I hesitated, unsure if I should be spending more time with him not in a work situation. This was supposed to be a trip to help our careers, and it wasn’t going the way we had hoped. This felt like we were running away from the problem almost. Plus, although I was drawn to this man, I wasn’t sure if I could trust him.

‘Freya, will you have faith in me, please? I promise you there is a good reason for all of this and in time, I hope I can share it with you. Out of anyone here, it’s you who I want to share it with,’ Jake said then, surprising me again. ‘I need time, though.’ He stood up. ‘Come on, let’s have some fun. All this will be waiting for us later, right?’ His lips curved into a mischievous smile and I couldn’t resist smiling back.

With an exhale, I pushed myself up from the bench. ‘This feels like a bad idea but I would like to see more of the city,’ I said. I also hoped that spending more time with Jake might let me see more of who he really was and allow me to have faith in him. Because right now, I really wasn’t sure if I could.

‘You won’t regret it,’ he promised, leading the way.

I followed, really hoping that I wouldn’t.

17

Jake continued being a good tour guide like he had been when he took me to the library. He really knew the city and pointed things out to me if he thought I had missed them, asked me where I wanted to go next, and had no complaints when I suggested another tourist spot that I wanted to see.

‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’ I asked as we headed for Grand Central Station after we had walked around Rockefeller Center.

‘No, I told you I’m enjoying seeing the city through your eyes. Remembering what it was like to come here for the first time.’

‘Who did you come here with?’ I asked, wondering if he’d had a romantic break with an ex. I couldn’t help but feel curious about his love life after he knew how crap mine had been.

‘My parents,’ he said, glancing at me before looking ahead again. ‘I was a cynical teenager but this city won me over. It was bright and vivid and enthusiastic.’ He looked at me again. ‘How could I resist?’

I liked the smile that was playing on his face. ‘That does sound like a good combination,’ I said, smiling back.

‘An irresistible one you could say. We’re here.’

I swallowed and followed Jake inside, taken aback by that flirty exchange but enjoying more than I should have done.