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I frown. “I don’t get it.”
“I handed in my notice this morning. They’ve put me on gardening leave for three months. Getting paid to do nothing has a certain ring to it.”
“Why did you do that?” I demand. “You didn’t know if I still wanted you, or if I’d already moved on.”
“I know that, Amy, and though I’d do anything for you, this decision was for me. I don’t want to work there anymore, not in a company that would rather see a young student fail her degree than show some kindness and leniency.” This time, when he reaches for my hand, his fingers curl around mine. “Besides, I’ve already been offered another job.”
“You have?” He’s full of surprises. Not for the first time tonight, I feel confused. “Where?”
“Grant Industries.”
When I try to pull my hand away, he simply holds on tighter. “And before you say it, I had no influence on your internship offer. The first I knew about it was when Daniel started talking about his new project manager during a telephone call yesterday.”
My voice cracks. “Where is it based?”
“I haven’t accepted it yet. If I do, I’ll be travelling a lot, but my home office will be in New York.” He says the last two words slowly, deliberately so, to maximise their impact. “You won’t have to see me if you don’t want to,” he adds hurriedly. “Grant Industries is a big company, and I won’t be in the office very much.”
Our hands are still intertwined. I can feel his warmth leeching into my skin, and the tenderness of his thumb as he strokes it gently against my palm. Callum looks at me expectantly. It isn’t the time for holding back my emotions.
“You hurt me,” I tell him. “By making all these decisions without consulting me first.”
“I know, and that’s why I’ll only accept the job if it’s okay with you. Grant knows that.”
A loud crash comes from the kitchen, and when I look around I see that the restaurant has emptied out. Apart from a group of students in the far corner, Callum and I are the only ones here. The lights have dimmed, leaving the flickering candle in the middle of the table to illuminate us both. He stares at me, face orange from the reflection, waiting for a reply.
“You broke my heart.”
“Let me mend it,” he says softly. “Let me rebuild you, piece by piece, the way you rebuilt me.”
The sweetness of his words touches me. There’s no doubting his sincerity, it’s in the shine of his eyes and the curve of his smile. It’s pouring out of his soul.
In spite of the tears rolling down my face, a huge grin spreads across my lips. I’m nodding and then he’s standing and pulling me into his arms, pressing his mouth against mine. The next moment my arms are around his neck, and I’m kissing him just as hard, laughing as he starts to swing me around.
“New York, baby,” he says, grinning, when he finally puts me down. “We’re going to have a ball.”
“We’re going to work,” I say pointedly, though the s
mile remains.
“You know what they say about all work and no play…”
“It pays the bills?”
“It’ll certainly buy you a lot of coffee,” he replies. “Which is a good thing, as I’ll expect one on my desk every morning just before nine.”
I shoot him a warning glance. “There’s only one place I’ll be shoving your coffee,” I say. “And I don’t think that’s what Starbucks has in mind.”
He leaves some money on the table, waving away my offer of going Dutch. “I’m tempted to say you’ve become mouthier since I first met you, but we both know that’s not true.” With his arm around me, he steers us out of the restaurant door and into the evening air. “You’ve been giving me hell since you walked into my office.”
“I don’t intend to stop.”
He dips his head to kiss me, still smiling. “That’s what I’m counting on.”
EPILOGUE
We leave New York in the middle of a heat wave, arriving at Heathrow on a dismal July morning. As soon as we step out of the terminal I pull my woefully inadequate cotton jacket around me, shivering as a gust of wind lifts up my hair.
“Welcome to London,” Callum says, throwing his arm around my shoulder and holding me close. “Is this what you've been missing?”
