The First Mistake(56)

‘You haven’t forgotten I’m going away on Monday, have you?’ I said quietly, not really wanting him to hear me. Because if he didn’t hear me, I still had time to think of a reason not to go.

He pulled away from me. ‘Shit!’

It was hard enough as it was, I didn’t need him to make it even more so.

‘But it’s only for five days.’

‘Shit, I’d forgotten all about that.’ He leant back heavily on the headboard and ran a hand through his hair.

Don’t say it. Please don’t say it.

‘Do you have to go?’

He said it.

‘I can’t let the kids down, can I?’ I didn’t know who I was trying to convince.

‘But there are other teachers going?’

‘Yes, of course, but there’s a very strict adult to child ratio and I’m supposedly the team leader, so it’s not easy to pull out, especially when I haven’t got a valid reason.’

His brow furrowed. ‘Aren’t I a valid enough reason?’

I couldn’t tell whether he was being serious or not and swung my legs off the bed in a bid to change the atmosphere.

‘It killed me being away from you this week,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to do it again.’

I knelt on the bed and kissed him. ‘It’s only five days,’ I said, half laughing. ‘You’ll manage.’

He sat himself up even straighter. ‘Listen, I’ve been thinking.’

This sounded ominous. I sat back down next to him.

‘I want us to live together,’ he said. ‘Because when I’m away from you, all I can think about is how quickly I can get back.’

My heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest. ‘Seriously?’ I squeaked. ‘What, here or at yours?’

‘I can work from anywhere,’ he said, ‘and Mum’s not too far from here – it’s manageable. But you’ve got your whole life here and if you came to live with me in Maida Vale, you’d have to change jobs and be further away from your friends and your mum. It makes sense for me to live here. I’ll contribute towards your mortgage – assuming you have one?’

I nodded. ‘Yes, unfortunately I don’t share my mother’s school of thought on debt. Well, I would if I had the choice, but . . .’

‘Okay, so I’ll pay the mortgage and we can halve the bills and food – what do you think?’ He sounded excited, but unsure – as if he didn’t want to show too much emotion in case he’d called it wrong. I couldn’t wait a second longer to put him out of his misery.

‘Yes, yes, yes,’ I screamed, straddling him and kissing him deeply. If I’d ever been as happy, I couldn’t remember when. ‘When shall we do it? As soon as I get back? What about next weekend?’

He laughed and rolled me over, his weight pinning me down on my back. ‘I’ll move some bits in whilst you’re away if you don’t mind. And when you come home on Friday I’ll run you a bath, make love to you and cook you the best meal you’ve ever had.’

I squealed. ‘In that order?’

‘Absolutely! You’ll have spent a week in a hostel with no running water by then!’

I swiped his tattooed arm and he fell on me, nuzzling my neck and tickling my sides until I could barely breath.

‘Did you tell your mum the good news?’ he asked, when I eventually begged for mercy.

‘Oh God,’ I said, pulling myself up and pushing my hair out of my face. ‘In everything that was going on with you this week, I totally forgot.’

I wish I’d lied and told him that she was thrilled, because the very next morning we were sat round at hers instead of being in bed, so excited was Thomas to tell her.

‘Oh, my goodness, that’s wonderful news,’ Mum said, clapping her hands together. ‘Who’d have thought that a few dusty old bottles languishing in a cellar could be so valuable?’

‘It’s gone a bit crazy,’ said Thomas. ‘I was in Spain this week and was offered some really exciting cases; there was a crate of Moncerbal and a dozen Les Manyes which will be gold dust to investors. I already know that I’ll be able to sell them for five times as much as I buy them for.’

‘So I assume you’re going to buy them?’ asked Mum. ‘If you know you’re on to a sure thing.’

‘Absolutely,’ he said, smiling. ‘It’s too good an opportunity to turn down. I’m already being chased by a few people who have heard the word through the grapevine.’

If he hadn’t looked at me expectantly as he delivered the punchline, I would have missed it altogether.

‘That was awful,’ I groaned.

‘The old ones are always the best,’ he laughed.

‘So you’ll not be holding on to them for very long?’ asked Mum.

Thomas shook his head. ‘Unfortunately, I doubt I’ll have them in my possession at all. I’ll sell them on, probably the same day that I buy them.’

‘How much will you be buying them for?’ asked Mum, suddenly forthright.

‘One hundred and fifty thousand secures the deal,’ said Thomas. ‘And I’ve already been offered four hundred and fifty thousand by a client in Russia. But I’m going to hang out for more.’