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2023
“Anthony, please, do not fucking blow this.”
Anthony blinked at Daphne across the table and paused in reviewing the talking points for the smaller interviews in tonight’s show. “Would you believe, Daphy, I’ve done a few of these interviews by now? I’ve had this show for a few years.”
Daphne rolled her eyes, letting her own clipboard drop to the desk, “And I have been booking this show for just as long and I have never had as much trouble getting someone to agree to come on the show as I had getting Kate Sharma’s people to agree to this.”
Anthony’s stomach dropped and his jaw clenched. He’d been dreading this day, truly dreading it, ever since Daphne had told him she’d been booked. He’d wondered if they’d try to get her, of course, he had; She’d just won a BAFTA and she’d been nominated for an Oscar and frankly, it was a fucking miracle he’d managed to avoid having her on the show, up to this point. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Kate, but in a much more real sense: He didn’t want to see her. He didn’t want to see the woman who’d told his sister she wanted to be friends with him, spent one evening at his flat and ignored every interaction he’d tried to have with her since. He still remembered, five years on, the panic that had been in his chest when Kate had stood outside his door and pulled him in for a small hug and left her lipstick on his cheek. He’d been so nervous, so desperate not to be the guy who pushed when women didn’t want him to, when they only wanted to be friends. And really? What else could Kate Sharma have wanted from him?
“Well, she’s… busy I’m sure.” Anthony said quickly, flipping the page, and changing the topic, “I don’t like this joke here, can we rewrite?”
And Daphne seemed to give up.
Anthony sat in his dressing room, staring at the door across the hall, at the name that had been slid into the slot, Kate Sharma. Hey heard footsteps down the hall, and a voice he’d recognise almost anywhere carried across to him.
“I just want to get out of here ASAP.”
His stomach dropped at the sound of her voice and his entire body seemed to tense as she turned the corner.
“Yeah, it’s going to be awkward as fuck I think,” Kate was talking on the phone, held against her shoulder as she opened the door ahead of her assistant carrying a garment bag behind her. “Yeah, no, still not going to tell you that.” She paused for a moment before she clicked her tongue, “Well, you’re welcome to watch it. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She hung up the phone, running her fingers through her hair as she sat in front of the mirror, the lights casting a glow on her beautiful face and Anthony couldn’t help himself.
“Hey, Kate!”
She froze for a moment before she turned towards him with a tight smile, “Anthony, Hello.”
He tried to smile at her though her tone set him a little on edge, “Great to have you here. Can’t believe it’s taken us so long.”
Kate raised her eyebrows, “Well, Daphne’s very persistent.”
“I do know that, you guys have met before right?”
“Sorry, Anthony, I need to get ready.” Kate nodded to her assistant to close the door, “Let’s not waste this incredible chemistry.”
Her assistant smiled at him before she shut the door and Anthony was left staring at it, feeling more than a little stupid as he tugged the sheets from his collar to protect it from his makeup, he checked his hair quickly, suddenly desperate to get as far away from the woman who’d cleared deemed him too boring to even be friends with as possible. His cheeks were still burning as he slipped his jacket on over his shoulders, watching as they finished the set, and the audience started to fill the seats.
“Remember,” His producer said in his ear, “We are not pushing Kate Sharma today. Did you read the list of topics she didn’t want to talk about?”
“Yes.” Fucking as if he was going to ask about Tom Dorset. “And I assume the baby pictures are absolutely last ditch if we’re not getting anything from her?”
“Don’t use that tone,” Ben said, swatting at his brother, “Everyone loves baby pictures. And hers are very cute.”
Anthony tried to roll his eyes at the blown-up photo Ben was holding up, but he couldn’t quite manage it as he looked at the tiny girl, sitting in the back of a car, a baby beside her in a car seat. Her little sandalled feet swinging and a pair of ridiculously large sunglasses on. “Well, let’s try not to need them.”
The band started to play, the audience started to cheer and Anthony buttoned his jacket, plastered a smile on his face and waited for the countdown. He stepped out onto the set the bright lights blinding him momentarily as he waved at the cheering audience.
“Hello, Hello, hello!” Anthony crowed, settling into the rhythm, just as he always did. “Thank you for joining us tonight! I know you had a lot of options, they’re going to be replaying that coronation for the next… ooo let’s say two years until we have the next one!”
The crowd roared with laughter as Anthony clapped his hands, “No, No, in all seriousness, the royal family’s been through a lot the last few years and I think the least surprising thing to come out of all this was the air-conditioned carriage. I know there was a lot of fuss about it, and how the upgrades to these antiquated pieces of machinery are costing us the taxpayers’ money and it’s just a shame that old Chucky, unlike some of the other royals who they just wish we would bloody forget exists, does sweat. It’s disappointing, it is. Just missed out.”
Anthony’s eyes flicked offstage and his heart leapt as he saw Kate, getting a microphone pinned to the front of her dress an odd smile on her face and her brow furrowed. He pushed forward as the crowd quieted again, “Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’ve cleared all of these with the lawyers and they’ve told me, it’s not illegal, but as a punishment, I might have to actually spend time with our new king and queen so if you see me next week, chained to the gates of Buckingham Palace, don’t be too surprised. Really, though, Charles III has, for a long time, been advocating for the modernisation of the monarchy so I for one was surprised he trotted out a carriage at all.”
Anthony waited for the crowd to murmur amongst themselves before he carried on, “No but imagine you’re Dave, and you’re cruising around in your Tesla Model Y and all of a sudden you get a ride request from Chuck and Cami? You’d be pretty bloody surprised when all the guards started to follow behind in a motorcade wouldn’t you? Brilliant television, brilliant.”
The crowd laughed again and he finally made his way around to the back of his desk while the band started playing again, “Thank you for doing us, as I said, we’ve got a great show ahead of us so let’s get on with it. First up we have the hardest-working woman in England, and no, it’s not my lawyer or Hugh Grant’s publicist. She’s just won a BAFTA, she’s nominated for an Oscar, put your hands together for Kate Sharma!”
The crowd roared as Kate stepped out onto the stage, and Anthony’s heart fluttered in his chest when he saw her. Her dress hugged the curves of her body as she waved at the audience, her long hair tumbling around her in those wild curls that had always made him want to sigh when he looked at her. He stepped out from behind the desk and held out his hand, just as he always did for a guest, her eyes flicked down to it as she approached, her lips curving in a smirk as she went to take it before she pulled her hand quickly back sending the crowd laughing as she slipped into her seat without his help, gesturing that he should do the same as he stood there a little stunned.
He dropped into his seat, clapping awkwardly, feeling more than a little on the back foot as he hand flicked nervously to his hair.
“Kate, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen one another, what’ve you been up to?”
Kate raised her eyebrow, her full lips painted red curving up in a wicked little smirk, “Oh you know, I’ve been keeping busy. Little bit parts.” The crowd chuckled at that, “Getting work where I can. You’ve moved up in the world a little as well.”
Anthony shrugged trying to keep things as light as possible, “I think I’m doing all right for myself, right guys?” The crowd cheered again and he leaned back in his seat, “For those of you who don’t know, Kate and I are old friends. We go way back.”
Both of Kate’s eyebrows shot up now, and her lips parted in surprise as she leaned back in her own chair, “Friends?”
Anthony stalled, something in the back of his head telling him to be careful of her tone. “Y-Yes, we were friends.” He turned towards the audience all too aware of Kate’s eyes burning into him. “My younger sister Eloise went to university with Kate’s younger sister, Edwina, Oh you guys know Edwina Sharma huh?” He said as the crowd cheered at the sound of her name. “Yes, That’s the one, super talented gymnast. Anyway, we all used to hang out a lot when we were both sort of establishing our careers, we had a lot of fun.”
Kate clicked her tongue, scrunching up her nose, “We did hang out in a group situation a fair few times, that’s true.”
Anthony laughed, “And did I not make you feel like we were friends? We get along great.”
They’d spent so many nights, rolling their eyes at their sisters, with his arm over the back of the booth in that seedy bar, not quite around her shoulders, their laughter ringing through the room and still, he couldn’t quite place what went wrong. Why he’d never seen her again after that night.
Kate’s brow furrowed and she looked at him, bemusedly, as though he’d gone completely insane when she said, “Yeah, and then we had the most utterly humiliating date of my life.”
And all Anthony could was stare at her in shock.
2018
“I don’t want to go,” Kate moaned as Edwina towed her down the street, jumping over a freezing puddle that her sister hadn’t seen fit to avoid. “I had such an early call time today and I just want a little nap.”
“You want a nap?” Edwina scoffed, “Get the fuck out of here with that. I get like four weeks off over the winter, we are not wasting them, napping.”
Kate sighed, flicking up the collar of her coat, “So I have to sit around not knowing anyone like a shag on a rock?”
Edwina rolled her eyes, shoving open the door to a seedy-looking bar that was sure to have floors that stuck to her boots. “Well, Eloise’s older brother is coming so the two of you can be grumpy in the corner together.”
Kate sighed, briefly wondering if she could make a run for it before giving up and stepping inside, slowly making her way over to where Edwina was dropping her coat into a seat beside a dark-haired girl.
“El, this is my sister, Kate.” Edwina said quickly, “When’s everyone else getting here?”
“Hi, Kate.” Eloise said waving back at her before she rolled her eyes, “They’ve all bailed so it looks like it’ll just be the four of us.”
“Eloise!” A voice thundered to Kate’s left and a man appeared, slapping a glass down on the table. He was handsome, that was maybe the first thing Kate noticed, his dark hair swept back from his forehead and stubbed covered his cheeks, his strong arms flexing as he crossed them over his chest disapprovingly. “You just made me look like a complete twat!”
Eloise guffawed, her eyes flashing, “You didn’t actually ask for it!”
“What did she get you to ask for?” Kate asked and the second his eyes flicked to hers, Kate’s stomach dropped.
He seemed to startle, Eloise’s brother, his eyes widening as they flicked over her face before he sighed, “A wet screw on the bar.”
Kate bit back a laugh, nodding as she dropped her coat onto the other side of the booth, “Well, I feel like you probably should have known that wasn’t a real drink.”
He nodded and sighed again, “I did think that now that she was eighteen, she might have developed a little bit of maturity.”
“Ooof, might be on you.”
“I’m Anthony.” He said quickly, holding his hand out and when she took it in her own she felt a spark of something pass between them.
“Kate.”
“I’m sorry?” Anthony said, tugging her a little closer to hear over the background noise, and her breath caught in her chest, “Kate?”
“Yeah, Kate.” He was looking at her so intently, his entire focus on her as his lips curved in a boyish smile.
“Kate with a C or a K?”
“Does it matter?” She let her brow furrow a bit in confusion, as he stared back at her.
“I guess not.” Anthony grinned, finally dropping her hand, “I guess I’m just curious. Can I get you a drink?”
Kate clicked her tongue, “I’ll get my own slow screw on the bar, thanks!”
“It was wet!” He called after her as she turned away and it made laughter bubble in her throat, as she turned back.
“Maybe later it will be.”
“Kate, hey!”
Anthony automatically slid down the booth, making way for her in the group of people already crowded around the table and her heart fluttered in her chest. He slid a drink towards her as she dropped into the seat beside him, his arm draped over the back of the booth, not quite touching her shoulders.
“Hey, you.”
He smiled at her, and her stomach swooped again and Kate nearly sighed out loud at him. She’d been thinking about him more and more, as they sat here what felt like every Saturday night and giggled away about everything and nothing. Talking about their weeks filming, Anthony with his sitcom and her with this movie that felt like it could be another level for her. A break as it were.
He leaned in close, whispering in her ear, “So, how’d it go?”
Kate sighed, taking a sip of the drink he’d ordered for her, still cold, “We wrapped yesterday.”
Anthony clapped, nudging her arm with his, “Look at you, you fucking movie star! I heard someone talking about it on set yesterday and I was like My Friend’s in that!”
She shook her head, “Piggybacking off my success, wild.”
“Ah, I’ll have you know, I am a wildly successful minor sitcom actor in show that’s definitely getting cancelled this year and I’ve got an incredible stand-up career.” He said, rolling his eyes.
“I like your stand-up.” Kate chuckled, “I like your bit about ring-a-ring-a-rosy.”
He bowed, taking a swing of his drink, “Thank you, I’m a comic genius.” Silence fell between them for a long moment until Anthony slapped his hand on the table, “You just finished a romantic comedy that’s going to be the next big hit, coming to theatres…?”
“This Christmas.” Kate supplied.
“Stunning.” Anthony said, “Coming to theatres this Christmas. Now, Miss Kate Sharma, let’s get fucked up and Celebrate.”
Kate’s head felt fuzzy as she stumbled up the steps to her flat, leaning on Edwina, still buzzing from the night. “Anthony’s so pretty.”
Edwina chuckled, fumbling with her keys, “Do you think so?”
“Yes.” Kate groaned, leaning against the wall, “I just wanna squish his little face!”
“If you say and sit on his face,” Edwina grunted, swaying a little, “I'll scream.”
“Well, I wouldn’t mind that either.”
“Fucking gross,” Edwina slurred as they collapsed onto the couch, flicking Kate’s ear, “When are you going to ask him out?”
Kate groaned, her head spinning, “I don’t know, I don’t know if he likes me, and I don’t want it to be weird. But he’s just… so fucking hot?”
“I think he looks like a stressed turtle but you do you, boo.” Edwina shrugged, getting off the couch with a groan. “I’m going in the shower.”
“He is cute!” Kate called out, but Edwina was already gone.
“Okay,” Edwina said excitedly, as she shut the door behind her spinning around. “So I spoke to Eloise.”
Kate blinked at her sister, her stomach churning uncomfortably in anticipation of whatever she was going to say, “When do you not talk to Eloise in a day?”
Edwina rolled her eyes, nudging Kate’s feet out of the way, “I would have thought you’d want to be nice to me, seeing as I got you a date with Anthony for Friday.”
Kate’s heart stuttered in her chest, “What?”
“I told Eloise about your little crush on Anthony and she called him, and he invited you to his place on Friday.”
Kate’s mouth dropped open, “Doesn’t this feel a little bit like high school?”
“Do you want to go out with Anthony or not?”
She was tempted to say not like this, not when it had been organised through carrier pigeon and she had no idea what had been said between everyone. But then she thought of the way Anthony smiled at her, the way his arms pulled her closer last night, and his lips brushed her ear. She thought about the way his eyes danced in the light and he let out a little crow of excitement when he heard his favourite song and something ached in her chest.
“Yeah, I want to go out with Anthony.”
“Then strap your tits up, Babe, and get to his house on Friday.”
Kate felt nervous, of course, she did as she stood outside Anthony’s flat. The doorman downstairs had ushered her inside and she’d stood in the lift checking her reflection in the mirrored wall, adjusting her dress a little then her hair before she stepped out onto the carpet. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she knocked, waiting for Anthony to come to the door, anticipation rising in her chest as the seconds ticked by.
Then he opened the door.
And Kate’s heart sank.
2023
Anthony couldn’t move. Kate’s voice was ringing in his ears, again and again and again, date, date, date, date, date. His ears were ringing and the studio lights were beating down on him as he stared at Kate, open-mouthed.
“Anthony, what the fuck?!” Ben’s voice hissed in his ear, “Why would you not tell us this ahead of time?!”
Kate was staring back at him, with a pointed expression, What? Did you not want me to say that? She chuckled, tossing her hair, winking at the audience, “Whoopsie. I don’t think Anthony wanted you to know that.”
The crowd roared with laughter and Ben hissed in his ear again, “Anthony, fucking say something to her. Get out the bloody baby pictures!”
Anthony shook himself, clearing his throat, “Sorry, when was this imaginary date?”
Kate looked affronted, blinking at him, “It wasn’t imaginary, thank you. I went to your flat, you asked me to go there and-”
Oh god. Oh god, Oh god. She thought it was a date. She thought it was- Fucking hell!
“Should I tell this story?” Kate had turned to the audience, laughing as they cheered.
“We never went on a date!” Anthony said a little helplessly, confusion whirling around him but he was helpless to stop it as Ben’s voice rang in his ear.
“Fuck, I know this is embarrassing for you but… this is amazing television.”
“Okay so here are the facts,” Kate said, settling herself back in her chair. “The first part he told you, that’s true. Our sisters had known one another through university and Anthony and I met on a night out with them. And I was… look I thought he was really cute because… well that’s obvious if you’re a person who's attracted to men right?”
The crowd cheered again and Anthony felt his cheeks flush at the thought that Kate had felt the same tug he did. That he hadn’t been alone in the way his body had ached to be close to hers, that her heart might have leapt in her chest when their hands touched. And apparently, he’d had his chance and completely missed it.
“So after a few months of us hanging out, and having, what I felt was kind of a fun, flirty vibe. I told my sister, that I thought Anthony was really cute, and I kind of wish something would happen between us. And she came back the next day and she said to me Anthony thinks you’re really hot, he’s invited you round to his place.” Kate carried on, her eyes dancing and a smile on her beautiful face, her nose scrunched.
“Oh, my god.” Anthony groaned, unable to help himself, his head swimming.
“Oh!” Kate gasped, “I see you remember what happened.”
Anthony groaned putting his head in his hands, “I think I’m having a heart attack.”
“Oh, come on! It’s kind of funny!” Kate chuckled, turning back to the audience. “So normally, I wouldn’t have gone to a guy’s flat on the first date but like, I thought You know Anthony, he’s really sweet. I had met his Mum and Dad by this point.”
“Jesus Christ.” Anthony gasped, taking a gulp from his mug of water.
“Edmund and Violet are exactly as lovely as they seem at Violet’s book readings by the way. So anyway, in my 24-year-old hubris, I was like This is really cute, it’s sophisticated. He’s going to cook for me, and you know what, I am probably going to let him cop a feel.”
Anthony let out a whine, “Please don’t say that.”
“I have to, Anthony, because apparently, you were so not attracted to me, I was in your apartment for several hours and… you didn’t make a move at all.”
The crowd roared with laughter and Anthony had to fight the urge to sink under the table as he grabbed for the baby photos under his desk, “Who wants to see Kate as a baby?!”
“They’re way more interested in this story right?” Kate said and the crowd cheered again.
“Don't distract her now!” Ben hissed, “I want to hear this too!”
“So I went over to Anthony’s flat, and I had shaved my legs.” The crowd let out a sympathetic noise and Kate leapt on it, “Yes! Thank you! If you are a person who shaves their legs, you know the energy that I put into this! So this was… five? Years ago?” She looked to Anthony for confirmation who nodded weakly. “So I had just finished filming Mile High and it obviously hadn’t come out yet so no one knew who I was at all-”
“And what an excellent film Mile high is!” Anthony leapt on it, still trying to change the topic, “A favourite of mine! Kate Sharma as a pilot, what’s not hot about that?”
The crowd did let out a cheer but Kate turned towards him, laughing brightly, “Don’t try to smooth talk me now! So I put on my best dress and these shoes that my new stylist had lent me and they were definitely the nicest thing in my wardrobe. So I went there, and I was really excited because I’d liked him for a little while and he opened the door and my heart just dropped.”
“In my defence,” Anthony finally waded in, even though he felt sick to his stomach, “I didn’t know this was a date.”
“So you remember what you were wearing, do you want to fill them in?” God, she was still so beautiful. He could still hardly breathe just looking at her.
Anthony sighed, “Okay, Okay, I did not know this was a date, Eloise said to me Kate wants to get to know you! And I thought I don’t want to be one of those guys who thinks that every woman who wants to be friends is into them! I was trying to be a gentleman.”
Kate blinked at him, leaning forward, “Did you think I want to know how many special coins you had?! Anyway, tell that what you wore.”
Anthony flushed, “I wore… a t-shirt and jeans.”
“The Shirt had a hole in it.” Kate cut in, “And there was a Backwards cap involved. So I was pretty disappointed.”
He remembered how nervous he’d been and how he’d not wanted to seem that he had any intentions for the night, and he remembered how her face had fallen, just slightly before she’d covered it and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him and he’d nudged her back quickly terrified she’d read too much into it.
Anthony groaned, putting his head in his hands again, “And you kissed my cheek.”
“I did,”: Kate sighed, “And I did that move, you know the one ladies, where you pressed your chest against theirs? Nothing! You shoved me away from you, and I went inside anyway because I thought He’s probably just nervous, you’re nervous too and it did not get any better.”
“No, It didn’t.” Anthony sighed, slumping down in his chair.
“Should I proceed?” Kate asked, poking him on the ribs, and for a moment not felt just like it had, all those nights in that pub. Their rhythm sparked to life once again and he was as bewitched by her as the audience was, in that moment.
“By all means, I think everyone will see that it wasn’t that bad.”
“I admire your tenacity.” Kate sighed before he turned away again but Anthony kept his eyes fixed on her, “So, I went inside and I sat on his sofa, Anthony lived in… Kensington then, do you still live there?”
“I still live there.” He confirmed, “You have a good memory.”
“You tend to remember the worst date of your life.”
“Again, I think everyone will agree: What I did wasn’t that bad.”
“So I’m in Anthony’s really nice flat, and I sat on his sofa and I’m waiting for him to offer me… anything or say… really anything.”
Anthony remembered how he’d felt too choked to say anything, how Kate had pressed her leg against his and he’d been able to smell her perfume and the panic had risen in his chest when he’d finally said it.
“And when Anthony did speak, what do you think he said?” Kate asked the audience, the studio lights casting a halo around her that made Anthony’s heart pound.
“Do you wanna do it?!” Someone called from the audience.
“No!” Kate chuckled, “I actually would have welcomed that.”
“You watched him play Tekken!”
“He read you paragraphs from his mother’s book!”
“He put on a puppet show!”
“I am appalled by the kind of person you all think I am.” Anthony sighed, “And Ben, I know that last one was you.”
Kate laughed again, shaking her head, “All of those things might have been better than what Anthony actually said to me which was,” She took a deep breath, letting the tension build, “Do you want to play scrabble?”
The crowd erupted into laughter, cheering as Kate looked around and Anthony’s cheeks burned the confusion and embarrassment welling around him but more than that: he was longing for what might have been. If he’d realised what was happening, if he’d made her dinner and thought more of himself and their relationship, but he hadn’t then. Back then he’d been so unsure and self-conscious and so absolutely sure that Kate would never be interested in him.
Anthony shrugged, “I… didn’t want to seem sleazy and I panicked.”
“So at this point, I realised Anthony had no intention of feeding me, I had to eat a sad polo mint from my purse, close your ears dad: Knocking aside the condoms I’d stuffed it with and ask him if I could have a drink, and he gave me an iced tea while he set up the scrabble board. And I realised that you had… absolutely no interest in me, it was… brutal how uninterested you were and I was pretty much throwing myself at you.” Kate sighed sadly, “So we played scrabble and still I thought maybe he was nervous and I waited to see if you were going to make a move at the end of the night when I made an excuse to leave. And then-”
“Oh god.” Anthony groaned at the memory, pinching the bridge of his nose, ready to sink through the floor.
“I see you remember this as well.”
“I gave you a thumbs up.”
The crowd roared and Ben cackled in his ear and Kate grinned giving him a thumbs up.
“So… that’s the story of my sordid romantic past with Anthony.”
Anthony sat there still a little stunned, trying to find his feet, “Kate, our time’s nearly up,-”
“Are you going to ask me for a do-over?” She was grinning at him, teasing him, her long legs crossed in front of her as she leaned forward.
“I was going to ask you what you thought your oscars chances were?” Anthony said weakly, still fighting to catch up.
Kate clicked her tongue, “Struck out again. It’s an honour to be nominated, we’ll see how I go.”
“Kate Sharma, thank you for coming to see us tonight!” He tried to finish strong but when he stood to shake her hand again, all he felt was fucking lost.
________________________________
Kate sighed, as she stood against the bar, the party moving on behind her.
“Kate, Hi.”
Her shoulders tensed at the sound of his voice, the same voice that had been running around in her head for the last few weeks. Ever since she’d sat across from him and every feeling she’d ever had for Anthony Bridgerton had come rushing back. It wasn’t as though she’d spent the last five years desperately in love with him, in fact she’d been too mortified to even think about him. She’d changed the channel when his show had come on and she’d had her team feign scheduling conflicts whenever they’d approached her. Too embarrassed to admit that he hadn’t wanted her, that she’d misread what was going on between them, too mortified to look him in the eye ever again.
And then she finally had, and he’d looked at her with so much confusion in his eyes, stared back at her for 25 seconds after she’d said it as though he truly had no idea what she was talking about. And now she didn’t know what to think.
“Tell me that’s not what happened?” Edwina had wheezed about 13 seconds after her segment aired that night, Kate herself watching it from home, if only to soak up Anthony’s scrambling for excuses. “Tell me he did not make you play Scrabble and that’s why you’ve refused to hang out with him all these years.”
Kate’s cheeks burned as she shifted Newton on her lap, “What did you think happened?!”
“Honestly, El and I assumed that he’d disappointed you sexually.”
Kate rolled her eyes, “Literally, we’ve never even kissed.”
“I don’t know,” Edwina mused, “It just seemed like it would track for him.”
“And now you know,” Kate sighed, “It was much more humiliating than that. I threw myself at him, and he wasn’t into it at all so… huge knock to my ego.”
“I… don’t want to be on his side,” Edwina clicked her tongue, “But he seemed genuinely surprised that you thought it was a date. And your chemistry is fucking incredible. People are already talking about it online.”
Kate’s stomach swooped traitorously as she looked at Anthony on the screen, dancing terribly in a battle with Michael Sterling. “Oh come on, I’m done with that. We’re not going there again.”
But even so, she hadn’t stopped thinking about him since.
How could she with all the articles, with the headlines they’d made together.
Kate Sharma and Anthony Bridgerton went on a date once! Surprised? So was He!
People had asked her about it repeatedly in the press, at every event she’d attended and she’d laughed, smiling, giving them the same response, Anthony doesn’t owe me anything. Now it’s just a funny story.
But here he was again, still looking unfairly handsome in a suit, his hair slicked back, fidgeting a little nervously. His hair was shorter than it had been then, and his beard was thicker, longer, a proper beard rather than just stubble. His smile was still that boyish grin that had made her knees feel weak and her heart pound in her chest and part of her hated that it still did now.
“Anthony, hey.”
He stepped a little closer, his hand twitching nervously towards his hair, “I didn’t um- I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”
Kate shrugged, “Do you not have your Scrabble board with you?”
He winced, “I deserve that, for sure.”
She shrugged, still leaning against the bar, hating that she was still so aware of him, as he leaned forward to, his cologne thick around them, “It was nice to see you again.”
“Can I buy you a drink?” Anthony’s voice caught her as she pushed off the bar, his eyes wide when she turned back.
“At an… open bar?” She raised her eyebrows, “I think I’m probably right, thanks.”
Anthony winced again, “Can I- Can I order your drink for you?”
She stared back at him for a long moment, acutely aware of the bartender whose eyes were flicking between them, and truly, what did she have to lose? “Sure.”
Anthony seemed relieved, sighing as he turned towards the bartender, jerking his head in Kate’s direction, “Hers is a wet screw against the bar.”
Kate felt her mouth drop open in surprise as the bartender gaped at them and she clapped her hand over Anthony’s mouth, “You’re a fucking twat.”
He shook her hand off, smiling, “Hers is a gin and tonic and I’ll have a scotch neat, please.”
An awkward silence settled between them as their drinks were poured, neither of them truly quite sure what to say and Anthony’s brow furrowed.
“Anthony, we don’t have to do this.”
Anthony’s eyes shot to hers and his lips parted as he took a shuddering breath, “I’m so sorry about that night. Eloise told me you wanted to get to know me and I actually had a huge fucking crush on you -”
Kate’s heart leapt but she forced it down, her cheeks flushing, “Anthony, seriously, you don’t have to do this. You weren’t into me, and that’s so fine. It’s more than fine, I promise you, my ego’s not that fragile.”
Anthony shook his head, his hand shooting out to catch hers, “Kate, I think you’re incredible. I thought it then, and I think it now. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, and I thought you were great, and funny and I was an insecure idiot then and I thought there was no way you were interested in me and I just… panicked.”
Kate stared down at his hand on hers, acutely aware of the heat prickling between them and the way she still reacted to him. “Anthony.”
“I- I get that you put yourself out there and you have no reason to give me a second chance but is there… any part of you that wonders what we could have been like together?” He was still looking at her as though she was the only person in the world. That was the problem. His voice was gentle and his eyes were wide and she did wonder. Of course, she did, and maybe she just didn’t want to anymore.
“I’m giving you one more chance.”
Anthony’s lips parted, “I can work with that.”
“Of the Scrabble board comes out, we’re done.”
“No Scrabble,” Anthony agreed, “Fuck Scrabble.”
She held out her hand, “Give me your phone, and you can message me to set something up.”
This is too mean. Kate thought to herself as she made her way to the door on Saturday afternoon, Newton scrambling forward to bark at the door of the flat. He’ll see the funny side, he will.
She threw the door open and had to fight a smile as Anthony’s brow furrowed. He was wearing a three-piece suit, neatly tailored to his broad shoulders, in sharp contrast to the t-shirt and leggings she was wearing. And he looked so handsome in the afternoon sun. Kate pushed down the flutter in her chest, and forced herself to act surprised.
“Did you… need more time to get ready?”
Kate forced her voice to stay even, “No? Did you… oh Anthony, did you think this was a date?”
His face fell, but he tried to cover the disappointment, nodding his head, “I- yeah. No, it’s- it’s fine. I wanted to- I wanted us to go out but we can just be friends.”
“Anthony,” She poked his ribs, chuckling a little but his earnestness made it difficult to keep it going, “I’m just fucking with you. I thought it’d be funny. Doesn’t feel great though does it?”
Anthony relaxed, running his hands through his hair as his breath left him in a whoosh. “In my defence, I did have bad information, and I feel like I’ve paid for it. My surprised turtle face is a meme now, courtesy of my sister, Hyacinth.”
“I do kind of deserve it.” Kate sighed, “But I actually really do need to walk my dog though, so now that my comedy routine’s done, wanna do that then I’ll get changed and we can get dinner?”
“Yes,” Anthony breathed a sigh of relief, “Yeah that sounds great.”
He held his hand out, waiting for her to take it, and finally she did.
________________________________
Anthony bit back the nerves in his stomach, the same ones that came every day as the band started playing and the audience started cheering and he stepped out onto the set with the studio lights blinding him. But today felt different.
Today he didn’t feel sweat beading on his forehead when he looked to the wings and saw her while he rambled his way through his monologue.
He took a deep breath as he stepped round behind his desk, clapping his hands together, “We have a great show for you tonight, and I’m going to reclaim some personal pride, hopefully. You already know who she is, she’s stunning, she’s talented, and I treated her to the very worst night of her life: Kate Sharma!”
Anthony’s heart leapt into his throat as Kate stepped out onto the stage, waving at the audience cheering wildly, clearly desperate to see if the rumours were true. Her hips were swaying slightly as she stepped towards him and Anthony held his hand out again, just as he had last time and just as she had last time she almost took it. Kate pulled her hand back quickly again, and the crowd cheered but she didn’t sit this time. Instead, she twisted her hand around his tie and tugged him down until their lips met, moving together for a long moment while the audience hollered.
Kate pulled back, winking at him and then the audience before she straightened his tie and nudged him back into his seat behind the desk before she took her own. “Lovely to see you again, babe. How do you think tonight’s going to stack up, the worst night of my life?”
Anthony laughed, unable to keep it in, her heart too light for anything else, “I’d like to just… set something straight for the audience because I just… can’t have people think I blew my shot with you twice. I played Scrabble on my first date with Kate, because I panicked and can you blame me? Isn’t she stunning?!” He waited for the crowd to cheer before he continued, “And, my friends, that move worked.”
Kate rolled her eyes, “Yeah, Anthony, five years later and you had me!”
“Admit it, it was the hibiscus and cranberry iced tea that got you wasn’t it?”
“You’re ridiculous.” Kate shook her head but her fingers hadn’t let go of his, and her eyes shined at him and his chest felt tight.
“That’s absolutely true, but when we come back Kate and I are going to play sexy Scrabble and you can all see what an absolute move that was!”