From Notting Hill with Love...Actually (33 page)

Sean turned another card while I silently watched him.

When I met you, frankly, Scarlett, I didn’t give a damn. And I wondered, of all the bookshops in all the towns in all the world, why you had to walk into mine.

I laughed at the classic lines from
Gone
with
the
Wind
and
Casablanca
as he turned over the next card.

But then I thought, well, nobody’s perfect, & I should give you a chance because this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

The second part was obviously Casablanca again. I thought hard for a moment about the first before I realized it was from the Marilyn Monroe film
Some
Like
It
Hot
. Wow, Sean really had done his homework.

But I knew we were supposed to be together. I knew it from the very first time I held your hand, Scarlett. It felt just like…magic.

“Oh, Sean,” I mouthed, silently knowing he was referring to the “magic” moment from
Sleepless
in
Seattle
.

Sean dropped another card and it fell among the rose petals on the floor—while I tried to stop the tears that were springing to the corners of my eyes from escaping, pouring down my face and joining them. This was fast becoming more emotional than any “weepie” I’d ever sat through in the cinema.

And even though I knew we’d always have Paris, I knew you wanted more; I knew you wanted the whole fairytale.

I smiled again at another classic quote from
Casablanca
and his
Pretty
Woman
fairytale reference.

So
I
asked
you
to
meet
me
here
today
like
this
on
the
London
Eye, because when I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, I not only wanted the rest of my life to start as soon as possible, but in a way we would remember forever.

I nodded in agreement, loving his twist on the classic quote from
When
Harry
Met
Sally
.

So
Scarlett, I ask you to excuse the fact that I am just a bloke you met in a bookshop, standing in front of the most beautiful girl he’s ever laid eyes on, asking her to love him.

A parody of the final bookshop scene in
Notting
Hill
, of course…

Because
I
love
you, Scarlett, just the way you are. You complete me…and I hope I complete you too
…

Sean put down the final card—the classic
Bridget
Jones
and
Jerry
Maguire
quotes mismashed together to give yet another Sean-esque-style twist. And slowly he raised his head to look at me.

I ran toward him. “Can I speak now?” I asked breathlessly.

He nodded.

“That was just
the
most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me, Sean. And I love you too—very much. I think I always have.”

Sean had looked ever so slightly worried since I’d arrived in the capsule with him. Now relief, mixed with joy, replaced that look of concern as I spoke the words he so desperately wanted to hear.

As I stood in front of him, I gently stroked his cheek with my hand. And he, in turn, equally gently took hold of my hand and tenderly kissed the palm.

Then he pulled me closer to him and silently wrapped his arms around me until there was nothing between us but our love.

Sean gazed into my eyes forever before he finally kissed me. But when he did, my heart only reinforced what it had told me earlier—by beating so fast that I think the entire Russian gymnast team must have been performing on it this time.

When we could finally bear to be parted again I looked up at Sean while he held me in his arms.

“There’s something I still don’t understand, Sean. You were the most unromantic person I’d ever met up until today. How on earth did you know all those lines from all those movies if you never watch them?”

“I watched them for you,” Sean said, speaking for the first time since I’d arrived in the capsule. “I started when I went over to New York, and I’ve been watching them ever since.”

I shook my head in disbelief as I continued to gaze up at him in amazement.

“I wanted to prove to you just how much you meant to me, Scarlett. By doing this with the wheel and the cards, I knew it would mean so much to you if I was romantic. But I also knew I had to do something a bit more than just send you a few flowers. I would have got you the real painting if I could. But even my budget doesn’t quite extend that far.”

I stood up on tiptoes and kissed him again. “I know you would. But you really didn’t have to, Sean; the cards and the flowers and everything. I love it, of course, but it wasn’t necessary.”

“I think it was,” Sean insisted. “I had to make sure I was your Mr. Darcy and not just your Daniel Cleaver.”

I smiled at him. “Oh, Sean, you’re better than either of those two. But you really didn’t have to go this far. And do you know why?”

Sean shook his head.

“Because after everything we’ve been through together over the last few weeks—and to part-borrow another quote from
Jerry
Maguire
…” I smiled at him. “You had me at…Ronan Keating.”

A smile twitched at the corners of Sean’s lips and then it broke free into one of the infectious grins that I knew and loved so well now.

I grinned back at him and leaned forward to kiss him once more, but he stopped me, as the serious expression returned to his face again.

“There’s something else, Scarlett. Something very important I need to tell you.”

“OK,” I said, wondering what it could be.

Sean cleared his throat and then, to my surprise, a voice sounding incredibly like Sean Connery’s came floating from his lips.

“My name is Bond—Sean Bond,” he said with a completely straight face. “Scarlett, you’ve left me feeling shaken and stirred. I’ll be licensed to love you for the rest of your life, if you’ll have me.”

I tried to keep a straight face as I answered him.

“Sean, I’d go to Russia with love for you.”

Sean thought about this for a moment. “How about from Notting Hill with love…actually?” he suggested, grinning.

Then we could keep up the pretense no longer, and we fell into each other’s arms, laughing uncontrollably with happiness and love.

So while the rest of the world went about its daily business below, Sean and I held each other tightly while we gazed down at the London skyline together. Knowing this time, as the credits rolled, we were the ones with the happy ending.

A visitor’s guide to Notting Hill

You’ve seen the movie. You’ve read the book. Now visit the place itself!

Alighting from Notting Hill Gate Tube station for the first time, just as Scarlett did in the novel, take a right turn onto Penbridge Road. Cross the street and follow the signs for Portobello Road. On your way, the eagle-eyed among you will spot to your right a plaque on the wall which marks the house where George Orwell once lived.

The day on which you visit will definitely affect how much of Portobello Road you can actually see! If you have chosen to come on a Saturday when the famous antique market is in full flow, you will quickly be enveloped and swept along through the brightly colored stalls by the huge crowds which flood this area every weekend, out to hunt down a bargain, or their own Beavis & Butthead stained-glass window as featured at the beginning of the
Notting Hill
movie.

If, however, crowds aren’t your thing, and you’re visiting on a quiet day, carry on down Portobello Road at your own pace (hopefully you won’t be dragging a heavy suitcase behind you like Scarlett was!). Browse at the various antique and craft shops along the way, until you come to the junction with Westbourne Park Road. Look to your right; on the corner is now a Coffee Republic. This is the spot where Hugh Grant spilled orange juice down Julia Roberts’s shirt in the movie. But if you turn left, you’ll see a very plain looking, black painted door directly opposite you at number 280. That door was originally the site of the famous blue door in the movie—the one Hugh Grant came in and out of, and the one Rhys Ifans’s character famously posed in front of in his underpants for the worlds’ press!

Continuing down Westbourne Park Road, turn left at Ladbroke Grove, then left into Blenheim Crescent where you will find the Travel Bookshop. This isn’t where they filmed the bookshop scenes for the movie, but this is the bookshop Will’s was inspired by. And when you’ve finished having your photo taken outside, take a moment to go in for a browse (just as Scarlett did when she met Sean for the first time) because you’ll find the interior of the shop is exactly like the movie version!

When you leave the bookshop, turn left (but be careful not to bump into any dog-carrying boutique owners like Scarlett did!) and continue down Blenheim Crescent, turning left when you get to the junction with Ladbroke Grove again. Continue a little way along the street, passing one of Notting Hill’s many locked gardens along the way. Stop and peer through the bars for a moment and imagine Hugh and Julia sitting on a bench there or, now you’ve read this book, Scarlett and Sean too. I don’t advise you try to climb over the top of the railings, though!

Follow the road a little further until you come to Lansdowne Road. This is where Scarlett’s and Sean’s houses would have been in the story. The houses on the left-hand side as you enter the road have steps leading up to their front doors—exactly the sort of steps that Scarlett and Sean had many encounters on during the novel.

Find your way back to Portobello Road. Why not finish off the day with a visit to the Coronet Cinema on Notting Hill Gate? I can’t guarantee you’ll find Hugh Grant sitting in the stalls wearing snorkeling goggles or that one of the usherettes will surprise you in the same way they surprised Scarlett. But you might just catch a good movie.

(Perhaps not quite as good as
Notting Hill
, though.)

—Ali McNamara

Are you a true movie buff like Scarlett? Do you really know your stuff? Take this quiz on Scarlett’s favorite movies and find out!

1. In
Notting Hill
, Anna checks into the Ritz with a cartoon character’s name. Which two names did she use in the movie?

A. Flintstone & Pocahontas

B. Pocahontas & Bambi

C. Flintstone & Rubble

D. Simpson & Flanders

2. Also in
Notting Hill
, what does Hugh Grant’s character, Will, exclaim when he tries to climb over the garden fence, but slips?

A. Golly gosh!

B. Whoopsy daisies!

C. Oh bother!

D. Crikey!

3. What type of car is Edward driving when he picks up Vivian in
Pretty Woman
?

A. Porsche

B. Ferrari

C. Lotus

D. Lambourghini

4. Sticking with
Pretty Woman
, what street are Kit and Vivian working on?

A. Beverly Hills Boulevard

B. Los Angeles Boulevard

C. Hollywood Boulevard

D. Rodeo Drive

5. Which two authors made an appearance in
Bridget Jones’s Diary
?

A. Jeffrey Archer & Salman Rushdie

B. Agatha Christie & Jeffrey Archer

C. Salman Rushdie & Dan Brown

D. JK Rowling & Dick Francis

6. What did Bridget put in the soup to make it turn blue for her birthday meal?

A. Blueberries

B. Gin

C. String

D. Food coloring

7. In
Sleepless in Seattle
, where is Sam when he first sees Annie?

A. On a highway

B. At a train station

C. At a restaurant

D. At an airport

8. Which newspaper does Annie work for?

A. Baltimore Sun

B. New York Times

C. Washington Post

D. Chicago Tribune

9. Which of these people are not mentioned when Hugh Grant’s character lists the great things that have come out of Britain in
Love, Actually
?

A. Jeremy Clarkson

B. David Beckham

C. Harry Potter

D. Sean Connery

10. What is on the last card that Mark shows to Keira Knightley’s character Juliet?

A. Merry Christmas

B. To Me You Are Perfect

C. My Wasted Heart Will Love You

D. Enough Now

Answers: 1. Flinstone & Pocahontas; 2. Whoopsy daisies; 3. Lotus; 4. Hollywood Boulevard; 5. Jeffery Archer & Salman Rushdie; 6. String; 7. At an airport; 8. Baltimore Sun; 9. Jeremy Clarkson; 10. Merry Christmas