Grand Central Station was stunning. I couldn’t help but have a little fantasy while I was there about kissing someone right in the middle before they went off to do something heroic. When Jake asked what I thought of the station, I quickly pulled myself out of my reverie to tell him it was as impressive as it had always appeared to be on film.

When we left, I asked if we could take a proper look at Central Park. Jake suggested we headed for The Lake, so we walked there together. It was beautiful with the trees and bushes framing it and above were skyscrapers looking down on the clear water like they were keeping watch over it. It was such a gorgeous late afternoon, the light danced and sparkled on top of the water and it felt that not only was I seeing something I had seen in so many movies, but like I was in one myself.

‘This is my favourite part of the day,’ I declared when we paused in our walk. My feet ached despite my comfy cowboy boots. We must have done thousands of steps. But I was a happy kind of tired. I knew I would feel achy tomorrow but it was worth it. I was here in New York and the stress of what we’d been through at the conference melted away with my happiness at drinking in this magical and vibrant city. And I was surprised by how at ease I now felt with Jake.

‘This has always been one of my favourite New York spots,’ Jake agreed. ‘You feel so removed from the city. And yet it’s right there above and around us. This park is a little oasis in the middle of such urban sprawl. I know we have beautiful parks in London and I love walking through them, but this is special. I love looking at the skyscrapers reflected on the water. Nature reminding us it’s here for us to appreciate and look after.’

‘You can tell you’re a writer,’ I joked. I liked it when he talked poetically. ‘I could never write anything. I don’t have an imagination. That’s why I want to help books get into the world instead.’

‘I think that’s the perfect goal for an agent; plenty of them don’t have the same passion for stories.’

I glanced at him. ‘Like Hayley?’

‘She is great at the business side of things, as I’m sure you know, but I never get the impression she loves books like I can tell you do,’ Jake said. We faced each other. Central Park was busy but I found myself only focused on him. ‘When you talked about reading When I Met You, your whole face lit up.’

I smiled, a little bit embarrassed at how I had fangirled over his latest book. ‘Well, it’s a really great book, Jake.’