Backup Girl [Tom Hiddleston] {EBT book 2/4}

Interest

The following day felt like one long phone conversation and Kate wondered if Luke would have a voice at the end of it.
He had booked five interviews for Kate, Sunday morning in Sydney, Sunday night and Monday morning in Melbourne and then back to Sydney for another two magazines. Luke had laughed when he told her, none of them had any idea they were about to announce their engagement and they would be getting more of a story than they bargained for. They both felt rested after their short break and Kate hadn't had a nightmare or a migraine since. Tom was relieved to see her eating properly again and smiling. Apparently engagement agreed with her, and he knew he had chosen the exact right time.

Kate was grateful she had packed her blue Burberry dress just in case. She packed enough clothes to do the interviews and travel to Melbourne and back before they drove to Sydney for the ball on Saturday night, meeting up with Chris and Elsa at the hotel.
"I'll never get tired of this view," Chris said as they had an afternoon snack in the bar overlooking Sydney Harbour.
"Me either," Kate said. "I always loved travelling to Sydney, it felt like such an adventure."
"Which is funny when it's only an hour and a half down the road,"
"Says the snob who can catch a train to France!" Kate argued.
"We should leave you guys to it and get dressed," Elsa said to the boys, putting her hand on Kate's shoulder. "I have a surprise for you." She whispered.
As the girls entered the lift, Elsa turned to Kate. "Bring your clothes and shoes to our room, you don't need anything else. I booked my hair and makeup stylist for both of us."
Kate let out a short squeal. "Thank you!"
"It's not every day you announce your engagement to Tom Hiddleston," she said.

Two hours later Chris and Tom went to the other room to get dressed. "Do I want to know what they're doing?" Tom asked after Chris had retrieved his suit from his room.
"Girl stuff. Probably not." He laughed. "Mate, I am so so happy for you. You guys are so good together."
"Thanks, I think so. She's been through so much, Chris. To still be standing, and be so confident, I'm so proud of her. I don't think she'll ever know how proud I am. I hate when people tell her she's so lucky to be with me. I'm the lucky one."
"God you're romantic Thomas."
"You know, I've never had cause to say this, but. That's what she said!"

They met in the foyer, Chris and Tom were already waiting when Elsa and Kate came down in the lift. Kate was wearing more makeup than normal but was really happy that it wasn't obvious, it was more accentuating than covering. Her hair had been styled so it wasn't covering her face but fell over her shoulders and back in a shower of shiny brown curls. All Tom could manage was 'wow', and even then it was only a whisper. He couldn't even think of a word to describe how she looked. He was wearing a dinner suit and both and Kate noticed how handsome he looked, like he belonged in a suit. Her very own real life prince charming.
Kate noticed Elsa's appearance having the same effect on Chris, and she hoped she could do the same to Tom when they were married. She hoped it would never get old. She was wearing a smooth satin silver dress that hugged every part of her body and the colour was perfect on her.

As they pulled up, Tom squeezed her hand. "Ready?"
Kate tipped the last of her champagne in to her mouth. "I am now," she grinned.
"Darling, this moment isn't lost on me. We're about to tell the world that you are going to be Mrs Kate Hiddleston." Kate's face lit up. "Luminescent," he said. "I've been trying to find a word to describe how beautiful you are. That's it. You're glowing. I love you so much."
"I love you too." He kissed her quickly and got out, helping Kate out of the car. They were blinded by flashes and Kate subconsciously felt the new ring on her finger with her thumb.
As they walked slowly along the red carpet, they were called by reporters from all directions. After posing for a few photos, Kate spotted a journalist she'd spoken to a few times before and led Tom in that direction.
"Good evening, how is it that we didn't know you were coming tonight?"
"It was a bit of a last minute decision," Tom answered. "I've been involved with unicef for some time and I'm glad we could make it."
"Now Kate, you've been here for the hearing of your case against your former partner, I hear it went well?"
"It did, he was convicted which is what we were after. Hopefully this means he won't hurt anyone else." She brushed a stray hair from her face.
"Well I had another question but I've just been blinded by something very sparkly on your left hand! What's going on there?"
"Oh, this?" Kate looked down at her hand.
"We are engaged," Tom said before Kate could finish. "I asked Kate to marry me a few days ago, and she said yes."
The journalist was gobsmacked. "Congratulations! So is this your first public appearance since?"
"Yes, it is," Kate replied.
Pretty soon there was a bit of buzz around them, and before they made it to the end of the red carpet everyone wanted to talk to them and get a photo. They posed together for a few more, Kate keeping her left hand on Tom's chest so they could get a picture of her engagement ring. By the time they got inside Kate and Tom were thirsty and starving.
"That was pretty awesome," Tom said once they'd had a drink. "I love telling the world how much I love you."
Kate smiled, leaning up to kiss his lips softly.
In between courses Tom signed a few autographs and they posed for some more photos. Tom was surprised when Kate led him to the dance floor, usually she put up more of a fight. By the end of the night Kate's feet couldn't go another step, and she was grateful to sit on the edge of the bed and get her shoes off. "You were magnificent tonight," Tom said. "The belle of the ball."
"I don't know about that, I think I was more the cinderella holding on to her prince." Kate smiled.
"Either way, I had a beautiful evening with my gorgeous, sexy, smart fiancée," he kissed her hungrily and she knew what he was thinking. She turned around for him to unzip and remove her dress, and he followed it with her bra and panties so she was naked.

Kate wasn't keen on the early start on a Sunday morning. She looked down at Tom while she got dressed, he was still naked in bed, the sheets crumpled around him. When she couldn't wait any longer she woke him and asked if he still wanted to come in to the studio, and he quickly showered and dressed. They walked to the middle of the city and to the studios. While Kate had her makeup retouched, one of the hosts wandered casually in to see her. "Hi Kate, I'm Bec," she said shaking Kate's hand. "So today we're mostly talking about the hearing you were here for. How difficult was it to talk about, why you didn't report it, how you feel about the verdict, and we have an expert here to tall about that as well. But I hear you also have some other news?" She looked down at Kate's hand expectantly.
"Yes I do," Kate said holding out her hand.
"Well we might have to talk about that as well!" She lowered her voice. "I feel weird asking, but is he here?"
"Tom? Yes he is. I think he went to get coffee."
"Do you think he'd talk to us quickly?"
"I don't think he'd mind, he's a bit mindful not to make it all about him though. He came with me because I promised if we were both here next time I'd bring him."
"OK, we might just get a quick shot of him at the end. We'll see you shortly."

Kate was introduced and there was a short prerecorded piece on her specific case. She was asked about the charges, the verdict, and her reasons for making the report when she did. They discussed the psychological effects and emotional abuse before getting to the subject of Tom.
"Before we let you go, you attended the unicef ball here in Sydney last night with Tom Hiddleston, and announced that you're engaged. Firstly congratulations, and did that happen here in Australia?"
"Yes it did, but we're keeping the specifics private. It was only last week though. We haven't even had time to talk about when or where."
"Tom has been a big support for you through this hasn't he?"
"He's been amazing, I don't think I could have done it without him. He's really restored my confidence and allowed me to heal in my own time, and being here with me was really important to him."
They wrapped up the segment and thanked Kate and Tom for coming, and they got a cab back to the hotel. Kate finished packing and watched Tom on the balcony for a few moments before joining him. "Nice view," she said wrapping her arms around his waist.
"It's lovely. We're going to climb the bridge one day," he pulled her around in front of him.
"I wasn't talking about the harbour," Kate winked. "But that's not bad either."
Tom bent to kiss her lips, pulling her tight to him. "How about we just hide out here forever?"
"Sounds good to me," Kate rested her head on his chest and breathed deeply. The sounds of the harbour and city below mixed with the sound of Tom's heart and she thought she really could stay there forever.