Those four words stared up at me, making my heart do a funny little skippy thing. He had listened to what I had told him outside Hayley’s office about how I had felt about him, about us, when we had been in New York.

But not only had he said he felt the same way, he had used present tense. He feels the same way. My lips curved into a smile.

I picked up the proof copy and opened it up, excited to see it taking shape into a published book. Flicking to the first page, I saw the dedication. Then I did a double take and re-read it.

‘Oh my God,’ I said out loud.

One of my new colleagues asked if I was okay and, embarrassed at talking to myself, I told him I was fine, then bent my head and looked at the page again.

For Freya. It was a meet-cute.

I closed the proof and leaned back in my desk chair, my pulse picking up. I couldn’t believe it. Not only had Jake sent me the book with a cute note; he had dedicated it to me!! I closed my eyes briefly and thought back to embarrassing myself when we’d gone to Heathrow airport. Jake had remembered it too and was telling both me, and everyone who read this book, that that had been a meet-cute. It had been the moment he saw me as something more than Hayley’s assistant. He had been attracted to me. Drawn to me like I was to him. He’d noticed me and not in a bad way. I thought he had looked down on me and I had been intimidated by him.

But we clearly both had been attracted to one another from the start of our trip.

I still thought of our kiss outside my hotel room as the best of my life so far. I still missed being in his arms. And the way he looked at me. Yes, we were different. Yes, he was older and richer. Yes, we both had trust issues. We weren’t sure we believed in love or happy ever afters. But we had still taken a chance in New York and had an amazing, romantic and passionate time there together. We’d run away from the risk of a relationship. Jake wasn’t running away now, though. Like my speech to him outside Hayley’s office, he was being honest about his feelings.

If we both felt the same, what then?

I looked at the time. It was the end of the day. I grabbed my things, including the proof of Jake’s book, and threw them into my bag. I then pulled out my phone, waving to Simon as I passed by his door. He was still on his phone and gave me a thumbs-up.

Once I got outside the building, I called Hayley’s office and was relieved when Ellen on reception picked up.