A Chance Encounter (Tom Holland AU) [1]

Forty-Six

I had met Stephanie at the restaurant she had suggested for lunch, which was more of a casual cafe. Not that I was complaining, because I was more of a fan of casual lunches anyway. "Thank you for meeting me here, love." She smiled as we sat down.

"It's not a problem! Honestly, the more places around London I learn about, the better." I chuckled gently as we started looking through the menu.

After we placed our orders with our waitress, she gave me a gentle smile. "So, tell me about this job opportunity you have. I'm curious."

"Well, it's a little atypical, I'm not gonna lie." I chuckled, looking at her. "But, I'm actually in London for the summer filming a movie."

"Wait, really?" She raised an eyebrow before a look of realization and recognition crossed her mind. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I didn't recognize you or Tom earlier!"

"It's okay, really." I grinned softly with a small chuckle. "As the lead of the movie, I'm really gonna be busy the whole time. I'm gonna need a personal assistant."

"Seriously?" I saw her smile excitedly, and I nodded.

"I promise I won't be a bitchy diva on set, but yeah. I'm gonna need all the help I can get." I grinned as she nodded excitedly.

"I'd love to! When does the filming start?"

"Well, we have rehearsals first because it's a dance-heavy movie. Those start in like two weeks." She smiled widely as I spoke, and I was glad to see how excited she was. "So if I could have you there for those, that would be super helpful, but don't stress if that's too short notice."

"And how long will the shoot go?" Her smile was wide, and I was so excited to get her out of her awful situation.

"Until about the middle of August, because I have to go back for my last year of college. So it'll basically carry you the whole summer." Her smile was from ear to ear at that point.

"Are you sure the production staff is cool with it?"

"Our director is. Made sure of it before I even mentioned it to you." I gave her a gentle smile. "What do you say?"

"I'll do it." At that point, I was afraid her cheeks were hurting because she was smiling so much.

"I'll let Alex know once lunch is over." I smiled gently. At that point, our waitress came back with our lunch orders.

"Thank you so much for the opportunity, Grace. I feel like I owe you everything."

"Stephanie, no you don't. If anything, I'm the one who owes you everything after you and I met at the club." I gave her a grin as I grabbed my fork. "Besides, I already owe you one because you didn't use our first meeting as your first impression of me. In my mind, this makes us even."

"Okay, okay." She grinned gently as she took her first bite.

Once I was back at the apartment, Tom and I were immediately cuddled up on the couch. "How was lunch with Stephanie, baby?"

"It was great. She's my new assistant for the movie." He perked an eyebrow at that. "She hates her job now. It was my way of repaying her for what she did that night."

"And I don't get a repayment?" He chuckled, and I grinned.

"I'll do whatever you want, love." I smiled softly, and he grinned.

"Waffles? Right now?"

"Didn't you just eat lunch?" I chuckled, and he nodded.

"I'd make room for your waffles any time." He smiled widely, and I kissed his cheek.

"You're such a dork." I grinned as I stood up and went to the kitchen. "If you have any chocolate chips, I can throw those in too."

"Cabinet next to the fridge." He grinned widely, and I chuckled. As I gathered the ingredients, Tom wrapped his arms around me again.

"This is familiar," I grinned as I turned and kissed his cheek.

"It's one of my favorite things." He began rubbing my waist gently, humming meaninglessly.

"So I was reading something online a bit earlier from Cosmo," I smiled as I started mixing ingredients.

"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow with a grin, and I chuckled.

"Seemed pretty interesting. And fun." I smiled gently as I mixed.

"Any particular reason you're bringing it up now?" I shrugged as I looked back at him.

"I was thinking about maybe trying it, but if you're not interested--"

"Now I never said that." I chuckled at that as he held me closer. "Are you sure you're okay with it, though? After what happened?" I bit my lip at that, knowing exactly what he was referring too.

"Can I be honest with you, baby?" I set the whisk down, turning around in his arms to face him.

"Of course, darling."

"I don't think I'll ever be the same again. Drinking in public is going to be really hard now, especially because we don't know who did it or how they managed to bypass the fact I always held my glass. But I do know that one thing's for certain." I wrapped my arms around his neck, using one hand to play with his hair from the back of his head. "I know that you are the exact opposite of whoever that stranger is. You are the last person I expect to disrespect and hurt me like that. I'm okay with doing anything with you."

The next thing I knew, his lips were gently pressed against my forehead. "I love you so much, Grace." His soft whisper sent a chill down my spine, and I smiled widely.

"I love you more, Tom." I grinned as I held him close.

"No, I love you more." He smiled, pressing his lips to mine before I could refute. I smiled as I returned his kiss.

"Still want those waffles?" I grinned as I pulled away.

"Yes please." He grinned as I chuckled gently, turning back around to the bowl. I could hear Tessa playing with one of her toys, and it just made my smile grow. I couldn't believe how lucky I was.

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