Page 74 of Another Lucky Number

‘OK, let’s work that out then. Is this to do with Sébastien?’

‘Yes.’

‘About the fact that I dropped your hand when he appeared?’

‘That. And the way the two of you look at each other.’

‘Wait, what?I don’t look at Sébastien in anyway.’

James sighs. ‘You do, Emma. And he sure does in return. That might as well have been a table of one he rocked up at earlier. The rest of us were practically invisible to him. It’s ridiculous if you can’t see it yourself.’

I look at the floor. There’s no point in denying that I sense some level of chemistry between Sébastien and I. James is smart and he’s picked up on it. I must be respectful of that.

‘Look, James… I admit that I find Sébastien attractive, and I am aware that there’s some kind of connection between us, but there’s no substance to it. I already told you about what happened when I went for dinner with him. I—’

‘I know. You made it clear you weren’t interested and so did he. But the problem is: that’s all bullshit. You might have indicated to him that you like someone else, and he might have glossed over his interest in you and thrown the job interview into the mix, but—’

‘Hold on. Are you suggesting Sébastien’s only interviewing me for the role to get in my knickers?’ I narrow my eyes at him. ‘Do you have the slightest idea how that sounds?’

‘Fuck, sorry.’ James rubs the back of his neck in frustration. ‘Don’t even know why I said that. I’m not—’

‘Good at this kind of chat?’

‘You could say that.’

‘Where’s the articulate, self-assured James I’ve come across at almost every turn over the last few weeks?’

‘We all have off days, eh?’ He offers me a shameful smile and this is all it takes for my hackles to disintegrate.

‘Please will you sit down?’ I ask again, and this time he does and I sit beside him. ‘How aboutIgo first, because you’re making an arse of this, and I wanted to talk to you anyway.’

‘Fine by me.’

‘All right. You might have been behaving like a sulky teenager – your words, not mine – but I understand why and I want to apologise.’

‘You don’t owe me any apologies, Emma. You can’t help how you feel. I’m the one with the issue here.’

‘I thoughtIwas speaking?’ I nudge him affectionately.

‘Sorry. Yup. Go.’

‘Thank you. I want to apologise for dropping your hand and undermining what we have in doing that. To be clear, I didn’t do it because IfancySébastien, I did it because he might end up being my boss – and it felt weird showing that side of me to him.’

James’s expression clears. ‘I didn’t think about it like that.’

‘That’s why it’s good to deal with things rather than go off in a huff.’ I give him another playful push and he smiles sheepishly. ‘Anyway, what’s really important is for me to reassure you thatnothingis going to happen between me and Sébastien.’

‘You can’t guarantee that. Feelings can develop quickly and things can happen in the heat of the moment, especially if you end up working for him.’

‘Are you talking from experience?’

‘If you’re asking if I’ve been cheated on, the answer is yes, but I’m not sure that’s the issue here. All I know is that I like you – a hell of a lot. Sure, I’m normally more confident, but can you blame me for losing it a bit when I’m competing with a super human specimen like Sébastien. I’m not into men, but I can see what I’m up against – and I don’t like my chances.’

I smile at his honesty. ‘Well,Ido. I like your chances very much, because to me, you’re every bit as appealing as Sébastien – and more.’

‘OK…’ He seems doubtful.

‘Imeanit. You need a lot more than raw chemistryto make things work with someone. You need to click at a deeper level, and I thinkwedo.’

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