Page 80 of From Notting Hill with Love…Actually
“Actually, the son was. But it’s a similar situation, yes.”
“Oh, how wonderful. Is it your husband you’re waiting for?”
“No.”
“Fiancé?”
“No.”
“Boyfriend?” she asked hopefully.
“Yes,” I lied. “My boyfriend.” I tutted. “I’ll kill him if he doesn’t get here soon.”
“Quite right too—it is Valentine’s Day, after all.” She looked up adoringly at Alex again. “And you need to be with the one you love on Valentine’s Day.”
As if I needed reminding.
“Well, I hope for your sake he gets here soon. I think it’s so romantic arranging to meet someone here tonight. Isn’t it, Alex?”
Alex nodded lovingly at Helen. “Indeed it is, darling.” Then he looked across at me again. “You must love him very much to wait this long. I hope he deserves you.” He put his arm around his future bride. “We’d better get going, Helen.” He smiled at me. “Thanks for the photo, hope everything works out for you.”
“Yes, never give up on someone you love,” Helen said dreamily. “Good-bye now.”
I watched them walk off, their arms tightly around each other, and suddenly I felt very alone.
How I could I have been so stupid? I could have spent Valentine’s Day in Paris with a man that truly loved me, thatwanted to marry me and spend the rest of his life with me. And instead I’d spent it running around overpriced luggage shops, sightseeing on my own, and freezing my arse off on top of a pointy French tourist trap. Although…there had been the Johnny Depp incident…I shook my head. No, even that had hardly been a great success.
And if my life reallywaslike a movie, I’d turn around right now, just as the last lift of the night was arriving, the doors would open, and Sean would be standing there with a look of desperation about him and have a wonderful story of how he’d been delayed by something dramatic, like a bank heist or a bomb scare.
I turned around, and sure enough the last lift of the nightwasjust arriving. I watched hopefully as the doors opened…and inside there was a man standing there…but unfortunately it was just the lift attendant, who did indeed have a look of desperation about him—but desperation of a different sort.
I took one last poignant look out over the Paris skyline before climbing into the lift beside him. While we waited for the last few remaining visitors to be rounded up, I glanced at the uniformed man standing opposite me. He was middle-aged and balding, with a lazy eye and a pot belly that hung over the top of his leather belt. He smelt of tobacco and something else—which I think was his aftershave but smelt more like furniture polish. He grinned at me and I caught sight of his nicotine-stained teeth. Politely, I smiled back then looked away, but not before I’d noticed the badge pinned to the front of his overall, which confirmed my fears from earlier, that if this idea of mine went wrong, like it had so spectacularly, I would indeed end theevening with a Frenchman called Pierre. The lift deposited me safely at the base of the tower again, and as I sat on an almost deserted Metro train, I could think of nothing other than what a complete disaster tonight had been. I was so sure that Sean would meet me at the top of the Eiffel Tower that I hadn’t given any thought to what would happen if he didn’t.
Had he not seen my note lying at the base of his door? And if not, why not? Why hadn’t he come back to the hotel tonight? What if something had happened to him today…an accident…or worse?
Actually the “worse” could be that hehadcome back to the hotel,hadread my note, and I’d scared him off. Maybe I’d taken it a step too far by suggesting something so romantic as meeting me up there. Maybe Sean did only want to be friends.Justfriends.
My head was spinning with so many thoughts and scenarios when I finally reached the hotel that I had to stand outside for a few seconds, calming myself with deep breaths before going in.
It was a busy street we were staying in, full of lively bars and pretty restaurants. As I stood outside, the clink of wine glasses and the sound of happy, excited voices wafted down the road toward me. I glanced at the bistro opposite—it looked a charming place. The tables were adorned with red and white checked cotton cloths, and in the center of each one a wine bottle covered in wax held a lit candle. It reminded me of…where? Ah yes, the little Italian restaurant Sean and I had dined in together the night we arrived in Glasgow.
But that wasn’t the only thing that reminded me of that night. For sitting at one of the window tables was a couple.
They were chatting and laughing—much as Sean and I had done that night. In fact, when I looked at them more carefully I noticed the man actually resembled Sean quite a bit—he had the same build, hair color…eyes. But as the waiter moved away from their table and the couple stood up to leave, that’s where the similarity with my night in Glasgow ended—because the man then kissed the woman on the cheek, and they hugged.
Sean certainly hadn’t done that tomein Glasgow…but he was definitely doing it tonight, right in front of my eyes—to the woman he was having dinner with in the restaurant across the road.
Twenty-Three
I stared in disbelief at them for a few more seconds before I turned and ran into the hotel. I didn’t wait for the lift—I took the stairs instead. Four flights later and a sprint down the corridor I opened my hotel room door, slammed it shut behind me, and flung myself onto the bed, breathing heavily.
As I lay and stared hard at the ceiling, I wondered how I could have been so stupid.
How could I have even thought that Sean would want to meet me tonight? He obviously had other plans. Maybe those other plans had been made even before he’d found out about my mother? And the whole “business” thing had just been to spare my feelings today.
The conclusions I’d reached less than an hour ago at the top of the Eiffel Tower had been right. I should have spent today with David—I’d been selfish and stupid. He was the one who loved me and wanted to be with me—not Sean. I reached over and unplugged my phone, still charging at the side of the bed. I’d call David now and tell him how much I loved him.
I glanced at the screen. There were several missed calls, and two unopened texts waiting for me.
