Well this is it Theresa. I've strayed into the more romantic fiction side of things, but I had to give him a bit of a break from you lot before I got my mitts on him!
Early the following morning, Guy lay in his hotel bed, watching the sun rise over the city. In spite of his adventures the day before he had struggled to sleep and now his mind raced with the reality of what he had done. For the truth was that as wonderful as the ladies of the previous day had been, he would have swapped them all for just one woman.
Lucasta ?Cassie? West was a writer whom Guy had met several months previously, but, it had turned out, not soon enough, as within weeks of their first meeting, Cassie was scheduled to leave for the USA where her first book was being turned into a Hollywood movie.
He recalled the last time he had seen her, in the first class departure lounge at Heathrow, awaiting her flight. They drank coffee and talked. He couldn?t get the image of her small hand covering his own out of his mind.
?Guy,? she?d smiled, softly, ?I?m sorry, it?s just not possible. We?ve known each other a matter of weeks and I?m about to leave the country for four months. It would just be ridiculous.?
Guy let out a sigh, heavy with frustration. Cassie continued, ?I?ve never met anyone like you Guy, but the timing is completely wrong. Besides which, I know all about your reputation?? she grinned.
?I?ve changed,? Guy pleaded, hoarsely, ?I changed the day I met you.?
?And if you have, and if it?s what fate has intended, then that?ll still be the case when I get back from the States.?
The last call for departures to LAX sounded over the tannoy system.
?I?ll be back by the end of year in time to spend Christmas with my family,? Cassie told him, as she picked up her hand luggage. ?Go and do your own thing, get whatever you need to out of your system, and if you still feel the same way, I?ll be at Claridges for breakfast on New Year?s Eve.?
With that she stood up and gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, ?Take care, Guy,? she smiled, and headed off towards the ramp to the waiting plane.
Guy watched her retreating form, his stomach churning, willing her to look back at him, but instead he had to watch as the woman he loved disappeared out of sight without so much as a backward glance.
Cassie did not, in fact, have a heart of stone. It had taken everything in her heart and soul to give Guy her little speech and get on the place, never mind the not looking back, which she?d been aching to do. However, she?d sacrificed her career dreams for love once before and it had it had not been her wisest move. Now she had a second chance, she wasn?t prepared to make the same mistake again. If it was meant to be, it was meant to be, and that was that, she told herself. She then ordered a large gin and tonic from the hovering trolley dolly and prayed that it would have the anaesthetic effect she was hoping for.