‘Hey, no, it was all you.Youwere amazing.’
Freya laughs. ‘This is a stunning exchange of compliments forus.’
‘Yeah. Team-building. Maybe there’s something in it.’
‘Mmm.’
Freya’s smiling at me and I’m smiling at her, and neither of us is moving.
I see the way her chest moves as she takes a deep breath and her smile fades as she bites her bottom lip.
I should go home. We both have work to do tomorrow.
Also, we have diametrically opposed views on a lot of things, including romance, and for two people like us it would be so much better to leave things as one glorious one-night stand.
Freya moistens her lips.
I should really, really go now.
I take a step forward at the same time as she does, and then suddenly, I have her crushed against me, and we’re kissing like there’s no tomorrow.
19
FREYA
‘Freya.’ Jake’s speaking very softly into my ear.
I’m lying on my side and he’s bending over me from somewhere above. That’s weird.
I make a really big effort and open an eye and squint up at him. He’s crouched next to the bed and wearing yesterday’s clothes and a very nice, kind of fond smile.
‘Time is it?’ I manage to ask. My head’s very heavy and so are my limbs and I don’t think I could get a full sentence out right now. I’m so, so tired. Oh yes, that’s because we were up most of the night. Having really, really good sex. I close my eye and sigh in appreciation of the memory and then open it again to see Jake grinning at me.
‘Quarter past six,’ he says. ‘I have a meeting at eight. Got to get home, get showered and changed and into the office.’
‘Early,’ I mumble.
‘Mmm.’ He moves my hair away from my face and kisses me gently on the cheek and I sigh again.
‘I’ll text you.’ And then he’s off.
I should think about what just happened and I should also set an alarm because I have a lot to do this morning.
I’m sooooo tired.
Obviously I do not set the alarm and only wake up at around eleven when the postman rings the doorbell with a parcel from John Lewis (nothing exciting: a new baking tray and a five-pack of pants).
After I’ve thanked him, I stagger into the living room and flop down onto the sofa, still feeling extremely bleary-eyed.
Today I need to start planning my new book, plus I have proofreads to do on the one that’s coming out next, plus on Monday evenings I teach a class at the local further education college, and I’d like to do some exercise and get some fresh air at some point. And eat something healthy. So I should really get straight into the shower.
I think I need a very strong coffee first, though.
As the machine hums, I clear up last night’s dinner, which I didn’t do last night because… Jake.
That was agoodnight. He was lovely company and then… well, just, basically,amazing.
Eek, though. Firstly, we had a one-night stand, which is not something I really do. Well, I don’t. I have short-term romances at times, making sure that my partner knows as well as I do that it’s very much short term and won’t be leading anywhere, and sometimes that develops into a sexual relationship. But not on the first date, and certainly not before we’ve evenhada date.
