Unaware of my mood, Sean smiles. “It’s nice to meet you, Laurie. Magnus has spoken a lot about you.” I flush, and Laurie directs a smug look at me. Unaware of the bomb he just dropped, Sean carries on. “Well, I must be off. I’m ordering room service and collapsing.”

I drag my attention from Laurie to find Sean looking between Laurie and me with an arrested expression on his face. He smiles at me. “Good night, Magnus. See you in the morning.”

“Bright and early. We need to go over closing statements again.”

He sketches a salute and lets himself into his room, leaving Laurie and I standing in silence.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I say, pleasure rushing through me.

I’ve spoken to him every night since I got here. At first, I tried to maintain a distance, but that was useless with him sending me funny texts all the time, so I’ve fallen into the habit of ringing him every night. I’ve told him funny bits about my days, and he’s made me laugh, and somehow, it’s made the time away fly. Seeing him in person, however, makes me realise how much I’ve missed him. I thrust that worrying thought away.

He grimaces. “It was a spur of the moment thing. I can go if you’d rather be alone.”

“No.” Endof cocks his head to look at me and I squirm. “No,” I say in a lower voice. “It’s nice to see you.”

We stand staring at each other for a second until Endof whines, and we both jerk our gazes towards him.

“Anyway,” Laurie says quickly, “I wanted to see how you were coping with Endof.”

“Really?” I’m unable to keep the disappointment from my voice.

His eyes fly to my face, and he hesitates before saying in a low voice, “No, I just wanted to see you. I missed you.”

Warmth runs through me, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I’ve reached heights in my career that few manage. I’ve been presented to the queen a few times and moved in very exalted circles, but nothing has affected me quite so much as this man saying he missed me. I shake my head to clear my thoughts.

“Well, come in,” I say far too heartily, judging by the tick of his lips. I let us into the suite.

He whistles. “Nice digs.”

I shrug. “I like the best. We’re staying here for a while, so I like to be comfortable.”

We’re staying at a grand old hotel overlooking the green expanse of Wollaton Park. It’s peaceful and quiet, which are two of my main prerequisites when I’m away working.