Chapter Thirty-One

                                    

                                          
Although my body was pleasantly weary, if a little sore, my mind wouldn't let me rest; thoughts of the incident at the airport kept churning over and over in my head.

                          
"Tom?" I whispered. "Are you awake?"
                          
"No darling, I'm sound asleep." He sounded tired despite his humour, so I just lay there quietly listening to him breathing. After a minute his eyes opened. "What's up love?"
                          
"Do you ... am I ..."
                          
"Kate?" He turned on his side to look at me, "What is it darling?"
                          
"Is ... is it true? What she said? That ... I'm not good enough for you, that I don't deserve you?"
                          
Both arms went around me and he pulled me close, kissing my hair and forehead. "Absolutely not, if anything it's I who don't deserve you. Don't let her get to you, sweetheart - you just have to forget all about it, please." 
                          
"You don't ... you don't think I'm with you just for the publicity do you?"
                          
"No, of course not! Not for one second. Kate, love, don't pay any attention to it, really. Just forget about it and move on." He hugged me again but I still needed reassurance.
                          
"You do believe I love you, don't you?" I looked into his eyes. "I do love you Tom, so very much."
                          
"Of course I do darling girl." He pulled me closer and gave me a kiss so sweet and tender I felt like crying. "Besides," he said with a smile, trying to cheer me up, "You couldn't fool me, I'm the one with acting chops, remember - you have no acting talent whatsoever!"
                          
I smiled when he quoted my own words at me and snuggled in to him, feeling a little better. One of his hands was rubbing my back in comfort but it shortly became lighter, more of a caress and then ventured a little lower.
                          
"Kate? I'm wide awake now."
                          
"So I see." I smiled.
                          
"What could we do to pass the time?" His other hand was now seeking out places to explore, sending a tingling warmth all through me.
                          
"I'm sure we'll think of something." I replied and kissed him, then let my own hands do some exploring of their own.
                          
---
                          
I was pleased to be home and overjoyed to see Max again when she arrived for work the next morning. She looked tanned and relaxed and regaled us both with countless amusing anecdotes about her holiday in Hawaii. We teased her about the photos she'd sent with so many different guys and I began to suspect - more from what she didn't  say than what she did - that maybe there had been a special someone hidden in the crowd. I didn't say anything, just waited for her to open up in her own good time if she wanted to.
                          
Over the next week Tom moved most of his things into the house and we settled into a new routine. He'd had a few days break and then begun filming again and while most of it was studio work in the city, he would sometimes need to be gone for a few days if they had to travel to a location that was more than a couple of hours outside of London. 
                          
The morning he left for York I took a caramel macchiato in to Max and sat down in front of her desk. 
                          
"Boss?" She gave me a questioning look.
                          
I decided to not beat about the bush. "Do I get hate mail?" 
                          
"Uh, sure, some. You know what they say, you can't please all of the people all of the time."
                          
I appreciated her attempt at humour but had something I needed to know. "Do I get hate mail saying I'm only with Tom for the publicity?"
                          
She hesitated and gave me a searching look. "Is this about what happened at the airport? Luke told me ..."