‘I can’t wait to tell Liv the good news,’ I said down the phone. I hung up and leaned back in my desk chair, swivelling it around to look out at the London skyline. I would never get tired of the view from up here. After a year working for Simon, I now had my own office opposite his and I loved it. I had signed Liv a year ago, the first author to my own client list, and her book contract with her previous publisher had now ended so I had been working the last few weeks on finding her the best deal I could elsewhere. I had grown to know the team at Turn the Pages really well – not only did they publish Jake but also Tessa, and Liv was best friends with Stevie, who worked as a publicist there so we all had hoped they might want to take her on. And now the official offer had come in from Gita, who was hopefully going to be her editor there. I knew Liv would be over the moon. They wanted four romance novels from her and had a great plan for making her a big success.

I sent Liv a message to ask her to come into the office tomorrow as I wanted to tell her face to face and go over the deal with her, ensuring it was exactly what she wanted. Then I turned off my laptop, grabbed my things and left work. Evening had fallen over the city and it had been a long, busy day so I was looking forward to going home. I took the Tube to Knightsbridge and walked to the Edwardian apartment block that I had fallen head over heels for. I had held out for as long as possible but Jake and I had spent so much time together here that it became crazy not to officially move in. I let myself into the flat and smiled when the smell of something delicious hit me.

‘I’m home!’ I called out, taking off my cowboy boots and putting my bag down on the console table. I let out a breath like I always did when the city was shut out, the work day was over, and I could come into this sanctuary.

I walked into the kitchen where Jake was stirring something on the cooker. Jazz music was playing softly in the background and he was bopping along as he stirred. Two glasses of wine were poured and ready on the island, and a Jo Malone candle flickered next to them, its fruity scent mingling with the smell of what Jake was cooking.