BooksBarbecue
Back Long Story Short Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. EPILOGUE
  55. THANK YOU!
  56. MORE FROM VICTORIA WALTERS
  57. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  58. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  59. ALSO BY VICTORIA WALTERS
  60. Boldwood Ever After
  61. About Boldwood Books

‘Ellen, I know this is kind of unorthodox but can I ask a huge favour?’ I pleaded down the phone.

48

I stood on the pavement and looked up at the building in front of me. It was an Edwardian apartment building in Knightsbridge and the contrast to my shared flat in Clapham couldn’t have been starker. I wavered about what to do. I had obtained Jake’s home address from Ellen after seeing how he’d dedicated his book to me. Now, I felt like I should have text or called him instead of just showing up. Maybe a neutral ground would have been easier in hindsight. This displayed once again how different the two of our lives were. And yet, I didn’t want to walk away. Did it matter that our lives were different? Clearly opposites attracted when it came to us. New York had proved that. And we both still thought about it. I told Jake as much and now he had said he felt the same.

Pulling out the proof copy of When I Met You he’d sent me, I re-read the dedication and that spurred me on.

I walked inside and was greeted by a concierge. I asked for Jake’s flat and had to give my name so there was an awkward couple of minutes while I waited for him to call Jake. But the concierge waved me up, and I hurried into the lift, relieved Jake hadn’t refused to see me. Nerves settled in the pit of my stomach as the lift climbed to the top floor to Jake’s penthouse apartment. My heart was pounding inside my chest.

The lift doors slid open so I stepped out and the door ahead, the only one on the top floor, opened up and there stood Jake.

‘Freya, this is a nice surprise,’ he said, breaking into a smile as I walked up to him. His smile eased my nerves a bit. He looked the way he had outside Hayley’s office the other day: his facial hair unkempt, circles under his eyes, pale skin and his hair was tousled. He wore jeans and a white t-shirt, the most casual I had seen him since we first met. The style suited him but I didn’t like the fact he seemed unlike himself.

‘Are you okay?’ I blurted out before I could phrase it more tactfully. ‘You look tired.’ I bit my lip immediately, hoping he wouldn’t take offence.

Jake stared at me for a moment, those piercing eyes of his looking deep into mine. Then he started laughing. ‘Like I said, you’re not like anyone else I know. Are you coming in?’

I smiled, relieved I hadn’t pissed him off. ‘Yes, please.’