I jumped a little bit as I felt how close Jake was to me, leaning down to ask me that in a low voice, his hand hovering just ever so slightly against the small of my back. And God, even though he barely touched me, I felt it like he had his whole palm on me. I strode ahead of him, unable to bear it, and hurried for the doors, hoping the noise in my throat came out as a dismissive snort and not an aroused moan because honestly, I was torn between both. ‘You look smart, which is befitting the event,’ I replied, reverting to my haughty voice again.

‘Befitting? Are we back in the eighteenth century?’

A doorman opened the door and we stepped out into the early New York evening. I ignored the amusement in Jake’s voice and glanced across the road at the tall hotel that we would spending a lot of time in this week. There was a lot of pressure on both of our shoulders and I wondered if it was making us interact in a way we never would have done ordinarily.

‘We could just walk in the opposite direction,’ Jake said then from beside me, his gaze fixed on the conference hotel too.

I glanced at him in surprise. ‘Jake Richards is nervous? Is that even possible?’

He looked down at me. ‘Don’t you dare tell anyone,’ he said, taking me by surprise yet again.

My brain felt kind of fuzzy, trying to work out his personality. One second, he was the cool, calm, all-business Jake, making me feel embarrassed for my excitement at being in New York, but the next, he was admitting he needed my help, telling me that he felt nervous and giving me a look that suggested he liked how I looked tonight.

Who was the real Jake and why did I so desperately want to figure him out?

I forced myself to focus on what we were here to do. ‘We only need to stay for an hour and half. We can do it. You’ve got this,’ I told him firmly. I took my phone out of my bag and set the timer, holding it up to show him before I stowed it away again. I nodded at the crossing telling us it was okay to ‘walk’. ‘Let’s go.’

‘Only an hour and a half. Okay then,’ he agreed, stepping off the pavement too.

We walked across the road and through the door of the modern hotel, following the sign for the romance conference and heading towards the large banqueting room.