‘I’ll find something.’ I finish the most scrumptious coffee I’ve ever had.
‘Put me in your diary for Friday afternoon…all afternoon.’
‘What?’ I feel my brow knit.
He takes a wad of notes out of his pocket and puts five twenties in the leather bound book that the waiter has just left. One hundred pounds for breakfast? That’s my new dress!
‘Make Mr Ward a Friday afternoon appointment. Say, one-ish.’ His greens are dancing with delight. ‘We’ll go dress shopping and there will be no rush to get ready for the party.’
‘I can’t book out my whole afternoon for one appointment!’ I splutter in disbelief. Mr unreasonable is back.
‘You can and you will. I’m paying him enough.’ He stands and makes his way to my side of the table. ‘You need to tell Patrick that you’re living with me. I’m not pussy footing around him for much longer.’
Am I living with him? I stand, taking the hand he has offered, and let him lead me out of the restaurant. No, he won’t pussy foot around. He’ll just keep trampling him instead. ‘It will make things awkward.’ I try to reason. ‘He won’t be impressed, Jesse. And I don’t want him to think that I’m slacking instead of working if I should have any business meetings with you.’
‘I couldn’t give a fuck what he thinks. If he doesn’t like it, then you’ll retire.’ he says, marching on, dragging me behind him.
Retire? I love my job, and I love Patrick too. He’s joking. ‘You’re going to trample him, aren’t you?’ I say warily. My man is like a Rhinoceros.
The valet hands him his car keys and Jesse slips him a fifty. A fifty? Just for parking and returning his car? Granted, it is a very nice car, but still.
He turns into me, grazes his palm down my cheek and circles his nose on mine. ‘Are we friends?’ His minty freshness hits me like a bulldozer.
‘Yes,’ I submit, but judging by the last few minutes’ conversation, I don’t expect we will be for long. Retire? ‘Thank you for breakfast.’
He smiles. ‘Anytime. Where are you going now?’
‘The Royal Park.’
‘Near Lancaster Gate? I’ll take you.’ He presses his lips hard onto mine and pushes his hips gently forward.
I gasp.
He can’t thrust me outside The Ritz! I hear him laugh at my shock before he pulls me towards his car. The valet opens the door for me, and I smile sweetly before climbing in. After Jesse has slid in behind the wheel and given my knee a quick squeeze, he roars off into the mid-morning, London traffic at his usual alarming speed. I wonder how many points he has on his license.
So, I’ve just had a business breakfast with Mr Ward, of which the only business we discussed is crazy stuff. ‘What am I going to tell Patrick?’ I turn and look at him. Oh, he is so handsome.
‘What, about us?’ He flicks his eyes to me. His frown line is firmly in place.
‘No, about our business breakfast. What have we discussed?’
He shrugs. ‘Tell him we’ve agreed fees and I want you at The Manor on Friday to finalise the designs.’
‘You make it sound so simple.’ I sigh, sitting back in my seat and looking across the parks.
He places his hand on my knee and squeezes. ‘Baby, you make it sound so complicated.’
Jesse screeches up outside The Royal Park and waves a delighted looking valet away when he approaches to collect Jesse’s car.
‘I’ll see you at home.’ He wraps his palm around the back of my neck and yanks me over to him, taking his time to say his goodbye. I let him. I could crawl all over him. Sod the valet stood close by, looking longingly at the DBS.
‘Six-ish.’ I confirm as he kisses the corner of my mouth.
He grins. ‘ish.’
I know it’s not the right time to approach the subject, but it’s going to eat away at me for the rest of the day. He can’t be serious, surely? ‘I can’t retire at twenty six.’
He sits back in his seat, the stupid, sodding cogs kicking into action. It worries me instantly. He is serious. ‘I told you, I don’t like sharing you.’
‘That’s stupid.’ I blurt, which was obviously wrong, judging by the scowl that has just flashed across his face.
‘Don’t call me stupid, Ava.’
‘I wasn’t calling you stupid. I was calling your ambitious intention stupid.’ I argue quietly. ‘I’m never going to leave you.’ I reach over and slide my hand across the back of his neck. Does he need re-assurance on this?
His lip disappears between his teeth as he stares at the steering wheel of the DBS. ‘That doesn’t stop people from trying to take you. I can’t let that happen.’ He turns tortured eyes onto me. It punches a massive hole in my stomach.
‘What people?’ I ask, alarm clear in my tone.
He shakes his head. ‘No specific people. I don’t deserve you, Ava, but by some fucking miracle, I’ve got you. I’ll protect you fiercely – eliminate any threat.’ His hands slide over the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white from his harsh grip. ‘Okay, we need to stop talking about this because I’m feeling a bit violent.’
I sit and look across at my beautiful, neurotic control freak and wish I could give him the reassurance that he needs. My words won’t ever work. I absolutely realise that now. I’m also fully aware that what he actually means is he’ll eliminate any male threat to him, not me.
I undo my belt and crawl across the car to straddle his lap, with complete disregard for the valet, who is still dribbling all over the DBS. I pull his face up to mine, cupping his cheeks and lowering my lips to his. He moans and slides his hands around to clench my bum and pull me in towards his hips. I want him to take me back to Lusso right now, but I can’t brush Mikael off.
Our tongues slowly sweep together, rolling, pulling back and plunging again, time and time again. I ache with need for this man – painful, constant aching, and I know he feels exactly the same about me.
I pull back and find his eyes clenched shut. I’ve seen that look before, and the last time I saw it, it was because he had something to tell me. ‘What’s wrong?’ I ask nervously.
His eyes fly open quickly, like he’s suddenly realised that he was pulling a complete give away face. ‘Nothing is wrong.’ He brushes away a loose tendril of my hair. ‘Everything is right.’
I stiffen in his lap. He’s said that before too, and everything really wasn’t right. ‘You have something you want to tell me.’ I state it as a fact.
‘You’re right, I do.’ His head drops, and I feel sick – stomach churning sick, but then his eyes lift again and find mine. ‘I crazy love you, baby.’
I recoil slightly. ‘That’s not what you want to tell me.’ I say suspiciously.
He reduces me to a pool of steam on his lap when he blasts me with his smile, reserved only for women. ‘Yes, it is. And I’ll keep telling you until you get fed up of hearing it. It’s a novelty to me.’ He shrugs. ‘I like saying it.’
‘I won’t get fed up of hearing it, and don’t be saying it to anyone else. I don’t care how much you like saying it.’
He grins, a real boyish, cheeky grin. ‘Would that make you jealous?’
I scoff. ‘Mr Ward, let’s not talk about jealously when you’ve just vowed to eliminate any threat.’ I say dryly.
‘Okay, let’s not.’ He pulls me in and rolls his hips upwards, unearthing a wicked beat at my very centre. ‘Let’s get a room instead.’ he whispers, flicking those damn delectable hips up once more.
I frantically scramble out of his lap, eager to escape that mind melting touch before I rip his suit off here and now. ‘I’m going to be late for my meeting.’ I grab my bag and press my lips briefly on his. ‘I need you waiting in bed when I get home.’
He smiles a satisfied smile. ‘Are you making demands, Miss O’Shea?’
‘Are you going to deny me, Mr Ward?’
‘Never, but you do remember who has the power, don’t you?’ He makes a grab for me, but I bat his hands away quickly, jumping out of the car before he completely swallows me up.
I pop my head back in. ‘You do, but I need you. So could you please be naked and waiting?’
‘You need me?’ he asks, a triumphant look on his face.
‘Always. See you at yours.’ I shut the door, hearing him yell OURS as I walk off.
I’m suddenly aware of eyes drilling into me, and I turn to find the valet with the biggest grin on his face. I blush profusely and scuttle up the steps into the hotel. I am thoroughly contented and bronzing nicely on Central Jesse Cloud Nine.
I rummage through my bag when I hear my text chime.
It’s Jesse.
I miss you, I love you, I need you too Jx
I laugh. How did he do that so quickly? He only left me three seconds ago. I toss my phone in my bag and skip through the foyer of the Royal Park.
I’m shown to the same snug where Mikael and I last met, and Mikael is already waiting for me. He has the mood boards laid out on the table and is studying them. He looks more casual today, his suit jacket removed, his tie loose, but his pale blonde hair still perfectly styled.