‘Oh,’ I put my hand over it automatically. ‘I was playing tug of war at primary school and hadn’t quite learned all the laws of physics yet. When I let go, I went flying back into some railings and cut my head open.’
‘Whoops.’
‘Yeah. Jess had a right meltdown!’ I laughed, remembering back to those playground days. ‘She’s always been a bit of a drama queen, in a good way though. But I think I properly traumatised her, with blood pouring down my face. She was screaming her head off.’
‘And what were you doing?’
‘Asking her to shoosh because I had a headache!’ I grinned at him and, as he returned it, my tummy did a little flip. OK, a big flip. It really was inconvenient to have quite such a huge crush on my biggest client, but I couldn’t help it. It was just there. And I’d been dealing with it just fine. After all, lots of people have crushes. An incredibly happily married friend of ours admitted to a huge crush on one of their kid’s teachers. Her husband knows and isn’t worried. It’s just one of those things that happen in life, and Seb is my secret crush. Even Jess doesn’t know about it. I am professionalism personified with my work, except with Seb, with whom it is a little more relaxed. The veterans’ charity he ran had been my first full time client and was still a major part of my workload. Most clients I caught up with over email, by message, or occasionally the phone, but Seb had asked from the start if we could catch up face to face, as it were. I’d agreed and prepared for the first meeting as I would have done for one in my old job – smartly dressed, with make-up and hair all done. But the moment Seb had come up on the screen, given me a wave and smiled that smile, all the formality seemed unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong, we got the work done, but there had never been any awkwardness, and there was a lot of laughter which, after my last job, I was both surprised at and very glad about. Today, though, even Seb’s smile couldn’t unknot the tangle in my tummy at the thought of Jess’ plan.
‘So, explain to me again. What exactly does this Year of Saying Yes entail? You have to say yes to everything?’
‘Pretty much.’
He paused. ‘Even if you don’t want to?’
‘Especially if I don’t want to, which, bearing in mind it’s me, is going to be pretty much all the time!’
He frowned, then nodded. ‘You know you don’t have to do this, don’t you? You have a choice.’
‘I have already agreed now. After the third glass of wine, it didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Now I’ve had time to think about it in the cold and sober light of day, it seems like a terrible one!’
‘So, cancel.’
‘I gave Jess my word I wouldn’t.’
‘She’ll understand.’
‘You don’t know Jess. Also, when you give someone your word, I’d bet my eleven o’clock doughnut you don’t go back on it.’
‘You have doughnuts?’
I leant over and then waggled the bag of Sainsbury’s jam doughnuts at him.
‘Lottie. That’s not one, that’s a bag of five!’
‘Well, they do say it’s important to have your five a day.’
‘Yeah, I’m pretty sure they’re not referring to doughnuts.’
I shrugged. ‘You wouldn’t though, would you?’
‘OK, no. But I’d also probably not have agreed to something whilst half cut either.’
I snorted into my mug of tea. ‘Must be hard work being so angelic.’
His eyes sparkled with amusement. ‘It’s got nothing to do with being angelic.’
I flicked a glance at the screen. Seb’s dark eyes and cropped hair were complemented by him being broad and well-built and, although the T-shirt he wore wasn’t close fitting, there was no hiding the fact there was a pretty damn good body beneath it. It wasn’t exactly hard to imagine that angelic was quite the opposite of what he might be. If ever a body was made for sin, I was pretty sure I was looking at it right now.
I hid my face in the huge mug for a moment. Imagining anything with regards to Seb was probably not a good idea. The last thing I needed was for him to find out I thought he was almost as delicious as those doughnuts. Possibly more so.
‘Anyway. I’ve agreed, so I’ve just got to get on with it now.’
Seb gave me a considered look and nodded. ‘I guess so.’
* * *
‘Well, you look happier than you did this time last year.’ Seb grinned at me when I answered the video call, pulling my knees up to my chest as I hugged a mug of ginger tea. ‘Happy New Year, again, by the way.’
