They had lunch there and just walked and talked and she gave a wry smile at the do-not-feed-the-lion sign.
‘Too late for that,’ Leo said.
‘Where to now?’ Lizzie asked.
‘The reptile house?’ Leo suggested.
‘I don’t like snakes.’
‘What are you doing here, then?’ It was the closest they’d come today since broaching the subject.
‘You’re not a snake,’ Lizzie said. ‘You won’t hurt me, Leo. We can just enjoy it while it lasts.’
Enjoy it they did.
They watched as three female gorillas attempted to gain attention from one very impressive silverback male and the irony was lost on neither of them.
‘I’d make a terrible gorilla,’ Lizzie said, and she gave her one warning. ‘I don’t like to share.’
‘You’ll never have to,’ Leo assured her, and he looked at her profile—saw that she was tense for the first time today and he told her how it would be. ‘I’ve told you I don’t stay around for the rows to start, and it’s served me well—it’s the reason I can still be friendly with my exes.’
‘Apart from Flora.’
‘Yes, apart from Flora.’
Who had been foolish enough to read more into them. This was Leo, like it or leave it, take it or not, he made no excuses and Lizzie was grateful for that, she truly didn’t want them. She would far prefer the painful truth than cruel lies.
She watched the huge silverback gorilla assert himself. ‘He’s so arrogant.’
‘I think he’s rather magnificent,’ Leo said.
So too did Lizzie.
It was evening, their magical wonderful night, extended by a day, except they were heading to his apartment and, yes, a drink would be nice.
‘I could call ahead,’ Leo said. ‘Have some dinner delivered.’
‘Sounds great.’
‘Do you want to stop by your place?’ Leo suggested. ‘Let the fish out?’
A small joke and Lizzie laughed but they both knew what they were there for.
Lizzie collected her uniform, her toothbrush and hairbrush …
‘Is that it?’ Leo was incredibly impressed by the paltry size of her overnight bag.
‘I’m hardly moving in.’
Yes, the view from his apartment was like being on the London Eye as later that night, lying on his couch, she watched the moon drift across London as he stroked her hair with one hand and slid down the zipper of her jeans with the other.
Yes, he had been right, it was Goldilocks.
Too soft the beats of pressure on her clitoris, and he loved it that she was open enough in the bed to tell him that.
Too hard the erection at her entrance to even think of getting off the sofa and finding condoms—after all, he used them all the time and Lizzie was on the Pill.
And as he slipped inside her, she didn’t care about tomorrow and how difficult things might be at some future time.
For now, right now as Leo spilled inside her, it was just right.
‘YOU’RE LOOKING VERY pleased with yourself,’ Ethan commented as Leo arrived at the Hunter Clinic.
‘Have you seen some of the donations raised?’ Leo said, and gave a brief nod to Lizzie, who was trying to remember how she usually acted when Leo was around.
Oh, yes—blushing and on edge! Strangest of all, now that she’d slept with him she was neither of those things.
‘How did you enjoy the ball?’ Ethan asked, as Leo headed for his office.
‘It was great,’ Lizzie answered, then excused herself, but she felt a little like she had when her father had asked questions when she’d first gone out with Peter.
‘I’m allowed to be concerned, Lizzie,’ Thomas had said. ‘I know his type and I just don’t see any good coming from it.’
Ethan didn’t need to be concerned, Lizzie told herself.
She knew what she was getting into. If anything, there was less tension between Lizzie and Leo, there was no flirting, it was all very business-like now.
Until home time.
Lizzie was wrapping her scarf around her neck and chatting with Rafael about her parents as Leo walked past.
‘I’ll go and see them at the weekend.’
‘You go each weekend?’ Rafael asked.
‘Not every weekend,’ Lizzie said, but there was guilt, because the build-up to Christmas had been crazy and then between moving and starting her new job, she hadn’t been going so much lately.
Leo headed for his office and tried to ignore what he was thinking because he had been hoping to see her again at the weekend. While, of course, Lizzie had to do what was right for her, it just left no time for them, unless …
‘Night, Leo.’ Lizzie smiled and walked past his office.
‘ Night, Lizzie.’
She wanted him to call her back.
He didn’t.
She got home and peeled off her coat and then ran a bath and ate a bowl of cereal for dinner. Exhausted, and seriously so, after the most incredible weekend of her life, it was blissful to slip into bed and finally catch up with her thoughts.
Leo.
She waited for guilt, for self-recrimination, for common sense to make her bolt upright with an anxiety attack. Instead she lay in bed actually smiling, laughing, just on the crest of a wave and riding it, wherever it might take her. Such was her sudden longing for him it came as no surprise when her phone rang and it was Leo.
His apartment was lit by the moon. On coming home Leo had scanned the apartment for a piece of Lizzie, but the cleaners were thorough and very used to tidying up after one of Leo’s weekends.
‘Loser,’ Leo muttered to himself as he found himself picking up her deodorant can and spraying it.
What was the problem again? Leo checked.
That’s right, her weekend was taken.
‘Hi,
