A moment’s pause, then, just as unexpectedly, I wrapped my arms round his waist. We both needed this, to take comfort from each other. Apart from my mum and Jon, no one else knew what we were going through. In this, we were all the other had. Tobey’s arms tightened round me as I buried my face in the curve of his neck, my eyes closed. I drank him in, the fresh smell of him, the hard yet gentle feel of him. It felt good. Comforting. In his arms, I didn’t feel so alone. Sometimes, like now, I felt so close to Tobey, as if I could just step inside him and we’d merge, becoming the one entity we were always meant to be. And, as one, we’d be stronger, smarter. Practically invincible. Blushing at the way my imagination was running away with me, I stepped back out of his arms.

‘Callie—’

A ding, and the lift doors hissed open. His hands dropped to his sides as he reluctantly let me go. Two close-protection officers I’d never seen before stood on either side of his front door.

Tobey acknowledged them with a nod, then opened the door to his apartment, standing to one side to usher me in.

Once the door was firmly closed behind him, I took a moment or two to compose myself before turning round.

‘Why d’you live here when you have a huge official residence you could be using?’

‘Until the case against me is dismissed, it was decided I should stay here.’

‘Why?’

Tobey shrugged. ‘I’m officially taking some time off to handle private matters, so it’s only right I do that from here, working behind the scenes. Besides, sometimes it’s easier to distinguish between political friends and the back-stabbing bastards from a distance. Some of those appointed by me in my government are already scheming to take my place.’

The landline phone on the side table beside one of the sofas began to ring. On the laptop computer on the desk in one corner of the room, email after email kept arriving. Luckily, Tobey had either the sound down or his audible alerts off, otherwise his laptop would be pinging constantly. He answered the phone, listening carefully before turning his back on me to speak. I moved away from him, not wanting to eavesdrop.

A knock at the door. I opened it.

‘A package just arrived for Mr Durbridge. It’s been scanned and is safe,’ said one of Tobey’s protection officers. ‘May I leave it on the post table?’

‘By all means,’ I replied, hoping she knew where that was because I didn’t.