Unlocking Her Boss's Heart(25)

‘No worries.’

Max put the phone down, wondering again whether this gesture was a step too far.

No. She’d worked hard for him, under some testing circumstances and he wanted her to know that he appreciated it. If he wanted to retain her services—and he was pretty sure now that he did—he was going to have to make sure she knew how much she was valued here so she didn’t go looking for another job.

Cara was back at her desk, busily typing away on her laptop, when he walked into the room they used as an office. Leaning against the edge of her desk, he waited until she’d finished and turned to face him.

‘I’m nearly done here,’ she said, only holding eye contact for a moment before glancing back at her computer.

‘Great, because a friend of mine just called to say he has two spare tickets to that new play at the Apollo and I was thinking I could take you as a thank you for holding the fort so effectively whilst I’ve been away. And for missing your birthday.’

She stared at him as if she thought she might have misheard. ‘I’m sorry?’

He smiled at her baffled expression, feeling a kink of pleasure at her reaction. ‘We’ll need to leave in the next few minutes if we’re going to make it into town in time to catch the beginning.’ He stood up and she blinked in surprise.

‘You and me? Right now?’

‘Yes. You don’t have other plans, do you?’

‘Um, no.’

He nodded. ‘Great.’

Gesturing up and down her body, she frowned, looking a little flustered. ‘But I can’t go dressed like this.’

He glanced at her jeans and T-shirt, trying not to let his eyes linger on the way they fitted her trim, slender body. ‘You’re going to have to change quickly then,’ he said, pulling his mobile out of his pocket and dialling the number for the taxi.

* * *

Cara chattered away in the cab all the way there about how the play had been given rave reviews after its preview performance and how people were already paying crazy money on auction websites for re-sold tickets to see it. Her enthusiasm was contagious and, stepping out of the car, he was surprised to find he was actually looking forward to seeing it.

The theatre was a recently renovated grand art deco building slap-bang in the middle of Soho, a short stroll from the hectic retail circus of Oxford Street.

It had been a while since he’d made it into town on a Friday night and even longer since he’d been to see any kind of live show. When he and Jemima had moved to London they’d been full of enthusiasm about how they’d be living in the heart of the action and would be able to go out every other night to see the most cutting-edge performances and mind-expanding lectures. They were going to become paragons of good taste and spectacularly cultured to boot.

And then real life had taken over and they’d become increasingly buried under the weight of work stress and life tiredness as the years went by and had barely made it out to anything at all. It had been fine when they’d had each other for company, but he was aware that he needed to make more of an effort to get out and be sociable now he was on his own.

Not that he’d been a total recluse since Jem had died; he’d been out with friends—Poppy being his most regular pub partner—but he’d done it in a cocoon of grief, always feeling slightly detached from what was going on around him.

Doing this with Cara meant he was having to make an effort again. Which was a good thing. It felt healthy. Perhaps that was why he was feeling more upbeat than he had in a while—as if there was life beyond the narrow world he’d been living in for the past year and a half.

After paying the taxi driver, they jogged straight to the box office for their tickets, then through the empty lobby to the auditorium to find their seats in the VIP box, the usher giving them a pointed look as she closed the doors firmly behind them. It seemed they’d only just made it. This theory was borne out by the dimming of the lights and the grand swish of the curtain opening just as they folded themselves into their seats.

Max turned to find Cara with her mouth comically open and an expression that clearly said I can’t believe we’ve just casually nipped into the best seats in the house. He flashed her a quick smile, enjoying her pleasure and the sense of satisfaction at doing something good here, before settling back into his plush red velvet chair, his heart beating heavily in his chest.

A waft of her perfume hit his nose as she reached up to adjust her ponytail, which made his heart beat even harder—perhaps from the sudden sensory overload. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on bringing his breathing back to normal and focused on the action on stage, determined to put all other thoughts aside for the meantime and try to enjoy whatever this turned out to be.