Page 40 of Paper Roses

I judge it to be my cue to end the meeting. “So, there we have it,” I say cheerfully. “If you want wings, we can certainly make that happen. We just won’t do it in a garden obsessed with the passing of time. And no tails either,” I add. They all look at me. “It was a cats wedding.”

“Cats getting married?” Mrs Barrington asks cautiously and a little hopefully.

I hate to burst her bubble. I wave my hand. “No, they dressed like the stage show but there was an incident with a door and the whole back of the bride’s costume.” I shudder, remembering the hysterics of that occasion. Artie managed to calm things down only when he told the bride that she had the nicest back of any bride he’d ever seen.

I offer them my best smile. “Welcome to the Confetti Hitched family. We’re going to make this the wedding of your dreams.”

Or die trying, I add silently.

Artie shows them out, and I slump back in my chair. When he comes back into the room, I smile up at him. “Is it too early to start drinking the alcohol samples? I’m asking for a friend.”

He chuckles and perches on the edge of the desk. “It probably would have been better to do thatbeforethe meeting.”

I eye him curiously. I spent years working with him and rarely saw the impish humour that now appears a lot. I love it and I’m equally fascinated by the new flashes of stubbornness that peek out, destroying his image of the perfect PA.

“Are we ready to move into the house?” he asks, demonstrating some of the boldness I like to see.

“You mean the building site?” I raise my eyebrows.

His mouth quirks. “Eric said it’s habitable. He wants to meet us today to discuss the progress.”

“What does that actually mean?”

“I’m not sure. I presume we’ll have running water, and the new windows are in.”

“Goodness, it sounds like The Ritz.”

He laughs. “And we have two bedrooms that are…”

“Habitable, yes?”

“That’s the word of the week.”

“I’ll alert Wordle.”

His eyes crinkle in amusement. “So, we have somewhere to sleep.”

“We could keep staying at the hotel. I’ve grown to like having my bed made and the mini bar filled up.”

“Goodness, it’s like meeting Jeff Bezos.”

I laugh loudly, and he regards me with a smile in his pretty eyes.

“It’ll be fine,” he says. “You’ll only have to be there for six months.”

That sobers me. At first, I’d been dismayed by how insurmountable spending time in close proximity with him had seemed. But over the past few weeks, I’ve grown to love having him by my side always, being able to talk to him whenever I want, and simply sitting near him as I pretend to read the paper while watching him as if he’s the most fascinating man in the world. And now our time together suddenly seems too short.

“Jed?” His expression has become serious. “This arrangement has already cost you a fortune with the cost of the wedding and the hotel bills. I’m not comfortable with youspending any more money. The quicker we move into the house, the faster this will be done with.”

“Yes,” I say hoarsely, forcing a smile. “Great.” The whole point of this endeavour is to get his house back. I bet he can’t wait to start his life again without me there pretending to be his husband.

I become aware that I’m rubbing my chest when he says, “Are you okay?”

“Oh yes. Probably just hungry,” I say quickly.

He brightens and stands up.

“I’ll go and grab you a sandwich from the deli.”

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