Thanks so much for all the reviews! I'm seriously amazed that this story has picked up so much interest. Your reviews really do keep me writing. I just kept on going after chapter 14, and had this written the following day. I've even started on the next one, but I'm not sure when I'll get the rest of it written. I really should do some work on my magic, instead of just writing about it.

As ever, I hope you enjoy. I have a feeling that you will...


Chapter Fifteen: There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)

Naomi

I was buzzing.

Trust me: there is no better feeling in the world than the one you get after performing a show that you know people have loved. Okay, maybe one other feeling, but… it had been a while.

I was stoked that the show had gone so well. The vibe from the audience as we took our final bows indicated that it had been a huge success. For an opening night, things had gone very smoothly. One or two problems to be worked through in rehearsals, but nothing to cause any concern.

It was as triumphant heroes that Katie, Cook and I walked in to our own after-show party. Everyone was clamouring to greet us and to tell us how much they enjoyed the show. The room was full to bursting with executives, people from the media, celebrities. I exchanged a contented grin with the others, before we each moved into the room in different directions. Cook had done us proud. There were almost as many waiters as guests, dashing about supplying everyone with fine champagne. Trays of very posh looking canapés made the rounds as well, showing that Cook had hired caterers. If it were left to him, it would be pork pies and sausage rolls all round.

First to greet me was Mr Tomone. He walked towards me with a very excitable looking Panda on his arm.

"The show was a triumph!" He told me as he shook my hand. "I can't wait to read the reviews tomorrow!"

"God, Naomi it was fantastic!" Burbled Panda while throwing her arms around me. "You were all really brilliant! I loved Cookie as the devil, he was really wicked. All of you were wonderful!" Her emphasis on the word 'all' reminded me that our whole group wasn't present. I felt a pang of guilt as I remembered that Emily had to spend the evening alone in her dressing room while the rest of us partied.

After a brief chat, I excused myself from Panda and Mr Tomone and continued working my way around the room. There were so many people that I had to speak with. Before I got too much further though, a beaming Cook caught my arm.

"I just spoke to my mate on the door" he told me. From the look on his face, I could tell that Freddie must have tried and failed to get in to the show. "The Marvellous McLair got thrown out on his arse! He tried to blag his way in but they threw him out. Wasn't too happy about it, from what they've said!"

"So he's now the miffed McLair then" I answered with a giggle.


After the initial novelty of the party began to wear off, I found my thoughts returning to Emily. I felt so bad that she was unable to be a part of the celebrations, when she was so much a part of our team. I quickly scanned the room, to see if there was anyone else that I should speak to. Certain that I had already spoken to everyone that I needed to, I grabbed a couple of champagne flutes from a passing waiter. I hesitated, before grabbing the bottle as well. What the hell, why not? I headed off in the direction of the dressing rooms.

The place was deserted. That wasn't unusual though, as we made a habit of keeping the whole backstage area in lockdown at any time. Even the theatre staff and many of the backstage crew were not allowed to go wandering around. You just couldn't be too careful with your secrets. Only absolutely essential personnel knew about Emily, and they had all signed secrecy agreements. Even the crew that didn't know about her had signed similar agreements, just in case. Our caution didn't arouse any particular interest, as magicians were always wary of their effects being stolen. It was generally just assumed that we were hiding our apparatus away, rather than a person.

I reached the right door, and somehow managed to knock without dropping the bottle or the glasses. Only silence greeted me. Perhaps Emily had managed to sneak off to her hotel room? Then it dawned on me: she was probably being cautious in case I was a nosy reporter, or stage-hand.

"Emily, it's me" I called. The door swung open to reveal a grinning Emily. Her smile widened when she saw what I was holding. I stepped into the room and she closed the door behind me.

"You didn't have to leave your own party for me" she told me. I shrugged.

"It was pretty boring, really." I watched as Emily's smile faltered. Shit, that made it sound like I only came here because of boredom. "I wanted to see you" I added hastily. Her smile returned. It was the one that makes her eyes shine, and I love seeing it. I handed a glass to Emily. She already had some wine, but she gratefully accepted the champagne. We sank down onto the sofa, and clinked glasses. "To our successful show!"

"So what was the party really like?" Asked Emily, eyeing me over the top of her champagne flute. I settled myself back into the sofa. It was pretty small, and any movement made our legs brush against each others. I looked away to hide my discomposure. My eyes fell on the angel costumes hanging on the back of the door. I let myself remember how beautiful Emily had looked in that outfit tonight. I wondered how good she would look in the other one - the one that came complete with feather wings. "Hello, Naomi?" Emily's voice and a hand waving in front of my face snapped me from my little daydream. Shit, I really drifted off there for a second! I turned my gaze back to Emily, and remembered that she had asked me a question about the party.

"It was great" I had to admit. "Everyone was all over us – they're absolutely crazy about the show. I've spoken to so many reviewers tonight, and they all said they loved it."

"You should have stayed there" she told me, but she seemed happy to have my company.

"There's only so much of that kind of party I can take!" I laughed. "It's a mix and mingle thing, more like work than a party. The real die-hards will probably go on to a club afterwards, and that's when they'll really let their hair down."

Emily grinned back at me, and we slipped into an easy conversation about the show and about the party.


"Oh, and did I tell you about the ice-sculptures?" I asked. I had been filling Emily in on Cook's elaborate decorations for the party.

"Ice sculptures?"

"Yeah, Cook had them specially commissioned without even telling me! Everywhere I turned, there was mine or Katie's melting image beaming back at me!"

"I bet Katie loved that!" said Emily with a laugh. I nodded.

"Yeah, she thought it was great! Except she said that the sculptor made her too fat. I told her it would be accurate after a couple of hours!" Emily doubled up with laughter, and placed a hand casually on my arm to steady herself. I bit my lip as the contact sent a shiver of delight through my spine. I really must be pretty tipsy by now! Emily also seemed quite tipsy, but she topped both of our glasses up. We lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few moments.

"I wish my mum and dad could have seen the show" I said at length. I had no intention for the conversation to turn maudlin, but my parents had been in my thoughts throughout the day, and Emily was easy to talk to.

"They would be proud of you" she said gently. I nodded.

"I hope so." I took a gulp of my drink, to disguise any sign of strong emotion.

"What were they like?"

"A couple of hippies, basically." I smiled to myself as I remembered them. "Always going on marches, always trying to save the planet."

"Do you have any family left?"

"Just an uncle" I said with a frown. "Dad's brother, but he was the complete opposite of dad – really career driven. I was sixteen when mum and dad died, so him and his wife became my legal guardians until I was eighteen. They had their own family, and I hardly even knew them, so they just left me to my own devices, really. Made sure I was okay for money, but that was about it." I sighed as I wondered how different things could have been if I had received more guidance back then. I had no wish to dwell on it though, so I moved the conversation on. "What about your parents?" I asked. "Will they come out here to see the show?" Emily's mood seemed to darken at their mention.

"Doubt it." She shrugged dismissively. "Mum's probably far too busy with her own business. She owns a wedding planning company: 'Let's Get Fitched'."

I snorted derisively at the name, before remembering that it was Emily's mother that I was laughing at. I glanced nervously at her, but she was just laughing at my reaction.

"Yeah, I thought it was lame, but everyone else loved it!" She sighed as our giggling faded away. "It's all she ever talks about – the perfect wedding."

"And the perfect husband to match?" I asked, sensing that this was a big issue between Emily and her mother. Emily chuckled.

"Oh, yes. That's all a girl is supposed to dream about: finding a husband and having the perfect wedding."

I could easily imagine that Emily had always had to listen to how desirable a conventional family was. Her childhood stories were probably all of the 'and she lived happily ever after with her handsome prince' variety. I was thankful that my own upbringing had been more offbeat. My bedtime stories invariably held a conservation message, or a diatribe against narrow-minded thinking.

"Well, you should invite them" I said with certainty. Emily clearly had a lot of issues with her parents, and I felt that she probably needed to start sorting them out.

"Yeah, maybe" she said, in a tone that meant she had no intention of doing so.

We chatted on, happily drinking our champagne. I darted briefly back into the party to grab a tray of canapés when Emily complained about feeling hungry, but otherwise we stayed together. It felt great that we were talking openly with each other like we used to.

I poured the rest of the champagne out and grumbled about going for another bottle.

"Forget the champagne" said Emily, her voice barely above a whisper. I glanced down and noticed that my fingers were laced casually through hers. I couldn't remember how long we had been sat like that, but it felt nice. As my gaze moved back up to Emily's face, I realised that she was staring intently at me. The look in her eyes made me nervous and excited at the same time.

"Oh fuck it" she breathed as she closed the gap between us. Her lips tasted just as I remembered them. I slid a hand up to tangle in her hair, and opened my mouth to receive Emily's tongue. We kissed passionately, making ourselves breathless. Before I could really process what was happening, Emily was straddling me, pushing my body back into the sofa. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer. She left off from my lips to press hot kisses down my neck.

"What are we doing?" I asked. It was probably pretty obvious, but I felt that some clarification was needed. Emily pulled back from me and gave me the sexiest smile that I've ever seen. Her eyes were dark with desire.

"It's okay" she whispered as her hands began to loosen the buttons of my blouse. The action sent me from tipsy to sober in double-quick time. "I'm not asking you for anything, I just… I just want…" Her lips attacked my neck again with even more passion than before. This was too much. This was far too fast, and way too intimate.

"Emily stop" I groaned reluctantly. It may be too fast, but it still felt fucking fantastic. I placed my hands on her shoulders and held her back from me. I realised that this was almost the mirror image of the last time we were like this with each other. Emily frowned at me.

"You don't have to make any commitment, I just want you." I could certainly see the lust in her eyes, but it just seemed wrong that she suddenly didn't want anything more from me. Not to mention that things were rapidly getting beyond my own comfort zone.

"I don't want to" I gasped out. I knew straight away that I had said the wrong thing. Emily's expression hardened, and she clambered off me. I sat stupefied on the sofa at the abrupt change in atmosphere. Emily paced the floor of her dressing room.

"Right, so you'll fuck half of Vegas, but you don't want me." There was a harshness to her voice that I hated being responsible for.

"No!" I said desperately, but Emily took it as confirmation of her statement.

"You should just go" she insisted, gesturing at the door. She sounded so defeated. Again I was reminded of the last time we did this. That time, Emily had left at my insistence, and I strongly suspected that neither of us had felt any better for it. Fuck, just tell her the fucking truth, you coward!

"No, Emily please." I rose from the sofa and tried to move nearer, but she stepped away from me. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at me. She was putting on a tough exterior, but I could see how hurt she really was – her eyes always gave her away. I didn't want to be to blame for it, but I knew that I was. Again. I couldn't bear it. "I didn't fuck them!" I blurted out. The revelation surprised even me. Emily stared at me, her eyes full of confusion and suspicion.

"Didn't fuck who?" She asked. I sighed and sank back onto the sofa. I let my shoulders slump.

"Anyone" I answered in a small voice. "Those people that you see me with – I only ever snog them, then I go home alone." I felt like I was laying myself bare. I braced myself for the inevitable question of 'why'. It was one of many questions that I didn't have an answer for. Emily's mood visibly softened. She sat back on the sofa, keeping as much space between us as possible.

"We all thought you were fucking them" she said softly. I nodded.

"Yeah, I know. But I haven't had sex with anyone in ages. The other week with you was the closest I've come to it since…" Well, perhaps she doesn't need to know that the end of that particular sentence is 'since I nearly shagged Cook three years ago'. "…since quite a while, anyway" I said instead. I stared down at my hands rather than look at Emily. "I don't really want that with anyone right now. The last time with you, I… I honestly don't know what came over me, but it was moving too fast for me too." Emily reached across and gave my fidgeting hands a gentle squeeze.

"Why didn't you just tell me that?" She asked. Because what I feel for you absolutely terrifies me, said a voice inside my head. I didn't want to share that truth, but I shared another one.

"Because I didn't want anything else with you."

"Didn't?" Emily picked up straight away on my use of past tense. I couldn't help myself. I raised my gaze up to meet her eyes and saw the hope and expectation in them. How can this one woman make me feel so much? I sat there dumbstruck, as she moved slowly closer. She hesitated just before she reached me, as though giving me a chance to back away. I was still scared, but no power on earth could have moved me from that sofa right at that instant. Her lips pressed against mine, gently this time. The urgency of her earlier kisses was gone, replaced by a soft yearning. It felt amazing, but just as I was wishing for it to go on for ever, Emily pulled back from me. She smiled, and I could she that she was just checking that I was okay with it. By answer, I leaned closer and instigated another kiss.

"So…" said Emily slowly, as we moved apart again. We smiled awkwardly at each other, both sensing that the dynamic of our relationship was on the point of changing. Since I had been the one messing Emily about, I felt that I should begin.

"I really like you" I admitted sincerely. "And I haven't felt like this about anyone in a long time." Emily's smile grew in confidence at my words.

"I really like you too" she answered, mimicking my tone. "And I think we should just take things slowly, and see where that gets us." I nodded my agreement. We were both tip-toeing around this, but it was an unspoken promise that we were now something more. That settled, the atmosphere between us felt infinitely more relaxed.

"So how long has it been since you...?" asked Emily playfully. I cleared my throat uncomfortably as I felt myself blush. Emily nudged my shoulder with hers. "Come on, it's been about a year for me, it can't be any longer than that." My skin felt even hotter at that. I looked away, but I could still feel Emily's eyes staring intently at me.

"Try tripling that" I muttered.

"Three years!" Emily started, then tried to not sound quite so surprised. "No, that's fine, that's…" I suddenly giggled at Emily's attempts to reassure me. She joined in, before asking "Who was it?" I shrugged.

"Just some girl in New York. When I moved to America, I did sleep around at first, but it just left me feeling empty." I felt uncomfortable talking about this with Emily, so I tried to move the subject on. "I haven't even snogged anyone since that night with you." Emily grinned at that.

"Why not?" She asked.

"'Cause I knew it wouldn't be as nice with anyone else" I said with a teasing smile. Emily slapped my arm playfully, but then moved closer. I gladly met her lips with mine, and we settled back on the sofa for a little make-out session.


Later, after checking that the coast was clear, we headed up to our respective rooms. We parted with a lingering goodnight kiss in the corridor. As I closed the door to my room behind me, I thought back over everything that had happened tonight. I felt like I was walking on air. Not an uncommon feeling after such a well received performance, but I knew that the show only accounted for part of my good mood. Emily and I had reached a new level in our relationship, and the thought of that put a genuine smile on my face. Sure, the thought of actually getting involved with someone still filled me with panic, but we had agreed to take things slowly. Emily was aware of my reluctance, and had promised not to expect too much from me. We hadn't even said that we were dating – we hadn't said what we were, really. We hadn't specified exclusivity either, although I felt sure that it wouldn't be an issue. I had no interest in anyone else. I may have been teasing Emily when I said that I didn't want to kiss anyone else after kissing her, but there was an awful lot of truth in that statement.

Oh, shit. I've got it bad, haven't I?


Yeah, I woud say so.

Let me know what you think!