“It was, until about a year ago. Clients cut their budgets, which meant agencies cut their staff. It’s a fairly simple equation. If the work isn’t out there, they don’t need people.”

“But you’re brilliant at your job. Before you met me you’d had two big promotions within a year. You were the rising star of the company.”

He walked in silence, his boots crunching on the frozen surface. “That was then. Things changed. Given the situation they were in, I probably would have let me go, too.”

“What changed?”

“I did.” They walked down a narrow lane that wound its way past fields and farm buildings toward the village. “I changed. I lost my edge.” It was a big admission from anyone, particularly Seb who, when she first met him, had been full of self-confidence and self-belief.

It would have been simple to say, Don’t be silly or I’m sure you’re wrong about that, but to do that would have been to dismiss his thoughts and feelings. Right now she wanted to know every single thing that was on his mind.

“What makes you say that?”

“My favorite part of the job was pitching to new clients. Looking at their goals and their issues, working out how to communicate with their customers. I was always good at that.”

“I know. You found it fun and stimulating. You’d be working on new business pitches until midnight, and you were always so excited when you won. Which you did. Often.”

“Yes.” He licked his lips. “Not lately. As I said, I lost my edge. Couldn’t quite find that extra something that made the difference.”

“But you were still working for the same company. Same people. What changed?”

He dug his hands deep into his pockets. “I guess it started to matter.”

“Matter?”

“Getting it right. Doing it well. Doing it better. Getting the next promotion, climbing the ladder.”

She was confused. “But wasn’t that always what you were doing?”

“Not consciously. In the beginning I lived in the moment. Went from pitch to pitch, from success to success. I treated the job like a game of poker. The aim was to win, beat the competition, and I employed every strategy in the book to do it. It was fun.” He gave a shrug, as if that was something that should have embarrassed him. “Gave me a buzz.”

“You won some huge accounts.”

“Yes. But that was before.”

They’d reached the edge of the village. Tiny lights were strung between the trees, and the shop windows gleamed with red ribbons and baubles. The main street led to the village green, which was surrounded by pretty cottages with thatched roofs and ivy creeping up the honey-colored walls. Rising in the distance was the spire of the thirteenth-century church that had once been the heart of the village. The place felt a million miles from the busy streets of London.

Normally, Christy would have been savoring the festive atmosphere, but right now all her focus was on Seb.