The Perfect Couple

‘Follow me,’ he says, pulling me into the hallway and into the downstairs cloakroom, which is at least as big as mine and Mags’s bathroom at home.

‘Rupert,’ I whisper, feigning shock, ‘we can’t! Not here.’

‘We can.’ He turns me away from him, unzipping my dress as I lean against the square ceramic sink. He kisses my neck, his hands running over my breasts, before I hear a zip drop and I gasp as he enters me from behind, watching our reflections in the mirror above the sink the whole time.

After, as I pull my dress back on, conscious of my flushed cheeks and wayward curls, Rupert zips me back up, kissing the back of my neck tenderly, before wrapping his arms around my waist.

‘Has everyone been OK with you? I’m sorry I abandoned you; it’s been a while since I saw everyone.’

I turn to face him. ‘Everyone has been absolutely lovely. I’ve been made to feel very welcome.’ I can’t quite meet his eyes as I say it, but I’m not going to tell him that his sister-in-law called me by his dead wife’s name. ‘I just came in to use the bathroom.’ We both suppress a giggle, leaning against each other, our breath coming in tiny gasps as we try to keep quiet.

‘Meet me outside in five minutes.’ Rupert kisses me again, more deeply this time. ‘Make sure you grab some more champagne on the way out too.’ He winks.

I take my time to freshen up in the bathroom, fixing my hair and pouting into the mirror as I slick on some more lipstick. The wine has gone to my head a little, and I run my wrists under the cold tap to cool down. As I approach the kitchen to refill my glass, I see Amanda and Sadie at the counter, heads together, oblivious to my presence.

‘What do you think of her, honestly?’ Amanda is saying. It looks as though they are both cutting fruit for Pimms. I hold my breath, waiting to hear Sadie’s response.

‘She seems all right, I suppose. Not really the type I thought Rupert would settle for.’ Sadie pauses for a moment. ‘He seems happy, though.’

‘You don’t think she’s just after his money? She’s a lot younger than him and she hasn’t exactly got a career, has she?’

‘Well, neither have I, if you’re really honest.’ Both women snort with laughter, as if the idea of Sadie working for a living is a huge joke, which I suppose it is really, with that kind of money behind her. Despite the sharp sting of hurt, I wait for a moment, curling myself around the doorframe so that if either woman turns they won’t see me, unsure of whether to announce my presence or wait and see what else they say. My mother always said an eavesdropper never hears good of themselves, but part of me wants to hear what they’ll say next.

‘No, I don’t think she is after his money,’ Sadie says eventually, ‘she does kind of light up when she talks about him and it’s pretty hard to fake that.’

‘But don’t you think…’ Amanda breaks off, laying the knife she’s using back down on the counter gently. ‘Don’t you think she’s the absolute spitting image of Caro?’

As I rush along the hallway, Amanda’s words echoing in my ears, I almost collide with Miles.

‘Oops. Steady on, old girl.’ He reaches out to stop me from tripping, snagging my empty wine flute as he does so. ‘This needs topping up, doesn’t it? Rupert is waiting for you, out by the pagoda. Hurry along and I’ll bring this out.’ He carries on towards the kitchen without giving me a chance to respond.

As I cross the lawn to the pagoda, I see Rupert standing waiting, his own glass of champagne in one hand, the other shoved into his pocket. I resist the urge to rush to him, to beg him to take me home, instead stepping lightly across the grass keeping a smile fixed on my face. Will stands next to him, and there seems to be a small cluster of people around them. Slowing my pace, I frown in confusion at Rupert as I approach him, but he just beams back at me, pulling me into his side as I reach him.

‘Have you had too much to drink?’ I force out a laugh, as he kisses me in front of everyone. Rupert doesn’t give in to public displays of affection very often from what I know of him, and I shrug off a sense of awkwardness as I feel the eyes of all Rupert’s friends on us.

‘Absolutely not,’ he says, before pulling away. I watch as he digs in his pocket, and then in front of all the partygoers, all of his family and friends – all of them strangers to me – Rupert goes down on one knee.

‘Emily…’ A gasp ripples through the small crowd, and I find I have pressed my hands to my hot cheeks, my breath sticking in my throat, as my heart rate takes on the speed of a galloping horse. ‘Emily Belrose… I know this has been a bit of a whirlwind, and we’ve both been a little swept off our feet, but, Emily… will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’

For a moment the word sticks in my throat, and I can’t help it, tears spill over my cheeks, before Rupert nudges me, announcing into the shocked silence that I have to say it out loud.

‘Yes, yes I will,’ I say, and he slides the ring onto my finger. It’s a perfect fit.

Chapter Eight

Rupert was drunk on something last night, and he’s not one hundred per cent convinced that it was just champagne. He hadn’t mentioned his plans to propose to Emily to anyone, not even Will, just in case things didn’t pan out – in fact, he wasn’t even a hundred per cent sure himself that he was going to do it – but once he’d seen Emily with his friends, the way she’d smiled and chatted, even though he knew that she probably felt a little overwhelmed, he knew the timing was right. She fits, the way he used to fit with Caro before. He fights to keep the smile from his lips now as he glances across the pillows in Miles and Sadie’s spare room, to where Emily still slumbers on. Once she had said yes, the party had really started, and he’d had far too much to drink to be able to drive them both home. He stretches, thinking about the previous evening.

On one knee in front of the pagoda, Rupert looks up as Emily says yes, letting him slide the ring onto her finger before she smashes her mouth against his and after a pause that is heavy with its silence, Miles starts to clap and the others join in. Miles comes over to them both, leading Sadie by the hand, and kisses Emily on the cheek before pumping Rupert’s hand in a brisk handshake.

‘Congratulations,’ Sadie says with a tight smile.

‘Mate, this is brilliant – sudden, but still brilliant. You kept it very quiet – worried she might say no, eh?’ Miles nudges Rupert with a wink, his cheeks florid and ruddy with booze. Rupert hates it when Miles gets like this.

‘Well, more a case of wanting to do it at the right time – without any of you lot giving the game away.’ Rupert forces a laugh, relieved when Will approaches, Amanda not far behind him.

‘Congratulations, bro. And err… welcome to the family, I suppose, Emily.’ Rupert watches his brother kiss Emily awkwardly on the cheek, Emily – his fiancée, it feels strange to say that after Caro – flushing pink with what Rupert hopes is joy. ‘Bit of a shock but we’re pleased for you, aren’t we, Amanda?’ Will lowers his voice, and steers Rupert slightly to one side as Sadie and Amanda coo over the engagement ring. ‘Wow, Rupert, this is a bit unexpected. I can’t believe you never mentioned anything – I mean, we only knew you were dating someone a couple of months ago. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re happy then I’m over the moon for you. It’s great that you’re moving on after what happened to Caro, and Emily seems like a nice girl, but it’s just a bit of a… shock.’

‘She is great.’ Rupert lets his gaze wander back to Emily, her hand outstretched to show off her ring. ‘She’s exactly what I was looking for; I just didn’t know that until I found her.’

Will looks at him for a moment without speaking, before he draws in a breath. ‘I am pleased for you, Rupert, honestly… but it’s a bit sudden, isn’t it? You’re definitely sure you want to do this?’

Rupert resists the urge to snap at Will to make his mind up – either he wants Rupert to move on or he doesn’t. Instead he says, ‘Look, Will, I love – loved – Caro, but I’ve been on my own for over a year. I’ll always miss her, but I don’t want to be on my own anymore. I’m lonely.’ Rupert swallows hard, trying to dislodge the lump in his throat.

‘Oh God, mate, I get it, I do,’ Will says, ‘but you know you don’t have to marry her. You can just be together; you don’t need to rush into anything.’

Rupert feels a wave of anger, as his fists clench by his sides. Of course, Will doesn’t get it. How could he understand how Rupert felt after Caro died? How could any of them? ‘If it feels right, then why wouldn’t I ask Em to marry me? I did what you all wanted – I did what Sadie told me to do. She said I should move on, get myself sorted, and I have. Emily is perfect, and I know I’m doing the right thing. Don’t put a downer on it.’

‘I’m not, really I’m not,’ Will says quickly, before he pulls Rupert in for another man hug. ‘Sorry, Rupe, I didn’t mean to upset you. If you’re happy then I’m happy too. For both of you.’

Once the ring has been admired and congratulations have been showered over Rupert and Emily, Sadie reveals that she has booked a band for the evening. Fairy lights that have been strung across the garden are lit, and Rupert sees that a marquee has been set up at the end of the garden. Despite the chill that settles now that the sun has gone down, everyone is happy to spend the night dancing in the marquee, and Sadie makes sure that the champagne carries on flowing. For a moment Rupert wonders if Sadie had an idea about what he was planning, before Sadie announces that she also has news – Miles has been promoted, and she makes a point of saying that this is the real reason why she has arranged the party, even though this is the first Rupert has heard about it.

Finally, at around two o’clock in the morning, the band retires, and Rupert realizes he is ready for bed too. He turns to Emily, who has matched him dance for dance tonight, dancing with not only him, but Will, Miles and a few of Miles’s colleagues as well. She looks flushed and rosy-cheeked, a grin plastered across her face as she tries to get her breath back.

‘Hey,’ Rupert stops her in her tracks as she passes, ‘ready to go up?’

‘Absolutely,’ she smiles up at him, ‘ready when you are. Oh, Sadie—’

Sadie has appeared beside them, a glass of what looks like water in her hand. Rupert remembers that Sadie is always the sensible one, the first to start combatting her hangover before she’s even gone to bed.

‘Are you sure it’s OK for us to stay? We can always get an Uber home.’ Emily looks down quickly as she says the words, and Rupert realizes that when she says ‘home’, she means his house.

‘Of course, Rupert and Caro always stay when we have a party,’ Sadie says, a boozy red flush creeping up her neck as she carries on regardless. ‘It’s no problem for the two of you to stay. There’s plenty of room. Mi casa es tu casa.’

Rupert is mortified as Sadie gives a shrill laugh and knocks back the contents of her glass. Maybe it isn’t water after all. Emily says nothing, and Rupert admires her restraint.

‘Thanks, Sadie,’ Rupert finally manages to get the words out, breaking the cloud of tension, ‘I think we’ll just go up.’ He grasps Emily’s hand firmly in his and they make a quick escape, managing to get upstairs without bumping into anyone else. Rupert closes the door to the spare bedroom quietly, and turns to Emily, who is very quietly reaching behind her neck to unzip her dress.

‘Are you OK?’ he asks, as she fumbles with the zip. ‘Here, let me.’

Emily’s arms fall to her sides. ‘It’s all right, Rupert. It’s not the first time this evening someone has referred to me as “Caro”. It’ll take people some time to get used to me, I suppose.’

Rupert turns Emily to face him, lifting her chin with one finger so he can look directly into her deep blue eyes. Eyes that remind him of Caro’s. He blinks away the vision of Caro’s face that swims briefly in front of his eyes, and kisses Emily. Her face is set, but he feels her mouth soften under his as he gently slides the shoulders of her dress off, letting it fall to the expensively carpeted floor. He breathes in her scent, floral and by now familiar, and rests his chin on the top of her head.

‘They don’t mean anything by it, you know. It’s just a slip of the tongue. Like you say, it’ll just take time for them to get used to saying “Emily”. Caro and I were together for a long time.’ Emily stiffens slightly in his arms, and he strokes her back, until he feels her start to relax.

‘Of course, I do understand,’ she says eventually, the words so quiet she is almost speaking under her breath. ‘It was just a shock to hear her name in place of mine. But you’re absolutely right, time is all we need. And we have plenty of that. I’m not going anywhere.’ She looks up at him now, her blue eyes serious. ‘I mean it, Rupert. I said yes. It’s not to be taken lightly. I’ve made a commitment to you. After Harry… well, you know it took me a long time to get over happened with him.’ Emily has told Rupert some parts about her relationship with Harry, how it scarred her.

‘And I couldn’t be happier that you said yes.’ Rupert means it too; he really does feel like he has been given a fresh start. He kisses her again and reaches round to unclip her bra as she sighs and leans into him, letting his fingers wander over her skin.

‘Wait.’ Emily freezes, her hand against his now bare chest. ‘Did you hear that?’

‘Didn’t hear anything.’ Rupert reaches for her again, nuzzling into her neck. Now that the champagne has worn off, he doesn’t want to waste another minute of the evening.

‘Listen.’ Emily pulls away and goes to the door, pressing her ear against it. ‘There’s someone outside, Rupert.’

‘Em… don’t be silly, come here. It’s probably just Miles or Sadie going to bed. Or one of the others. They’ve got more than one spare room, you know.’ He tries to keep the testiness from his voice, but honestly, he just wants to get into bed. And not to sleep. He walks up behind her, turning her to face him. Emily relaxes back into his arms and he starts to edge her towards the bed, planting tiny kisses all over her face, her neck, his hands running over her body.

‘Wait.’ She freezes again, pushing him away from her, and he groans in frustration. ‘Listen. Can you hear it?’

Rupert strains his ears, and thinks maybe, maybe, he hears the tiniest of knocking sounds. ‘It’s nothing, Em. Come on, you’re just feeling jumpy because you thought you saw someone outside the house the other night. There was nothing then, and there’s nothing now.’

As soon as the words leave his lips there is a sharp bang, as if someone has slapped their hand against the bedroom door, and Emily lets out a little shriek, her hands flying to her mouth.

‘Please, Rupert, will you just go and look?’ Emily turns to him, her face pleading. ‘That was definitely someone outside our bedroom door. I feel weird enough staying here tonight; I’ll never sleep if I think someone is spying on us.’ Caro’s name hangs unspoken in the air between them.

Rupert sighs, although his heart is racing. ‘OK. If it’ll make you feel better. It’s probably just someone staggering to their room – you saw how drunk everyone was. I won’t be a minute.’ Emily gives him a roguish grin, and he pulls his shirt back on and heads downstairs.

I wait for fifteen minutes or so, the sheets artfully arranged around my naked body so that my shoulders and chest are bare. I fidget, running my fingers through my hair, giving it that sexy, tousled look that Rupert loves and glance impatiently at the bedside clock. How long does it take to check if there’s anyone outside? The champagne is wearing off now, leaving me with the thick thud of a headache beginning at my temples, and I am starting to get cold, goosebumps rising on my arms as I wait for Rupert. I wait another five minutes before I tug the sheets away and pull on Rupert’s discarded sweater and slip my knickers back on. Rupert will surely be on his way back and I’ll bump into him on the landing, and then we’ll slide back into the warmth of the bed. Grinning to myself at the thought, I let myself admire my ring one more time before I open the door and peep out. Part of me is still jumpy, and I half expect a face to loom out of the darkness… but there’s nothing. Not even any sign of Rupert.

Maybe he’s gone to get some water? My temples throb in sympathy and I decide that I’ll go down and get some anyway. Rupert can’t have gone far. I creep silently down the stairs, not wanting to wake anyone, a reassuring yellow glow of light spilling from the entrance to the kitchen. As I get to the bottom stair, I pause, unable to comprehend what I’m seeing at first. I was right, Rupert did go to the kitchen, but he’s not alone. Sadie sits on the high bar stool in front of him, her head resting against his chest, as his arms go around her shoulders and she clasps him about the waist. Rupert is murmuring something, and she raises her head to look at him, pulling away.

I watch, hardly daring to breathe, my ears straining to pick up what they might be saying but I can’t hear anything, just the low mumble of their voices. Rupert takes her hands in his now, holding them tightly as she says something and he nods, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. It feels intimate, private, and I turn and quietly hurry back up the stairs to the safety of the bedroom, sliding back into bed and tugging the sheets up around my neck. A few minutes later, I hear the door open, and Rupert’s light breaths as he gets into bed beside me. I can feel him leaning over me, so I regulate my breathing as if I have fallen deeply asleep and he pauses for a second, before dropping a light kiss on my hair and rolling over. I lay there, my mind replaying the two of them together, until fingers of light filter through the blinds and finally, I fall asleep.

Emily stirs, and Rupert smiles as he watches her go from dozy to full wakefulness, slowly, like she’s making the most of the morning sunlight that slants across the room.

‘Morning, sleepyhead.’ Rupert has been awake for what feels like hours, waiting for Emily to wake up.

‘Ouch.’ She struggles into a sitting position, one hand clutching her head. ‘Champagne head. Sorry for falling asleep on you last night.’

Rupert laughs and kisses her, not wanting to talk about it. He had been a little relieved when he got back to the room and Emily had been fast asleep in bed – his brief conversation with Sadie had left him feeling unsettled. But a good night’s sleep and waking up to Emily’s smile has just made him even more convinced he’s doing the right thing. Emily is definitely the one.

‘Coffee?’ Emily says, as she wriggles away from him and pushes back the covers. Her face is pale, and Rupert thinks she looks tired. ‘And I should probably text Mags and apologize for not letting her know I wouldn’t be home last night. She’ll be annoyed with me again, I expect.’ She swings her legs out of bed and rummages amongst the pile of clothes left on the bedroom floor. ‘Have you seen my phone? I thought… no, it’s not here.’ Emily frowns, her crumpled dress in one hand.

‘Maybe you left it downstairs?’ Rupert gets out of bed, pulling on his jeans and yesterday’s shirt. ‘I’ll come down with you.’

They head downstairs, Emily making it clear she feels out of place dressed in last night’s clothes. The others are already in the kitchen when they make their appearance, Sadie and Amanda knocking up pancakes while Miles and Will sit at the kitchen island, not helping.

‘Morning, you two lovebirds,’ Sadie says, a smile on her face. ‘Pancakes? Coffee?’

‘Lovely, thank you.’ Emily slides onto a stool as Rupert helps himself to two cups of coffee, pushing one in front of his fiancée. Emily wraps her fingers around the cup and takes a sip, before grimacing and adding sugar.

‘Emily, do you want to borrow something to wear?’ Amanda says, looking her up and down. ‘I keep a few bits here for nights like last night – I think we’re about the same size? Caro used to borrow my stuff all the time.’

Rupert feels his stomach flip at the use of Caro’s name, watching Emily for signs that she is upset, although it’s a little unreasonable for her to expect his friends to never mention Caro by name ever again, but Emily nods and smiles, jumping down off the stool and following Amanda to the second spare room. Rupert feels himself relax a little, taking a sip of coffee.

‘Hangover?’ Will asks, a huge stack of pancakes in front of him. ‘I feel as rough as a badger’s arse.’

‘I’m not too bad,’ Rupert says, reaching over and pinching a piece of pancake doused in syrup.

‘It’ll be young Emily, keeping you up all night, getting the booze out of your system,’ Miles scoffs, and Rupert avoids Sadie’s eye as his neck prickles uncomfortably. ‘What are your plans for today?’

‘I should imagine you’ll be visiting Emily’s parents, won’t you?’ Sadie asks, wiping her hands on the apron she wears before whipping it over her head and smoothing her short bob back into place. ‘She’ll want to break the news to them, won’t she? And of course, you’ll want to let your parents know.’

Rupert says nothing for a moment. ‘I think we’ll just take the day to keep it to ourselves, for now. Get used to the idea, you know?’ He doesn’t want to admit to Sadie that he hasn’t met Emily’s parents yet – that she barely talks about them, if he’s honest. ‘Has anyone seen Emily’s phone, by the way? She couldn’t find it in the bedroom this morning.’

‘Here. Is this it?’ Sadie hands him an iPhone, and when he presses the side button his own face appears on the lock screen, smashed against Emily’s in a selfie they took on a day trip to Stonehenge a couple of weeks after they started dating.

‘Thanks.’ Emily reaches over his shoulder and takes it, kissing his cheek and making him jump. ‘Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Amanda lent me a dress.’ Rupert turns and she gives a little twirl. ‘I’ll launder it and give it back,’ she says to Amanda, who flaps a hand in her direction. ‘I better just call Mags and let her know I’m still alive.’ She flits out of the room, leaving Rupert to his breakfast.

Later, Emily is quiet on the drive home, and Rupert wonders if she still feels a bit rough, or whether she might be regretting saying yes.

‘Are you OK?’ He takes one hand off the steering wheel to rub her knee, as she gazes silently out of the window.

‘Did you see anyone last night after I asked you to check if someone was outside our room?’ she asks.

‘No,’ he says, ‘there wasn’t anyone outside, and no one on the stairs either. I’m sorry, I should have told you that first thing this morning.’

‘You didn’t see anyone at all?’

‘No. I just told you that. Emily, is there a problem?’ Rupert feels a little irritated. If there is something wrong he’d rather Emily just came out with it, not beat around the bush. Caro used to do the same thing and it drove him mad. The traffic slows and crawls to a stop, typical M25 gridlock, even on a Sunday morning.

‘Not even Sadie?’ Emily’s mouth is turned down and she fiddles with the phone in her hands.

‘Sadie?’

‘Yes, Sadie.’ Emily turns to look at him, her eyes searching his face and Rupert feels a flicker of alarm, even though he knows he hasn’t done anything wrong. ‘She was our host after all; it stands to reason that she might still be up after we’d all gone to bed.’

‘Nope.’ He lies smoothly, edging the car forward as the traffic starts to move. ‘I didn’t see anyone at all. I told you there was no one there.’

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