He laughed. ‘I’ll watch myself. But just because one of my character’s might have said it, all those lines were written by me and I’d never say anything romantic to you that I didn’t mean.’

‘I think dating a romance author could be dangerous,’ I replied. ‘Oh, not saying we’re dating but you know what I mean; if you tell me romantic lines, I might get carried away…’ I said then cringed at myself. ‘See? I always get carried away and say stupid things in front of you!’

‘I told you – I like the fact you say what you’re thinking. Back on the bridge, I was dying to know what you were thinking after we kissed,’ Jake reassured me with a smile. ‘And maybe I want you to get carried away, Freya.’

I was still staring at him as we reached the front of the queue and were asked for our order. He wanted me to get carried away? This man really was trouble…

I ordered an iced coffee as it was such a lovely day and Jake ordered a latte then we both got a cream cheese bagel. Jake led us to the Battery – a park where we found a bench overlooking the Hudson River. We sat down and as we started to eat and drink, Jake pointed out the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

‘So surreal,’ I admitted, shaking my head at the fact that I was looking at such an iconic landmark for real. We sat in silence for a minute, drinking and eating, as we took in another amazing view.

The silence was a contented one. Which for me was unusual. For maybe the first time in my life, I didn’t feel the need to shatter the calm by talking or trying to find out what the person next to me was thinking, or believing that I needed to entertain them. It again felt so far out of my comfort zone; I wasn’t sure what was happening when I was around Jake but I hadn’t experienced anything quite like it before. I liked it, though.

After a minute, Jake turned to me. ‘Are you okay?’

I met his gaze. ‘Yes. Why?’

‘I don’t know; you’re quiet so I was worried.’

That made me smile. ‘I suppose I’m usually not great at letting silences drag on. But this was… nice.’

‘It’s nice being here with you,’ Jake agreed. His words made my heart stutter a little bit that he felt the same way I did.

‘You ever have a moment and wish you could just freeze it and let it exist for hours and hours?’ I asked.