I couldn’t deny the fact that I liked it when I saw a different side of Jake than I had the past six months before this trip. A side that wasn’t the cold, reserved, business-like author but a glimpse of who he was as a man. A side that I wondered whether I could really like. A side that was at odds with him lying about Kelly Shepperd’s article. Which side was the true Jake? Maybe getting out of a work setting with him might help me to find out. So, I nodded finally.

‘Well, okay then, if you’re sure.’

He smiled. ‘Where in New York have you most wanted to go?’

A thrill ran through me at being able to go somewhere that I had wanted to see. ‘I’d love to go to the library,’ I said eagerly. I remembered seeing it in Sex and the City, and I had vowed to see it for myself one day.

‘Of course. Finished your breakfast?’

I drained the remaining drops of my coffee. ‘All done.’

‘Need to get anything from your room or to get changed?’

‘You think I need to change?’ I looked down at my dress and boots, knowing Jake was dressed far smarter than me.

‘Of course not. That outfit is… you,’ Jake replied. ‘Let’s go.’

It took me a second to get up and follow him after he said that. I thought about how startled he was when I was dressed up on the first night here. I assumed it was because he didn’t think I was capable of looking elegant but he had just been surprised because it hadn’t seemed like… me.

Which was exactly the way I had felt.

* * *

Stepping out of the hotel lobby, we both blinked as the New York morning sunshine beamed down upon us. The quiet, air-conditioned, dimly lit hotel was replaced by cars honking, people walking past with iced coffees, a bright-blue sky and warmth on our skin.

‘Let’s walk so you can see as much as possible on the way,’ Jake suggested, setting off at a brisk pace. He soon slowed down when he realised I was struggling to keep up with his much longer limbs, though. ‘When I first came here, I was overwhelmed,’ he said as I glanced around, drinking the energy all around me in. I looked up at the skyscrapers leaning in on us, the sun sparkling off the shiny glass, feeling incredibly insignificant in comparison. ‘It’s so frantic and so big but once you adjust, you fit right in.’

‘But you didn’t seem happy to be back here,’ I pointed out.

Jake shook his head. ‘I’m sorry. I could see how excited you were. And on the plane.’

‘You found it irritating,’ I said with a shrug because I wasn’t bothered, I was excited and didn’t want to have to pretend otherwise.