Page 29 of Paper Roses

He looks doubtful, but before he can reply, there’s a huge bang on the door that makes us jump. It slams open and Raff walks into the room with his hand over his eyes.

“I’m sure I’m not interrupting any workplace frolicking,” he shouts, seemingly unable to grasp that my office isn’t the size of the Albert Hall.

“And yet you still came in. What joy,” I say.

Artie nudges me, his eyes dancing.

Raff fumbles with something in his other hand. There’s a bang and multicoloured confetti shoots out behind him back into the planners’ office where it cascades over Artie’s desk and a large portion of the floor.

“Shit. Wrong way,” Raff mutters. “Wait, wait, I have another one. Now where did I put it? Joe? Joe? Where’s my backup confetti bomb?”

“And so, the circus begins,” I say sourly.

Artie starts to laugh. “What were you saying?”

Three Days Later

I’m fastening my cufflinks as I stride into the suite’s living area. “Artie?” I call. “Are you ready?”

The door to his bedroom opens and he appears, tugging on the jacket of his navy suit. I eye him appreciatively. I like him in that one. It complements his beautiful eyes.

“Okay?” I ask. “Are you nervous?”

He bites his lip and looks down at where he’s fiddling with his tie. “It’ll be fine,” he says. This has pretty much become his mantra lately.

I step closer and tap his hands away. “Let me do it. You’re mangling it.” He gives an aggrieved sigh that makes me want to smile. Instead, I work on untangling the mess he’s made of the knot and then retying it. I try to ignore how close he is, a state of being I’ve avoided since we got the hotel suite.

We’ve spent three days here. I thought it would be jarring to be in such close quarters with another man after all theseyears, but what boggles my mind is how easy it’s been. We’ve eaten breakfast together on the balcony every morning and then dinner in the hotel at night, and it’s almost like we’ve been together for years. We discuss work and politics and a variety of other topics. He’s clever, with a quick mind and a kind nature, and his company is addictive.

I’ve tried to steer our conversations towards the impersonal. I don’t want to know things about him that no one else does. That way lies disaster. And each night I’ve said goodnight firmly and retired to my bedroom.

He doesn’t need to know that I’ve then lain awake listening for his movements, unable to stop imagining what he looks like tangled in sheets warm from his body and scented like him.

I finish his tie, aware of his sweet breath on my face, and then step back. “There. Perfect.”

His eyes twinkle. “Thank you.”

“It’s going to be fine. You do know that, don’t you?” He shrugs and I take his arm gently. “We’ve covered everything. The will reading will be fairly quick and quite impersonal.”

“You’ve done it before, then?”

I hesitate before responding.

He blanches. “I’msosorry. Of course, you’ve done it before.”

I shake my head. “Don’t be silly. Yes, I was obviously at Mick’s will reading, but that was simple, despite the sums of money involved. And I was also at my dad’s.”

“When did he die?”

“I was ten. Averylong time ago. Right, are we ready?” I say briskly, unwilling to walk down memory lane. We’ll go back to being boss and employee very soon.

He grabs his jacket and I take it from him and hold it up so he can slide into it, the intimacy of the gesture catching me unaware with a pang. I ignore it and smile at him. “You’ll be free of mevery soon. We only need to do this until the house clears and then it’s back to normal.”

He gives me his usual smile and nods, and we leave the suite together.

The solicitor’s office is in an attractive Georgian building opposite a small park. The waiting room smells of old paper, and the sound of the cars on the road outside is loud.

We’re the only occupants apart from a lady who, according to Artie’s whisper, was his stepmother’s cleaner. He’d greeted her kindly, only to be glared at. He’s too peaceful to reciprocate in kind, so I’d done it for him. She’d blanched and then I’d guided him to the other side of the room as far from her as possible. Now we’re sitting in silence.

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