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‘Joe’s been teaching you a few moves, eh?’
‘No, this one’s all mine. And just for the record, Joe was a model of tact. Didn’t even admit that it was you who had me followed.’
‘Protected.’
‘Whatever. I doubt you could have done any better yourself.’
‘Clearly not. Are you going to let me up?’
‘Not until you tell me why you thought it was a good idea to have me tailed by your security team. And how long this has been going on for.’
‘Joe was called in last night. There wasn’t anyone up till then.’
Jess sat up straight, letting him go. ‘What were you thinking, Greg? That I can’t manage for myself outside London?’
‘It’s nothing to do with that, Jess. I know you can look after yourself, but I can’t help it if I want to do that too.’
‘You’re being over-protective.’
He sat up, wrapping his arms around her, and she slid into his lap. ‘Maybe I am but I don’t care. I’d do anything to keep you and the baby safe, Jess. When you got locked in that vault and we couldn’t find you… ’
‘Right. You’re not going to let me forget that, are you?’
He sighed. ‘Why should you? I can’t.’
‘You can’t be with me every minute of the day, Greg.’
‘I know. And I’ve got to get going soon.’ He kissed her. ‘So Joe will make sure you’ve got everything you need today.’
She was in Rome. There was so much to see, so much to do, and she wanted to do it with Greg. Wanted him to show her this beautiful city. Jess swallowed her disappointment. ‘You have to go?’
‘Yeah. Sorry,
sweetheart, but I did tell you that this was a working visit.’
Yes, he’d told her. And Jess was beginning to understand that all the excuses she’d been making to herself were just that. Work came first. First, last and apparently most things in between.
‘Mmm. When do you think you’ll be back?’ She hated the tone that crept into her voice every time she asked that question. Needy. Wheedling.
Greg rolled out of bed and padded towards the bathroom. ‘I’m hoping to get this over quickly but I may be late. It depends.’
There wasn’t much point in asking what it depended on. When Greg said that he might be late, there was no need to wait up. ‘I’ll go and do some sightseeing, then, and you can always call me if you finish early. Is it all right for me to ask Joe if he’ll show me around?’ She followed him into the bathroom, watching as he stepped into the shower.
‘Of course.’
‘He’s not going to be busy with… whatever he does?’
Greg laughed, turning in the shower. ‘Going where you go is what he does for the next couple of days. I’m sure he’ll find it far more interesting to give you the grand tour than sit around all day.’
She’d hoped that Greg would find it more interesting to give her the grand tour than sitting around in a meeting all day. The thought seemed to stick in the back of her throat as the muscles there knotted into a lump and instinctively she swallowed.
‘Oh, and, by the way, he has a company credit card.’
‘Meaning?’
He laughed, leaning out of the shower to kiss her. A few drops of water fell onto her sweater and Jess brushed them away. ‘Meaning that if you want to go shopping, he’ll use it to pay the bill.’
‘So how was your weekend?’ Reena caught Jess on her way to the canteen on Monday morning.
