Alice came from a busy week at work and barely had time to read any of the books she had bought at the London book fair last month. The big project that Promethean was engaged in was in the final stretch and Charlie and Leah needed her more than ever.
As a result, her time with Henry had decreased, which in a way was good. So she had time to better assess the discovery she had made with Leslie the last time she saw her; that she was falling in love with Henry Cavill.
The problem was not falling in love with him. The problem was falling in love again. Alice had already made this mistake once and ended up with a broken heart in a way that she thought was never possible to amend. But apparently, fate was playing a trick on her by making this feeling awake again within her by someone so public, desired and, why not, inaccessible to her.
She was not stupid. Henry was a sought-after actor. This free time he was having in London would not last long, much less this affair of them. Alice was sure that as soon as his next job started, she would be forgotten.
That thought saddened her and a tightening in her chest made her get up from her chair and go to the water cooler, which was in the corridor between her office and Charlie's.
"Are you alright?" Charlie's voice took her by surprise and, for a second, she thought it was Henry.
"Yes, I am. I was just distracted," she said, taking a sip of her water to cover her fright.
"I noticed that you are quiet, more reserved these days. Has something happened?" Charlie asked with the usual friendly smile.
Alice sighed. Charlie was a wonderful person. Would she ever have the courage to tell what was going on between her and his brother?
"Nothing much. Just silly things," she said with a bitter smile and Charlie walked away shortly afterwards, realizing that she didn't want to talk about it with him.
"Are you sure it's nothing?" Another voice, deeper and well known to Alice, resonated close to her ear, causing her to smash the disposable cup in her hands.
Turning towards Henry, Alice felt her heart beat faster when she saw the clear blue eyes staring at her, his wet hair falling in curls across his forehead and that smile that made her lose her ability to think and speak. It was then that she made a mental correction to herself: she was not falling in love with Henry - she was already in love with him. Damn it!
"Yes," she said, looking away and walking back to her office, being followed closely by him.
"Do you have any plans for tonight?" Henry asked, sitting on the edge of her table.
Alice looked towards Charlie's office and didn't see him there. She breathed a sigh of relief and replied to Henry, "Yes. Some friends are coming to my house today."
Henry raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Male friends?"
Alice smiled, "My couple of friends that I got lost at the club, remember?"
Henry nodded slowly and leaned over until he was close to Alice's ear and said, "I had great plans for both of us today."
A shiver ran through Alice's body and she hoped that no one would enter her room at that moment. She was living proof that it was humanly impossible to resist Henry Cavill's charm.
"These plans are going to have wait, Mr. Cavill. It's my friend's birthday party today." Alice said trying to maintain a professional posture, in case someone showed up.
"Do you know that I even like it now when you call me Mr. Cavill?" teased Henry by touching her on the tip of his nose and getting up to leave Alice's office.
With a smile, Alice saw him leave the room and returned to focus on work. Or at least try. Luckily, the rest of the day went quickly and smoothly. Partly because Henry was gone with Charlie half an hour after being in her office. She would take advantage of the fact that Leslie and Jean-Pierre would be at her house that night and talk to her friend about Henry.
Alice hadn't felt this confused since she was twenty, when she believed she had found the love of her life, only to be abandoned days before her wedding. How foolish she felt! She shook her head to shake off old thoughts and went home.
At the appointed time, Jean-Pierre arrived, bringing with him a cake and some balloons, which together, they placed in Alice's living room, so Leslie would not see it when she entered the apartment. Jean wanted it to be a surprise for Leslie, so he asked Alice if his girlfriend's birthday celebration could be there, and of course, Alice immediately agreed. Jean told Leslie that he would need to work later and then Alice invited her over to her house to chat. Perfect plan.
Around the time agreed with Leslie, Alice heard the intercom ring and answered it, but the sound of cars and hisses didn't let her hear clearly who it was. Believing herself to be Leslie, Alice unlocked the main door to the building and opened the door to her apartment, as she was used to when her friend came to visit.
"I hope she likes it," said Jean-Pierre with his hands in his pockets.
"I'm sure she'll love it," Alice told him, with a confident smile.
With Leslie's delay in arriving, Alice took two steps towards the entrance hall and accidentally stepped on Venus's tail, which was on the floor, next to the sofa.
The cat got scared and ran away, causing Alice to almost lose her balance. Luckily, Jean-Pierre acted quickly and managed to hold her in his arms before she hit the floor. The two were very close when they heard a deep and angry voice saying:
"So this is the party you were having tonight?" Henry's features were hard as stone and Alice felt her heart and blood run cold.
Standing and moving away from Jean-Pierre, she tries to explain herself.
"Henry, I can explain what happened."
"You don't have to, I get it." Turning around, Henry storms out of Alice's apartment.
"Henry, wait!" Alice screamed from the doorway, but Henry pretended not to hear. "Jean, what do I do?" She asked her friend desperately.
"Go after him," he advised.
"But what about Leslie? The surprise?"
"I explain to her"
Looking at Jean, Alice decided to follow his advice to go after Henry and explain herself to him. She put on her rain boots, her black coat and ran down the stairs of her building.
Upon reaching the sidewalk, there was no sign of Henry. She waited a few minutes for a cab and then gave directions to Henry's house. She just hoped he was there. During the drive to South Kensington, Alice tried to call him several times, but he didn't answer. Taking a deep breath, she quietly asked Henry to be home and to listen to her. Stubbornness was dominant in him, she had already noticed.
Some time later, she got out of the cab and stopped in front of Henry's door. Before she could even ring the bell, Kal's barking could be heard and she smiled weakly. If Kal was there, the chances of Henry being there were bigger.
Seconds after hearing the sound of the doorbell echoing inside the house, the door opened and Henry, unsurprised, appeared.
The two stared at each other in silence for a while, until Alice asked, "May I come in?"
Without saying a word, Henry moved away, allowing Alice to enter. Kal, who already knew her, started wanting to play with her, but with one command from Henry, he walked away.
"Henry, I don't even know how to tell you this ..." Alice started to say, without looking at him.
Henry bit his lip and looked at her. "You don't have to tell me anything, Alice. I get it."
"You get it?" Alice asked confused. Everything she had practiced in saying to him in the cab, had faded from her memory the moment she saw him.
"You got someone else. Okay, I can't do anything about it. I just wish you had said something about it, before you fell into his arms." Henry turned his back on her.
"But that was it! I literally fell into his arms." Alice realized that her sentences only complicated her situation.
Henry ran his hands through his hair in an exasperated gesture and looked at her. "Alice, you better go."
"No," she insisted. "You will hear me" She looked at him seriously and started to explain. "The man who was with me is called Jean-Pierre and is the boyfriend of my best friend, Leslie. He planned a surprise party for her and while we were waiting for her, I accidentally stepped on Venus, lost my balance and he held me. And that's what you saw. If you don't believe me after that, I can't do anything, but that's the truth. "
Alice was staring at Henry, but she was unable to decipher what was going on in his mind by the expressions on her face.
"And why have you been weird with me all week? Did I do something wrong?" He asked with a frown.
Alice looked away. She didn't want to tell him that she had fallen in love.
"You didn't do anything wrong. I had a lot of work, that's all," she didn't lie about it.
Henry approached her and lifted her face gently, making her look at him.
"You are hiding something from me, Alice. That is clear."
"Henry, please ..." Alice asked quietly.
"Just tell me the whole truth and I'll leave you alone," Henry demanded in a firm tone.
Alice looked at him and realized that it was no use escaping reality.
"I fell in love with you" Alice finally confessed, feeling her eyes water. "I know I shouldn't, that this is just a temporary affair ..." - Henry shut her up with a passionate and possessive kiss. His hands on the back of Alice's neck brought her closer to him. Their bodies fit perfectly and Alice could not, nor did she want to resist that kiss.
The warmth of Henry's lips dominated hers, and the touch of his tongue made her whole body react. Interrupting the kiss breathless, Henry said to Alice, "Never say again that this is a temporary affair."
He kissed her again, nibbling her lower lips, as he unfastened the buttons on her coat.
"Henry ... what do you mean ... by that?" Asked Alice, between kisses.
He looked at her and said, "For those who love books so much, you can't read between the lines, my sweet Alice."
Henry's mischievous smile and Alice's coat falling to the floor were the first signs of what was going to happen. Him to pick up and carry up the stairs, were the last.