The electricity sparked inside her. It was still there. Abby was still there. Jordan could feel it. Or had the near desperation of the plane been Abby’s version of a last hurrah before she signed on the dotted line with Marcus? Had she been using Jordan to get something out of her system? It hadn’t felt like that at the time, but looking back, the truth was staring her in the face.

She stopped running abruptly, hands on her thighs, trying to catch her breath. Her heart was beating so fast, it almost caught in her throat.

How could she have been so stupid?

She glanced up at Karen. It was hopeless, wasn’t it?

“I don’t know how we left it. She said we’d meet for lunch. Carry on working together. But now she’s pulling back, changing things around.”

Karen stroked her back. It was soothing. Jordan needed it. The world didn’t make sense right now. It was swirling around her, and it was out of control.

Jordan was out of control. She hated that feeling.

“Can I do anything to help?”

Jordan shook her head. This was her mess, and she had to work out how to get out of it.

“Then here’s my advice before I race you home. You ready?”

Jordan brought herself up to standing. “I’m all ears.”

“You need to see her and talk to her. You need to find out what she’s thinking, and work out a proper plan of action. Whether you carry on working with her or not. If you carry on, you figure out some boundaries and an exit strategy. If you decide to stop working with her, you agree on an excuse — a family emergency or something. It happens. But the main thing is that you need clarity. So does she, come to that. She’s the one getting married.”

“I know.”

“Let’s run home and then you can call her and arrange to see her. If she doesn’t answer, go to London anyway. She’s not calling the shots here. You’ve got a lot on the line, too. So take control. Okay?”

Karen was right.

Jordan needed to get this back on track.

She needed to start project managing her bride once again, rather than the other way around.

Chapter 24

Abby sat in her firm’s green meeting room, opposite her boss, Neil. He was smiling at her in a strange manner she couldn’t quite pin down. He was wearing too much aftershave again, along with a cerise-pink tie that should be illegal. What did Neil do for fun? She’d love to know.