, moving past him in the small space.

He nodded, and we checked our schedules, agreeing to meet the first week of January.

"Well, see you in a couple of weeks, then," I said, as I turned to go, and he leaned forward to kiss me again, shocking me. I turned my head barely in time, so he ended up kissing my cheek instead of my mouth.

I left without another word. I wouldn't have known what to say, anyway. I climbed into the car feeling completely freaked out. So Mia had been right. I rode home in a near complete state of shock.

I spent the next few days just puttering around the house, practicing my piece, going over my notes, watching various people perform it on YouTube (which I wasn't supposed to be doing, but at this point I was desperate), knitting, and hoping to catch a glimpse of Teddy.

That was where I found video of him, leaving Jennifer Jordan's apartment the previous morning. The photographers were all over him as he grimly walked to his car, which had presumably been parked there all night. He put his hand up to block a huge camera which was blocking his path as he opened the door, got in, pulled it closed and drove away.

No. Oh no. I sat back, viciously telling myself not to cry. I couldn't keep living like this, being a chickenshit mouse who just hid and let things happen to her. I knew that it was just a matter of time, that even the boys would have questions after seeing that video.

I tried to come up with words to use when talking to him; I even went as far as writing bullet points on a pad so I'd know what to say, but when I heard him come in from wherever he'd been, I just smiled in greeting as he went straight up the stairs to the music room. Fuck. Way to handle things, Foster.

On the 23rd I got the most unbelievable text from Richard, asking if I wanted to drive to his chateau in France with him for Christmas. I read it over again to make sure I was understanding it right.

I texted him back, thanking him politely, telling him I couldn't possibly intrude on a family holiday like that, especially on such short notice.

'No intrusion, honestly. My family decided to go to Barbados at the last minute, and I didn't want to go, so it's just me here. Please say you'll come. It's really beautiful, and you missed the earlier trip, so...'

This was crazy. And where the fuck was Teddy? Things between us had fallen apart to such an extent that we hadn't even discussed what we were doing for Christmas. Just acknowledging this in my head brought tears to my eyes.