After meeting Jake Richards, I had found it hard to believe he had written things that had made my heart swell, my knees weak and my cheeks blush. That he believed in happy ever afters. But I assumed that was because I was nothing to him. A lowly assistant he only saw in a business setting. That underneath the stone-cold exterior, he did have a romantic heart like mine. Then he made those comments and I thought maybe the exterior he showed was actually the real man after all, and that made me feel betrayed like his other readers. I wondered if he realised how personally we had all taken his comments.

Jake sat silently for a moment and I wasn’t sure he was going to answer me then he opened his mouth to speak. He was cut off though as an announcement came on over the speaker, and we heard that our flight was now open for boarding.

‘Shall we?’ Jake said, getting up and gathering his things in one smooth motion. He started for the door and I was left scrambling to hurry after him, grabbing my croissant to eat on the way, feeling like he had been saved by the bell.

I followed Jake to the boarding queue and when our passes were checked, we walked onto the plane and headed for the front. I tried not to let my eyes widen too much when I saw first class for the first time in my life but it was really hard not to. Excitement replaced the earlier stress of the day. I couldn’t believe I was travelling this way. I took in the separate pods and the amount of space, the leg room I’d have, the fancy TV screens and the freebies they had left out for everyone. My eyes fell on a pair of silky pyjamas folded ready for me in my pod. ‘Oh my God, this is amazing,’ I said breathily in wonder.

‘Your first time?’

I jumped and turned to see Jake beside me, watching intently. He hovered by the pod opposite mine. I had forgotten for a moment we would be side by side for the flight.

I flushed as I nodded. ‘Yes,’ I said, thinking he must have flown first class hundreds of times. But it wasn’t like many people could afford it so I knew I shouldn’t let his scrutiny embarrass me. This wasn’t something to be nonchalant about. I had dreamed of being able to travel in style like this. ‘And I’m going to enjoy the hell out of it,’ I told both Jake and myself with a shrug. Then, I pulled out my phone to take a photo of my pod, ignoring the fact he was still watching me.

Afterwards, I sat down with a contented sigh. ‘Oh yes,’ I said, leaning back in the seat, which was approximately ten times more comfortable than economy ones.

‘A drink to settle in?’