By the time she returned to the office, James’s offer didn’t sound too bad. The occasional night out might even be quite nice, mixing with movers and shakers. It would lift her out of her humdrum existence, and James could be quite funny, so spending a bit of time with him might not be such a terrible thing. It wasn’t like a blind date or anything; wouldn’t be awkward in that way. And if she’d read it wrong and he started making moves on her, then she’d tell him the deal was off and accept the consequences.

She pushed the office door open with her bottom and swung into the room. That’s it. Set boundaries and make sure he knows what they are.

He glanced up when she put his mug on the desk, and she drew herself up to her full height. ‘Right, I’ve been thinking about your deal. I can manage the odd night out, and I’m fine about helping you with your family business, but I need plenty of notice so I can arrange babysitting.’

He pursed his lips, looked puzzled. ‘Aren’t the girls old enough to babysit?’

She gave a wry smile. ‘Oh yes. Technically they are. But Ezra won’t let them put him to bed. He makes a right fuss. We’ve had to come home from nights out a few times, and in the end we stopped trying. Then we discovered that he doesn’t object to my sister, Hailey, because apparently she smells like me and she sounds like me and she reads stories just like me. And that,’ she said with a smile in her voice, as she thought about her little boy, ‘makes it all okay.’

James laughed. ‘Kids. They’re all so different, aren’t they?’

‘They are that. You’ve never said, but… have you got children?’ There was so much she didn’t know about James; their conversations were generally about work-related things.

He looked down at the desk. ‘I do. I have a daughter. But I don’t see her because her mother…’ He stopped and picked up his mug, took a sip and put it back down.

Sara blushed, embarrassed that she’d asked, making a mental note to avoid talking about families when they went out. Boundaries, she reminded herself. Tell him about boundaries.

She cleared her throat. His eyes met hers. ‘I just… I need to make it clear that nothing romantic is involved in this agreement. I love my husband, we’re very happy together and I’m not going to do anything to put our relationship in danger.’