Falling For You [Tom Hiddleston]

20

Claire's POV

"What is it?" I asked absently when the door of my office opened, not even looking up from the papers strewn over my desk. I'd finally made some progress as I sifted through the backlog of transcriptions from my recording discs to discover what Caleb and his crew were really up to.

"You've been hunched over those papers for hours," Kara clucked, gracefully settling into the chair across from me and holding out a cup to me. "Take five minutes to stretch and drink this lovely coffee I've brought you."

"Thanks," I sighed, taking the to-go cup from her and taking a sip. "My favorite!"

"You're welcome. Now I know you can't tell me what you're working on-"

"Nope."

"But will you at least tell me what's on your mind? The girls told me you hardly said two words to any of them this morning."

"I've just got a lot to do right now," I hedged.

"Don't shut me out, baby girl," she said firmly, using Jack's favorite pet name for me. "You promised."

"I know," I sighed.

Kara had been my best friend for a long time - and she almost knew me better than I knew myself sometimes. I should've known she'd call me on my evasiveness; it wasn't that I deliberately tried to shut her out - it was more force of habit than anything else.

"How's Tom?" Kara asked, changing the subject and waggling her eyebrows at me suggestively. "Have you seen him lately?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"So what did he do to piss you off?"

"Uggghh!" I groaned, dropping my head to my desk in annoyance and pretending to bang it on the cluttered surface. "Why did I have to find the one man in all of London that's not content with just being fuck buddies?"

I looked up to see Kara blinking at me, nonplussed. "I fail to see how that's a bad thing; start talking."

She settled in her chair more comfortably and I could tell there was no way I was going to get rid of her until she was satisfied. Damn nosy best friend. I chewed on my lower lip as I decided what I could tell her, settling on a detail that bothered me in a way that very few people would ever understand.

"Tom...well, he used the 'l' word this morning...and I think he meant it."

"He did?!" she squealed happily, leaning forward to grab my hand. "Holy shiitake mushrooms - he said he loves you?!"

I winced as her screech quickly reached a high pitched tone that I was sure only dogs could hear. "This is why I didn't want to tell you," I grumbled to myself. "I knew you'd make a big deal about it."

"Of course I will! I can't wait to meet him - you need to introduce me."

I snorted at her attempt at deception; she was still horrible at dissembling. "Really? Because I already know he came to talk to you while I was in Mallorca."

"How did you find out?" I raised an eyebrow at her as she crossed her arms over her chest, a pout on her pink lips. "Ruth told you, didn't she."

"Along with Maggie and Dot," I agreed with a smirk. "Did one of the most recognizable people in the world really think he could just walk in here and no one would know who the hell he was?"

"I think that was the least of his concerns at the moment," Kara said, pinning me with a look I had no trouble understanding. "Frankly, the man was worried sick about you, Claire! You could have at least told him yourself that you were going to be unavailable for a few days and that he shouldn't continue to try contacting you until you were back in the country again."