Page 79 of The One That I Want

‘What is?’

‘That a woman like you would have someone like Tiggy as a best friend,’ he says.

Our eyes meet and his bore into mine and, once again, the mood between us shifts.

I have someseriousunpacking to do after this.

21

GRETA

We step out into the cool, evening air and, as I’m now convinced weareon a date, I suddenly feel awkward. It’s been easy to pretend we’re simply two friends out for dinner whileactually eatingdinner, but this is the part of the evening where a goodnight kiss would typically occur.

Do Iwantto kiss Ewan? I stare at his mouth, the question looming large in my mind as the silence between us grows.

‘Is everything all right?’ he asks.

‘Absolutely,’ I lie and my response is so over-the-top enthusiastic, his lips part in surprise.

‘Oh good. You just seem… Never mind,’ he says with a smile. I note with disappointment that it doesn’t reach his eyes, which in the dusk light are darker blue than usual. Even if I decided Ididwant to kiss Ewan, the mood between us is now decidedlyun-datelike.

‘Would you like me to walk you to Charing Cross station?’ he offers.

‘Oh… Thank you, but then you’d have to double back. I’ll be fine,’ I reply.

He nods. ‘I had a lovely time tonight, Greta.’

‘Me too,’ I reply.

‘We should have dinner again next week – I think it’s my turn to choose, or perhaps we could try someplace neither of us have been, if you like?’

‘I’d like that,’ I say.

Then he leans down and presses his lips softly to my cheek. When he steps back, his cologne – one of Tom Ford’s, I think – lingers in the air between us. He flashes me another smile and says, ‘Goodnight, Greta. See you at The Daily Grind.’

‘See you,’ I say, then we head off in opposite directions, disappointment settling into the pit of my stomach like a lump of lead.

I did want to kiss Ewan.

‘Bex, can you stay back for a moment,’ I ask after the editorial meeting. Taj and Lisa leave, and Bex fixes me with an inquisitive smile.

‘You did a great job editing “Dating Horrors”,’ I say when we’re alone. As no one besides Bex and Anjali know it’smydating ‘adventures’ that are kicking off the series, we’re aiming to maintain my anonymity indefinitely.

‘Thanks,’ she says with a glint in her eye. ‘I’m so excited about the column. It’s going to be brilliant – especially when we start incorporating reader contributions,’ she adds, referring to her inspired idea to keep the series going. ‘Terrific for online engagement.’

‘You sound like a managing editor in the making,’ I say proudly.

‘Aww,’ she says with a modest head tilt. ‘That’s the dream.’

I’m glad Bex and I got past our blip. I still have a lot to learn about being a boss, but I appreciate the lessons learnt from our recent conflict: be accountable, be transparent, andtrust.

‘Right, we should get back to our desks,’ I say. ‘There’s still a bit to do before the end of the day.’

‘Aren’t you heading to the coffee shop this morning?’ she asks as we walk towards my office.

I’mnotgoing to the coffee shop because I’m steering clear of The Daily Grind until I can get my head around what’s happening between me and Ewan. It’s been two days since our dinner at The Port House and every moment outside ofNouveauhas been spent unpacking what happened – mostly at the end of the evening. How the hell didn’t I see it sooner – the shift in my friendship with Ewan to something potentially… well,romantic?

AndI’ve got a date with Harrison tomorrow night.

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