Page 128 of The Invitation

“I need to know what time I’m picking you up from work. You’re staying tonight.”

I wince. “I have to go see my parents after work.” And after doing absolutely no work this weekend, I’m unusually behind. I can’t take my eye off the ball; I’ve come too far.

“Oh,” Jude grumbles. “Does that mean I’m not seeing you tonight?”

“It’s a lot, going back and forth to Oxfordshire during the week,” I say, getting up to stretch my legs.

“I’ll come to you then.”

I look at the stack of files I’ve yet to draft my recommendation letters for. If Jude comes to me, I still won’t get any work done. He’s a wonderful distraction from work, but I have to control it.

“Can we do tomorrow?” I ask, feeling the disappointment myself. I miss him. So,somuch. “I have to catch up, and after Friday with the partners, it’s important I keep myself a step ahead.”

There’s a slight, uncomfortable pause before he sighs. “I get it,” he says, and I deflate, relieved he’s not going to give me a hard time about it. Jude can be quite convincing when he wants to be.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t ever apologise for having to work, okay? I’ll get over it. I know how important your job is to you.”

I lower to my chair slowly, my heart swelling. “You’re important to me too,” I reply quietly, almost unsure if I should voice it.

“And you are to me,” he says softly. “Hence, I want to hog all your time.”

I laugh, reaching for my pen and tapping it on the desk. Damn, I want to see him. “Can you do lunch?” I ask, checking the time. I could steal an hour.

“Wish I could. I’ve got a few meetings Anouska needs me to sit in on. Wait a minute.” He falls silent, and then a request comes through to FaceTime. I quickly jump up and close my office door, accepting. And the moment his face appears, I sigh. “There she is,” he muses, his phone at arm’s length as he walks. He’s suited and booted. His scruff is on the perfect side of not too neat. Delicious.

“Where are you?” I return to my desk and sit, propping my phone up against my computer screen.

“On my way to meet the sommelier in the wine cellar to review the wine list.”

“So you’ll be drinking on the job again?” I ask, making him smile and rake a hand through his hair. He’s so fucking handsome I could cry.

“I just wanted to see your face.” He slows to a stop and leans against a wall, staring at me. “To get me through the next twenty-four hours.”

“You’re cute when you’re romantic.” I bite at my lip, and Jude smirks.

“Have you heard from any of the partners today?”

“They’ve all stopped by to say hi.”

“You’ve obviously made an impact,” he says. “I can relate.”

I laugh. Oh, the scale of impact Jude Harrison has had on me has left me in pieces. But my heart is still intact.

He looks past the camera and nods, holding a hand up to someone. “Shit, I’ve got to dash.”

“Okay.”

“Amelia?”

“What?”

There’s a long, stretched silence. “I miss you.”

My nose scrunches, my lips pressed together to stop my beam from breaking. “I miss you too.”

Jude laughs under his breath, almost embarrassed. “I better go before you turn me into a full-on lump of cheddar.”

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