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‘I live here. I’d miss you, apart from anything.’
‘I’d come and visit.’
We’re interrupted by an old friend of my father’s, and for the next twenty minutes Grandma and I make polite conversation, all the while subtly—and, I fear, not so subtly—nudging one another’s ankles and trying not to roll our eyes.
There is someone else after that, and then my grandma’s goddaughter Laurena—another story altogether...ugh! And then, before I know it, it’s half past seven.
Jack will have landed by now. In his suit. So handsome; such a waste.
I sigh and refocus my attention on the conversation I’m half involved in, nodding as required, and then I’m actually grateful when my father asks me to dance with him. There’s only a small makeshift dance floor—a concession to the fact that there are so many guests and most of them are not interested in dancing.
But Dad and I have always danced. He wraps his arms around me and it reminds me of when I was a little girl, standing on his feet, moving in time to the music. And it’s a hell of a lot better than shooting the breeze with my parents’ friends.
I feel a wave of sympathy for Grandma, whom I have deserted and left to the well-heeled wolves. I look over my shoulder to see her holding court and wonder, with a distracted smile, what she’s talking about.
‘How’s work, pumpkin?’
I blink back to my father. ‘Great.’
‘Really? That’s a shame.’
‘It is?’
‘Sidney was just saying he could use a consultant with your skill set.’
‘Mayor Black?’ I prompt, my smile wry.
‘He’s admired your career for a long time. Asked if I’d set up a meeting.’
‘I’ve got a job, Daddy. A job I love.’
And then, as if I have somehow conjured him from my longing and imagination, Jack is beside us, his eyes intense as they lock solely to mine, his expression inscrutable. It is him and me—us. Just us.
‘Jack?’ I stop dancing altogether and take a small step away from my dad. I can hardly catch my breath. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘You invited me. Remember?’
I did no such thing, and we both know it, but I’m not going to point that out in front of my father.
‘Right, of course.’ I nod. Blood is roaring through my veins. ‘I forgot. Dad, this is Jack Grant. My...er...boss.’
Jack extends his hand and shakes my father’s with his natural confidence. ‘My Lord.’
My father is in awe—like most people who first meet Jack. It pleases me. For all he hates the hours I work, and the commitment I have to my job, he obviously understands the unique thrill that comes from working with someone like Jack.
‘Mind if I cut in?’
‘Oh, I... Of course not.’
My father steps back, but I don’t see him move away because Jack wraps his arms around me and consumes all my senses.
He overpowers me with his nearness and his uniqueness. He moves in time to the music but I feel his body, tight and hard, and my gut clenches.
‘What are you really doing here?’
There is something I don’t understand in his features. A haunted expression. Anger?
‘You seem kind of uptight about this. I’ve never seen you like that about anything.’
