Her Best Laid Plans

Eve Devon

A division of HarperCollinsPublishers

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Contents

Eve Devon

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

About HarperImpulse

Copyright

About the Publisher

Eve Devon

I write sexy heroes, sassy heroines & happy ever afters …

Growing up in locations like Botswana and Venezuela gave me quite the taste for adventure and my love for romances began when my mother shoved one into my hands in a desperate attempt to keep me quiet during TV coverage of the Wimbledon tennis finals!

When I wasn't consuming books by the bucketload, I could be found pretending to be a damsel in distress or running around solving mysteries and writing down my adventures. As a teenager, I wrote countless episodes of TV detective dramas so the hero and heroine would end up together every week. As an adult, I worked in a library to conveniently continue consuming books by the bucketload, until realising I was destined to write contemporary romance and romantic suspense myself. I live in leafy Surrey in the UK, a book-devouring, slightly melodramatic, romance-writing sassy heroine with my very own sexy hero husband!

You can visit my website at: www.EveDevon.com/

This book is dedicated to my Husband—thank you for believing in me and for being the one I dance in the rain with and to my Mother—thank you for teaching me to love all the words and encouraging me to write from the moment I could put pen to paper.

Chapter One

Amanda Gray slipped into the busy New York street, her hand quite unwilling to relinquish its death-grip on a medicinal macchiato. Breathing in its sweet, reassuring aroma she pondered her next move. So much for her New Year’s resolution—she was seriously out of practice at this whole taking-control-of-your-own-destiny caper.

The plan had been to ace the job interview, not babble excessively or give the impression that she couldn’t organise her way out of a paper bag. But big-time nerves, combined with rusty interview skills, had shaken her, rendering her embarrassingly ineffectual, so that now some perfectly qualified and properly experienced personal assistant would get the position at the gallery instead of her.

Jostled from behind, she managed to save both her coffee and her natty new interview suit from an unfortunate coming together. Picking up her pace she fought valiantly against a case of serious pedestrian envy—everyone appeared to know exactly where they were going. She knew where she needed to get to … a job that paid enough for her to move out of the house she shared with her brother Mikey. It was the least that he deserved after he’d worked so hard to win back his independence after the accident. Seeing his progress and his capacity to fearlessly embrace life again had forced Amanda to take a look at her own.

So here she was. Absolutely, totally, one hundred per cent ready to kick-start her life again.

The fire-blanket of butterflies that settled in her stomach was amazingly effective at dousing any melancholy she felt over her interview. Her breath hitched. She was nearly used to the butterflies trumping any feelings of confidence in her ability to make changes in her life. But since coming up with “The Plan” she reminded herself life was now all about feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

Of course, she could always take the easy option and accept Jared’s job offer. Except she was fairly sure the question she needed to be asking herself was “why” her brother’s best friend had offered her a job. Things between them were—she quaffed back a healthy dose of macchiato to eliminate the lick of heat she felt rush to her cheeks—weird enough as it was. Or not, she hastily corrected. There wasn’t any one thing about her and Jared King that needed to be complicated.

Stepping from the stream of traffic, she rooted around in her bag for her phone. Dragging it to the surface, she clicked on the memo function to bring up ‘The Plan’. She’d written it six weeks ago at brand-spanking-ly-New-Year’s-Day o’clock, boosted by several large cocktails in celebration of her brother’s new job with a firm of lawyers. That Mikey had challenged the hand he’d been dealt, and secured himself a fulfilling future had filled her with pride. But celebrating Mikey’s success as they welcomed in the New Year with all of their friends, it had suddenly dawned on her that if she didn’t make some changes to her own life, she was going to be left behind. While everyone had started counting down the seconds, she’d started thinking.

Mikey had already spent his late teenage years practically raising her. On the cusp of starting his new life, there was no way she wanted to be responsible for holding him back. With alcohol making her brave she’d whipped out her phone and set about typing a three-point plan.

1) Get a better, more challenging, job that could turn into a career.

2) Move out into own place.

3) Do something with your photography.

The next day, faced with a familiar fear of change, she’d gone to delete her fledgling plan, only to thankfully remember that Mikey didn’t deserve to start worrying that his sister was in danger of turning into a bit of a flake.

So, okay, she was a novice at changing the course of her life. And maybe the plan read a bit like a list. But for Amanda it was more of a resolution anyway. A New Year’s resolution to participate in her own life story. Scary as that felt. Unsafe as that felt. Tempting fate as that felt. She had to try.

Now, scanning her eyes over the plan’s contents it was as she’d suspected. Nowhere on her new life plan did it say anything about Jared King. Or acknowledging rushes of heat brought about by Jared King.

Her eyes flicked to the last entry: Do something with your photography. There was a reason it was at the bottom of the list, she conceded, noticing a text had come through whilst she’d been in the interview.

Pacing to keep warm she opened it and read: CODE RED. WHERE R U? J

The clack, clack, clacks of her heels slowed against the sidewalk even as her heart rate sped up. Jared’s SOS text meant he needed help ousting his Latest Limpet back to The Real World, where it was clearly understood her time with the millionaire corporate property investor was up.

She should ignore it. Concentrate on ‘The Plan’ instead and fill out a few more job applications.

Still. He was a friend in need …

Sending a quick response, she hailed a cab. Destination: The Thai Lounge. Jared’s preferred venue for dealing with ‘Code Reds’. Not that there were many. Mostly women knew the score and enjoyed their time with him. for what it was: a mutually enjoyable interlude. It was only occasionally a woman morphed into full-on Limpet mode.

That was where she came in. An arranged ‘chance meeting’ between her and Jared with some subtle flirting was usually enough to leave the impression that he had effectively moved on.

Leaning back against the cab’s fading leather, Amanda admitted to a tiny, miniscule really, loss of perspective where Jared and their sporadic role-playing Limpet-dispensing exercises were concerned. Because for all that was up-front, solid, responsible and in-control about Jared—there was, lurking just beneath the surface, a hint of danger and a dark sensuousness that any woman would be inclined to want to try and entice out to play. Add in the six-feet-two, exquisitely muscled, chiselled cheek-boned, full-lipped, green-eyed, raven-haired wrapping and well …

Amanda squirmed. Darn it, was she going to have to get out “The Plan” again?

She chewed on her bottom lip. Maybe these days the camaraderie between them had been replaced with something far less easy to label—he still needed her help didn’t he?

The light on Jared King’s phone flashed and he shot a glance to his companion before picking it up to read his message.

‘I’ll be there in fifteen. You owe me ;-) Amanda xx’

He breathed out silently, though his shoulders relaxed maybe a millimetre and switched off the device before replacing it on the table. Briefly he lamented not having time to make the text more explicit, but he’d sort it out with her when she arrived.

Glancing back down at the familiar menu before him, he frowned, unable to concentrate. Of their own accord, his eyes glanced at the woman sat opposite him.

Ostensibly, she too was looking at the menu, but every time his eyes lowered he could feel her silently assessing him.

He’d tried telling himself she had to be feeling as shot-to-pieces uncomfortable as he was. But all evidence pointed to the contrary. The long flight and lengthy wait in his office must have given her all the time she needed to compose herself.

He, on the other hand, had returned from a property acquisition meeting to find his PA Janey close to carrying out a discreet security check on his very non-scheduled visitor.

That had been twenty minutes ago.

Normal state of play—twenty minutes was nineteen minutes longer than he needed to bounce back after a shock.

But then he hadn’t planned to be meeting a sister he hadn’t set eyes on for ten years.

He tried unobtrusively to check his watch. Surely fifteen minutes had come and gone. Where was Amanda? He needed her particular brand of easy-flow, relaxed small-talk to soothe his shock and cover the awkward silences while he figured the angles.

Instead, he sat, waiting for his sister, Nora, to speak whilst silently processing a thousand questions and their myriad answers as to why she was here.

‘Aren’t you even going to ask how he is?’ Nora asked with the succinct and confident tone provided by years of the best education money could buy.

Without looking up from the menu, Jared, careful to absent all inflection from his words, asked, ‘How is he?’

She sighed, ‘Do you really want to know or are you just being polite?’

‘I could tell you I really want to know but after ten years in New York maybe I’m no longer as polite.’

‘Wow. I thought it would be easier than this. I must have been mad. I guess I thought when I saw you I’d be able to cut to the chase.’

Jared felt his chest tighten. ‘I’d say getting on a plane, travelling thousands of miles, and coming to my office pretty much equates with cutting to the chase. How’d you know where I worked anyway?’

‘I asked everyone’s faithful friend, Google.’

Her sarcasm slammed into him and he knew he deserved every bit of it. He hadn’t exactly made himself invisible in New York, but he hadn’t made it especially easy to find him either.

But then, never for one moment had he assumed any of them would want to.

He thought back to the last time he’d seen her. It had been her nineteenth birthday party. He had known then that he was leaving; his bag already stowed next to his beloved motorbike at the foot of the sprawling King estate.

Guilt worked its way up from his gut.

For want of a sense of order he did what was expected of one in a restaurant and signalled a waiter.

As soon as the waiter left, Nora leant forward. ‘Look, I’m just going to come right out and say this before I totally lose my nerve. I, that is—’

Jared picked up his imported beer and drank to coat the swirling emotion he now felt in his stomach. The Kings didn’t do hesitation. It was educated out of them. Decide upon what to say. Then say it. Leave no room for misinterpretation.

He watched as Nora swept her hand over her sleek black bob. Her hand was trembling. Damn it, where was Amanda?

And then Nora found her voice and Jared heard only the first sentence before the anger gathered and threatened to spew from his solar plexus like a scene out of Alien.

Locking his jaw, he breathed in, forcing himself to acknowledge the fullness of what she was saying. His eyes dropped to his sister’s delicate hand resting on top of his clenched fist, offering comfort; something he wasn’t entitled to—making it the last thing he wanted.

‘You’re sure of this?’ he ground out.

She nodded and he was left reeling. Until he remembered he was a King. ‘Well I can give you my answer now. It’s a resounding “no”.’

‘And since when has a King ever taken “no” for an answer?’

The question hung in the air, and Jared realised that his little sister had grown up, inheriting a few of the old man’s traits along the way. He breathed out slowly. ‘I don’t care if you take it or not. My answer won’t change.’

He felt himself being assessed once more and wasn’t at all comfortable it was his baby sister doing it.

‘Look, I realise this must have come as a bit of a shock, but aren’t you a bit old to still be cultivating the tortured, bad-boy image?’

Jared withdrew his fist from the table and stretched it out on his thigh. Image? He’d always assumed he’d sealed his reputation when he’d left, without a backwards glance for the sisters who’d once looked up to him, who’d once believed in him.

As the waiter arrived to place piping-hot dishes on the rotating glass plate at the table’s centre Jared kept his expression deliberately blank.

He needed a moment to adjust, that was all.

Shock could do strange things to a person.

Something he knew for a fact when he turned his head slightly to the woman doing the siren-like slow-mo walk through the maze of tables towards him, and briefly imagined that it was Amanda.

Cataloguing sexy high heels, black pencil skirt and form-fitting black sweater, long chestnut hair and flawless creamy skin… all his thoughts lurched to a stop when he zeroed in on the pair of twinkly, button-brown eyes.

Alright. Okay. There had to be a really good explanation as to why Amanda Gray had walked in wearing something so far removed from her usual garb. He couldn’t help but look at her in a thoroughly off-limits way and if he didn’t stop staring in the next ten seconds, all hell was going to break loose.

Nobody blind-sided him twice in one day.

‘On your way somewhere special?’ he asked, inwardly cursing the gravel-like quality to his voice as he rose automatically from his chair to greet her.

She shrugged her shoulders as if it wasn’t important and yet a part of him, the part which had sat up to take notice as soon as she’d entered the room, wanted to beg to differ. Shock had got a hold of him. Simple as that, he cautioned, as displacement therapy played dirty with his mind, telling him it was perfectly okay to respond to the sweet temptation of Amanda leaning into him.

He felt some of his famous constraint shake loose. Felt the devil-may-care attitude he’d stamped so forcefully from his personality ten years before resurface with a thud to beat a rhythm over his consciousness and awaken the Jared of old.

Amanda caught the watchful, sexy glint in Jared’s eye and had a little wobble. From the moment she’d entered the restaurant and seen Jared’s beautiful companion give what could only be described as an impassioned speech she’d suspected this particular Limpet was going to be more difficult than usual. She’d watched, mesmerised, as Jared’s hand had withdrawn from the woman’s and an expression of complete control had fallen across his features blotting out any trace of weakness. It had had her itching to photograph the change in him, itching to capture such a remarkable skill.

She’d seen his mask slip into place only once before, when she’d awoken in the small hospital room to find him bent over her brother’s bed, desolation, guilt, anger and grief etched across his features. She must have made a sound intending to comfort because the moment he’d realised she was there, his face had suddenly turned impassive and emotionless. BAM! The shutters were down!

Now, as she leant into him in greeting and watched him watching her, the words ‘playing with fire’ were practically tattooed onto her brain—which was ridiculous. This was Jared; her friend Jared. This was just a game to get him out of an awkward situation. This was not the time to engage heart over head. But as Jared’s hand snaked out to wrap around her waist and steady her, as she was enveloped in the solid heat of his embrace, his breath fanning against her cheek and raising a thousand skittering goose-bumps over her flesh, Amanda felt compelled to dismiss the wobble, and go with her gut—bypass subtle flirting and head straight to staking a claim.

Eyes welded to his, she rose up on tiptoes and brushed her lips lightly over his.

Any remaining sense of perspective promptly vanished.

Shocked, she withdrew her lips a fraction, her eyes moving uncertainly from the fullness of his lips to check his expression. As she saw that he had closed up, she was driven, if only to salvage a little pride, to revisit his lips with the soft glide of her tongue against his lower lip.

She heard the quick hiss of his indrawn breath and she responded instantly. Every last bit of her melted as his hand plunged deftly into the ponytail at the base of her neck, anchoring her so that he could take control and deepen the kiss. His tongue stroked masterfully over and under her tongue and she clung to him; one hundred per cent complicit in becoming a banquet on which he could greedily feast.

She didn’t think about the fact that she’d gone so far past subtle flirting she was lost somewhere that she’d never visited and possibly would never wanted to leave. She didn’t think about the fact that there would surely be consequences once Jared remembered what he was doing and who he was doing it with. Or, that there was someone sitting at the table beside them, or about the rest of the diners. She didn’t think at all. Not until the moan forming at the back of her throat escaped and she was suddenly, unceremoniously, set free and left teetering on her heels.

Breathing hard, not knowing what to do about the completely new and assessing look in Jared’s eyes, she glanced about her in desperation.

In the absence of any other idea she reached across the table, picked up his chopsticks, dunked some food in sweet chilli dipping sauce and placed the whole lot in her mouth.

As the silence stretched unbearably Amanda frowned at Jared’s Latest Limpet. She’d expected indignant shock at the kiss, not quickly masked confusion and then the same carefully blank expression that Jared was usually so good at. Then, suddenly, Jared did what he was famous for; taking control.

‘Amanda Gray,’ his British accent clipped out, ‘Meet Leonora King—Nora. My sister.’

Amanda couldn’t be sure, but she thought she might just have emitted a thoroughly unladylike snort. But with every synapse short-circuited after the kiss, she could be forgiven, right? His words began to truly register, as she picked up on the tension emanating from Jared and the woman sitting across from him. She became uncomfortably aware of her stupid heart beginning a very definite journey north to her mouth. Swallowing hard, she managed, ‘You’re serious?’ At the woman’s perfectly pleasant smile she sat down at the table with a jolt and turned an accusatory stare to the man sat beside her. ‘You let me think this woman was one of your … ’ She closed her eyes to aid breathing, thinking; functioning. Well, this was bad on so many levels; to have actually kissed Jared in the first place …

To discover it was in front of his sister!

She couldn’t help it, she looked at Nora and then back to Jared and ended up squeaking pathetically, ‘You have family?’

She waited for him to confirm, deny; explain. And when only the snap of his shutters responded, disappointment, an emotion she never thought to associate with him, washed over her.

Her mind raced as she realised that in the few years she’d known him, he’d managed to expertly steer any conversation of family back in the UK firmly in another direction. And because it was Jared, who was always so in control, a person didn’t think to keep pushing. And hadn’t that, she now realised, suited him right down to the ground?

Turning to Nora, she said, ‘Great to meet you. So what’s the big family secret that’s kept this one here from mentioning any of you?’

Jared rose in one swift, fluid motion, ‘Right, time for a little chat. Outside. Excuse us would you sister, dear.’ Manacling Amanda’s wrist, he headed for the door.

As soon as they were outside Amanda tugged on the hand and was immediately set free.

‘Look,’ he ground out, ‘I don’t quite understand what you thought you were doing back there but you can’t just—’

Whirling around to face him, she had no idea why he was so angry. ‘Okay did you, or did you not, send me one of your emergency texts?’

‘I did.’ He folded his arms and adopted his usual intractable stance and she hung onto the fact that she wasn’t obliged to quake in her boots—not when she was more intrigued by what had him so riled.

‘And do they not usually mean ‘Help, I can’t get rid of my girlfriend’?’

‘They do. Usually. But then, usually, you at least wait until I introduce you before you start improvising. What the hell were you thinking?’

‘What was I thinking?’ she repeated, bemused. ‘Given that you sent your usual text and not something more helpful like, oh, maybe, “my sister is in town and I would love it if you could join us for lunch.”’ She took a step closer, all the better to read him. But he was giving nothing away and she felt her own anger start to spiral. ‘How was I supposed to know your text was more of a moral-support code? How was I supposed to know you even had a sister? Next you’ll be telling me you have parents, other siblings—the whole shebang.’ She watched as the muscle in his jaw clicked rigid.

‘It’s complicated.’

Her mouth dropped open. Why did she feel so insulted? And jealous! Just because they shared all those long talks over Mikey’s hospital bed, did she really think that she was finally getting to know him? ‘Well, I guess I wouldn’t know about complicated families, would I?’

‘That’s not the point.’

‘It’s not? We’re not talking about the fact that you need to send out for reinforcements to talk to a sister no one even knows you have? What are we talking about then? The kiss?’

‘We’re talking,’ Jared argued, ‘About the fact that you’re going to have to stop breezing through life as if nothing matters, without a plan and with total disregard for how your go-with-the-flow attitude might affect others.’

Amanda could only stare as a strange numbing quality began to take hold. Okay, so her visit hadn’t heralded the outcome he’d hoped for. He was addled; upset—she got that. But to deliberately hurt her!

‘Why are you dressed like that, anyway?’ he blurted out in obvious frustration.

‘I was at an interview, you jerk.’

‘An interview?’ A look of sudden understanding passed over his face, ‘So Mikey finally told you? I guess that’s something at least. Look, I know he and Janey have said they want to get married as soon as possible but you don’t need to move out straight away. You have time to get a job you really want.’

‘Wait, back up,’ Amanda didn’t understand. Mikey and Janey were engaged? Since when? And then, as she stood opposite him, feeling like the only one not in on the joke, what Jared was saying slowly started to sink in, ‘This is why you offered me the job!’ The flush of humiliation was swift and all-encompassing. ‘I couldn’t possibly get a decent enough job to move into a place of my own! You think I need looking after? Like some child? When it’s been me who’s taken care of Mikey for years?’ Amanda had never felt more stupid in all her twenty-four years. That the two of them had so obviously been discussing what to do about her, when, actually she’d been developing her own plans, thank you very much.

Jared closed the distance between them. Looking deep into her eyes, he blew what little cool she had left about her straight out of the water. ‘Amanda, Mikey hasn’t needed looking after for a long time. You know that. You know that’s not why you stay. You stay because you’re too afrai—’

‘Don’t!’ Her voice thick with emotion, her self-preservation had her laying trembling fingertips against his lips. Because if he came right out and said it, if he actually called her a coward, she’d lose it. ‘Seriously, you do not get to call on me for help and then call me out for the manner in which I provide it and follow it up by questioning my motives for sticking by my only family.’

As he opened his mouth to speak she pressed harder against his incredible soft lips. His hand came up to grasp hold of her wrist. His eyes bored into hers and she felt his thumb brush against the sensitive pulse point of her wrist. Electricity zinged through her even as she wondered how it could be that she was standing outside on a bitter cold day arguing with her friend. Her friend. who stood in front of her, so in control, whilst everything about her interaction with him since she’d walked into the restaurant had so clearly and irrevocably got away from her.

Her pulse spiked at the continued stroke of his thumb and as his eyes lowered to concentrate on her lips it went haywire. ‘Jared?’

The broken whisper of his name on her lips brought him out of his trance-like state and immediately he dropped her hand and stepped backwards. ‘You are hereby released from all “Code Red” duty.’

Before she could form words he turned and walked back inside to where Nora was standing centre-stage of the restaurant’s plate-glass window doing a reasonable goldfish impression.

Staring at his retreating back, Amanda swore she could hear those damn shutters of his face slamming shut, and a thousand locks being deployed for good measure.

Confusion coursed through her, giving rise to a whole host of elemental emotions.

Jared had sounded as though he’d made some sort of resolution for removing her from more than “Code Red” duty. Interestingly, with the feel of his lips on hers still lingering, she was tempted to tell him that resolutions were made for breaking.

But what with them being friends, though, and what with her promising herself that this year was all about concentrating on her plan, she definitely shouldn’t do that.

Should she?

Chapter Two

‘What in hell do you think you were doing kissing Jared?’

At the sound of her brother’s voice, Amanda pushed the front door shut and slowly turned to face him. It had been hours since the whole knock-her-on-her-ass kiss, followed by the, who-are-you-to-call-me-on-my-deepest-fear ‘thing’ and truth be told, she was still in a state of shock.

And now it appeared Jared had followed The Best Friend Code to the letter and confessed to Mikey.

Unreasonably annoyed all over again, she really would have preferred Jared to have ignored his sense of honour in favour of returning any one of her phone calls.

Sinking back against the solid wood of the door, she needed the warmth of the room to permeate and help soothe her rattled nerves. ‘Mikey, I’m cold and I’m tired, do we really have to get into this now?’ She couldn’t quite look at him and in the interests of hiding the guilt and confusion she knew had to be shining out of her like a beacon, her eyes strayed to the winter coat slung casually over the banister. ‘Hey, how did my coat get there?’

‘How do you think? Jared dropped it off when he came to tell me my sister had taken leave of her senses.’

‘That wasn’t quite how I put it,’ Jared declared as he walked out of the kitchen and came to stand in the hallway.

Heat radiated from Amanda’s cheeks. Tempted to fight fire with fire she wanted to demand he tell her exactly how he had put it. But under the spell of his quiet regard, she had second, third and fourth thoughts. Crazily, she wondered if she was limber enough to vault the banister, slip on her coat and high-tail it out of the house before Mikey had a chance to whizz his wheelchair around and stop her.

Her need to escape must have shown in her face, because her brother directed a ‘Don’t even think about it,’ at her before looking from her to Jared and back again. Swearing softly under his breath, he said, ‘You two obviously have some talking to do,’ and wheeled himself off down the hallway.

Talk? Interesting concept. Since Jared had walked away from her she’d walked, stomped and marched for miles; all the while wavering between needing to apologise for her part in whatever it was that had gone on between them earlier and, wanting to instigate round two of whatever it was that had gone on between them earlier. In the end, knowing it had all started with the kiss, the kiss she’d initiated, she’d sucked it up and left countless messages of apology. Now, facing him, that incredible kiss was front and centre and all her stupid tongue seemed capable of doing was cleaving to the roof of her mouth.

‘I bought pastries from Luigi’s,’ Jared offered up patiently. ‘Coffee would seem appropriate.’

Slowly, she pushed away from the door to pass him and head into the kitchen. Jared reached for her at the last moment and swung her gently to face him. ‘I got your messages. Don’t worry about it. Seriously,’ he pressed when she turned remorseful eyes on him. ‘I was in a weird place and I was way too hard on you. It didn’t even register until later that you hadn’t known about Mikey and Janey getting engaged.’

For some reason his trying to let her off the hook for kissing him brought an ache to her chest. She settled on the other hurt. ‘I can’t believe he hasn’t told me,’ she whispered.

‘It’s not what you’re thinking.’ He ran a reassuring hand gently down her arm. She looked down at his hand at her wrist, felt a strong rush of need and hated herself for feeling it. She saw Jared frown uncomfortably at his action, before removing his hand and gesturing for her to precede him into the kitchen. ‘Mikey knows you’ll be happy for him, he just thought you’d been acting a little differently lately—thought maybe he should wait a while.’

The interviews.

She had been acting differently. Or at least trying to. Ever since she’d opened her eyes and really looked at her brother’s new life.

For Mikey, she’d thought ahead.

She’d taken a good hard look at her own life and fought the apprehension that came with putting plans into place.

She’d been hoping the fact that it was New Year, when everyone made plans and lists and promises, would make it look as though changing things wasn’t a big deal for her but she obviously hadn’t succeeded. She was going to have to try harder.

She set her bag down on a kitchen counter top and reached over to retrieve a couple of small plates from the old oak dresser. Setting mugs out while coffee brewed, she asked, ‘What have you done with your sister?’

‘She’s at a hotel. She was tired after her flight.’

Amanda wanted to know why Nora wasn’t sharing his four-bedroom penthouse apartment, but instead of prying she turned and walked over to the island unit where he’d pulled out a bar stool to sit down on. She passed him a plate, a mug of coffee and shoved the pastry box towards him before pulling out her own seat at the opposite end of the unit.

‘She seems nice,’ she ventured.

Jared shrugged and said nothing for a moment. ‘So, what was your interview for?’

Amanda nibbled away at her pastry and pretended to have great interest in stirring her coffee. In the same way it appeared Jared was disinclined to talk about his sister, she felt disinclined to talk about her interview.

Glancing up she caught him focusing on her lips. Heat flooded her, warming her better than any hot drink could have done and in a bid to steer their focus elsewhere, she said, ‘Tell me about Nora and I’ll tell you about my interview.’

Jared smiled briefly and lowered his mug to the granite work surface. ‘There’s nothing much to tell. Apart from the obvious shock of seeing her,’ he paused, as if debating how much he should say. ‘We’ve not been in touch for some years.’

Baffled, Amanda wondered how and why a person went about losing contact with their family. But one look at his face and, okay, she knew she was going to have to leave it alone, lest she spook him back into silence.

‘Your interview?’ he prompted.

She reached out to trace a sparkle in the granite. ‘There’s nothing much to tell,’ she mimicked and then sighed, ‘It was for a PA at an art gallery, but I think I was over-reaching somewhat.’

‘You don’t think you might be doing yourself a bit of a disservice?’

‘Jared, I work three days a week as a barista,’ she looked at him as if that explained everything and when he merely politely stared back at her she added, ‘I never re-started my degree after Mikey’s rehabilitation,’ she looked down at her hands. ‘I’ve coasted. You practically said so yourself earlier.’

‘I should never have said anything. I was … out of sorts. I’m slightly concerned you feel unworthy of something I have every faith you can get, though. Why do you think I offered you a job in the first place?’

Her throat clogged with instant emotion and it seemed a good time to go back to tracing the fascinating patterns in the work surface. ‘You offered me a job because of Mikey.’

‘I offered you a job because I’ve seen what you’ve achieved around this place. I’ve seen you juggle working part time with a difficult renovation and what has seemed like endless filling out of insurance forms and grants for Mikey’s rehabilitation. I offered you a job because you seemed ready,’ he paused. ‘But maybe I was wrong.’

‘You? Wrong? Not possible!’ She looked into knowing eyes and felt her shoulders slump. ‘I need to show Mikey I can do this.’

‘The only person you need to prove anything to—is yourself.’

‘Sure. That’s what I meant.’ She took a deep breath and fixed him with her best can-do expression. ‘It’s why you can relax about having to offer me employment. The interview this morning was just a blip on an otherwise fail-safe plan.’

‘Wait, you have a plan? You do?’

‘What? It’s not beyond the realms of possibility.’

‘It kind of is, actually. You have many skills, but putting together a Life Plan?’ Jared gave a mock shudder and Amanda regretted seating herself so far away because it meant landing a swift left hook was currently outside her physical scope. But, darn it, he was right. Again. She knew she gave every impression of abhorring making plans. Life had this way of sneaking up and upsetting any she made, so it made total sense to her to avoid making them.

Avoid disappointment. Avoid upset.

Going with the flow was a perfectly acceptable lifestyle choice and, perversely, made her feel in control. Of course, if she could just get Life to stop throwing her curveballs in the first place she’d be more willing to make nice with The Planning Gremlins.

‘Maybe I should take a look at this plan for you, check it’s not really more of a list, because,’ Jared broke off and glanced towards her bag, suddenly emitting noise. ‘You want to answer your phone?’

Amanda shook her head. So much for hoping he’d politely ignore the fact that her phone was ringing with all the subtlety of the clanging chimes of doom.

‘It could be about your interview.’

It was definitely going to be about the interview. Her luck said it was the agency ringing her with a ‘no’. A word she suddenly didn’t want to hear. Not after owning up to her plan. Not if it would make her look as if she’d fallen at the first hurdle. Not if it made her wish she’d accepted Jared’s job offer in the first place.

A job offer that was now completely off the table.

On account of the whole sizzling kissing thing.

With leaden feet she crossed to her bag and rummaged for her phone. Answering it she turned her back on Jared and listened to the agency telling her the gallery owner had decided to go with someone with more experience.

As she felt her head drop she determinedly set her shoulders. This was not the end of the world. This was a new year, a new her. So she’d line up some more interviews. Pursue her plan.

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

She returned her phone to her bag and turned around.

‘It was a “no”?’ Jared asked.

She nodded.

‘Their loss,’ he commiserated, giving her all of ten seconds to sit back down at the table before getting up and walking around to her side of the unit and saying in a low voice, ‘You could always revisit my proposition.’

Her body instantly responded to the chocolate pitch of his voice. ‘Pr-proposition?’ she questioned lamely.

‘Mmmn.’ He smiled down at her, plucked the mugs from the table and dunked them both in the kitchen sink along with the pastry dishes. He turned on the taps and Amanda wished mightily for a cold shower.

‘Accept my job offer and come to London with me.’

‘London?’ Amanda gaped. ‘London?’ Glad his back was to her, she tried to get a hold of her runaway thoughts, realising that for an instant she had committed the cardinal sin of associating Jared with an altogether different kind of proposition. Bad idea, she scolded herself. Very. Bad. Idea.

‘I need to go back to London and I need a Personal Assistant to accompany me.’

‘Oh. Okay. Let me just pack a bag,’ she said crossing her eyes comically behind him, ‘wait, what shall we tell Janey—that she’s taken one too many coffee breaks and you’re through with her?’ She slid off the stool to come and stand next to him.

‘I need Janey here keeping an eye on things. And she and Mikey could do with the time together.’

Amanda picked up a mug and a dishtowel. ‘So what’s in London?’ she asked.

For a moment, when Jared simply stared at his hands submerged in the soapy water, she thought he wasn’t going to respond.

When he did, his words were dragged from deep within. ‘A sick father and a failing family business.’

Amanda put the mug down and stretched her hand out in an automatic offer of comfort. ‘This is what your sister came to tell you?’ She felt the corded sinew of his forearm harden beneath her fingers.

‘It’s-’

‘Complicated?’ she helped, sure his hands had formed fists beneath the water’s surface.

He turned to look at her. He was absolutely still and yet she could sense something coursing through him—that edge of danger; a flash of fire in otherwise cool, clear green eyes.

‘Complicated is an understatement.’ He did that quiet thinking thing and from his expression she knew he was weighing up the consequences of revealing something to her. ‘I’m sure my sister would be only too happy to provide me with one of her assistants but I’d rather take someone I know with me; someone without ulterior motive.’

Unbidden she saw herself tasting his lips, and flustered, felt the ridiculous need for him to clarify what he was asking of her. ‘And I’d be in London as your Personal Assistant?’

‘Amanda, you could do the job standing on your head.’

She stared up at him, gripping the kitchen roll top as casually as she could manage because suddenly his utter belief in her had her wanting to take the risk and go with him. He was that sure of her? It had her wanting to repay his compliment by offering whatever support he needed.

She swallowed. ‘How exactly would you go about telling your sister that in one day I’ve gone from “sleeping” with you to working for you?’

‘It’s none of her business.’

Right. That shut down that then. She was going to have to actually come out and say it wasn’t she? ‘Speaking of,’ she moved a hand between them, ‘you know, the—’ she couldn’t say it.

‘—Kiss?’ His eyes moved to her lips and she had to fight an insane urge to moisten them with the tip of the tongue. ‘Forget about it.’ He withdrew his hands from the water and reached for the dishtowel she was still holding. ‘Are you going to let fear rule your life, then?’

‘What do you mean?’ she spluttered, pinned under his searching gaze.

‘I know you’re capable of more than you have let your life become. You say you’re ready to change your life. Prove it.’

That was exactly what she was trying to do. She just needed one person to take a chance on her, to believe she could do a job without having recent experience to back it up. It slowly dawned on her that there was someone standing right in front of her completely willing to take that risk. And, actually, how awesome would it be to prove to him she was worth taking a chance on? Purely in a work capacity, of course.

‘Mikey’s going to think your moving out is a lot less a knee-jerk reaction to change if you do it sensibly and with thought,’ Jared added. ‘Like dipping your toe in the water with a temporary assignment that will give you money towards a place of your own, a reference you can take to your next position. What’s to think about anyway?’ he cajoled, ‘Use that go-with-the-flow mentality of yours. Snap up the opportunity and let it open some doors for you. I’ll even help you come up with a proper plan for after.’

Oh he was good; this man practically had a degree in planning. So good that as her mind began processing the permutations, she realised she was genuinely considering his offer. Suddenly all she could see were benefits. Like the fact that Mikey could enjoy some time with Janey without his little sister being in the way. Like the fact Jared wouldn’t have to face family he was so obviously estranged from alone. Like the fact she’d get good work experience and a reference and savings to kick-start her search for a job when she came home.

And yet, well, there was still the elephant in the room.

Honestly why she had to keep harping on about it she didn’t know, but she licked her lips and tried again. ‘About the kiss—’

Jared regarded her unflinchingly. ‘What about it? So the Code Red thing got a little out of hand. We’ll learn from it. The kiss was fun but misguided. It wasn’t us. We’re friends. That’s all.’

That’s all?

Of course that was all. Why would Jared want or need it to be anything else? Why did she, come to think of it?

If he could discount it so easily, and be so sure that it wouldn’t be an issue, why couldn’t she?

***

Jared looked up from his papers, realising he’d read through half a document and couldn’t recall the first thing about it. He was way too aware of his new Personal Assistant. She was sitting on the cream leather seat opposite him, chuntering delightfully to herself as she fiddled with the phone he’d casually thrown at her as they’d boarded the private jet bound for London.

‘Having trouble operating it?’ he asked with a smile on his face.

‘No, merely concerned about the trail of sobbing women we seem to have left behind. Every single call on this thing has been from women eager to know if you’re available. I think I’m going to have to set up some sort of helpline while you’re out of the country.’

His smile widened and an edge of wickedness crept in. ‘I may have given you my private phone by mistake.’

‘You have more than one?’ Her mouth formed a perfect ‘O’ of surprise that he really oughtn’t to find so appealing. ‘What am I talking about? Of course you have more than one.’ She glanced about the jet’s interior, looking a little pale. ‘Please tell me you don’t have more than one of these babies?’

‘As it happens this one belongs to the family. But relax. It’s just stuff—’

‘Sure,’ she agreed with an exaggerated nod, ‘Stuff.’

‘There’s absolutely no reason to be intimidated. It’s a mode of transport. That’s all.’

‘Uh-huh. One beautiful pimped-up mode of transport.’

She ran her fingertip over the leather before reaching out to trace the walnut veneer of the drinks table. Why had he never noticed she had a tendency to drag her fingertip over different surfaces? It was as if nothing was real until she touched it. He found it disconcertingly sexy; seductive.

Idly, he wondered what he’d have to do to get her to drag a fingertip over him in such an exploratory way, then with a start realised he had absolutely, categorically, no business wondering any such thing. Her fingers moved into her sleek caramel-brown ponytail, stroking over the length of it. Suddenly parched, he reached for his scotch.

‘I guess I feel a little under-prepared,’ she said. ‘I mean, it wasn’t as if I didn’t know you were a successful businessman or that you worked hard and reaped the rewards. I’m just a little embarrassed I never realised how successful you were.’

‘I’m not where I want to be just yet.’ The words came automatically. He thought about the deal he was halfway through making. To leave at such a crucial stage irritated the hell out of him, but Nora’s second pitch had been perfect and to his astonishment he’d found himself changing his answer from a ‘no’ to a ‘yes’. It had to have been the shock of kissing Amanda.

Kissing Amanda.

Two words; one sentence, that had the power to throw him properly off kilter.

After the hell of Mikey’s accident and the guilt from knowing he was responsible, no matter what Mikey said … Amanda had continued to treat him the same way she always had. As if he had a clean sheet. It was addictive and liberating and, when he let himself actually think about it, selfish; down-to-the-bone selfish. And had him doubting she understood the luxury he found her company to be.

Amanda, whose sassiness challenged him, whose over-the-top disdain for his planned approach to life amused him.

But then he’d gone and returned her kiss.

He’d told himself he’d re-offered her the job as a way of compensating for her losing out on an interview that could have bettered her situation. He’d told himself that by persuading her to accept he’d be showing Mikey he could be trusted with her. He’d told himself over and over that the kiss had been a fluke. There was no possible way that someone, so opposite to him in outlook, could produce such a primal response from a place so deep inside of him he’d forgotten it even existed.

She’d made him feel like he’d come home.

What a joke. Home was a place he no longer deserved.

He turned his head to look out of the jet’s small window and beyond, through the thin layers of cloud, to the earth below.

He’d been given back the keys to The House of King but The Home of King? He’d be mad to think that was in the bricks and mortar of the forty-acre estate just outside of London. No, the true King home was the business premises of King Property Corporation—KPC headquarters in the heart of the City. When Nora had surrendered those clunky-as-hell keys during her deftly argued invitation, he had been more bewildered than he cared to admit.

It seemed the prodigal son was expected to ride to the rescue.

He felt the automatic grimace. Thinking about KPC and his father had him wound tighter than anything else ever could. No wonder thinking about Amanda was such a welcome distraction.

Taking another sip from the crystal tumbler he tried not to let his eyes slide over her legs. Instead, he dragged his gaze back to her button-brown eyes.

‘Like I said, this is just stuff.’ He paused. ‘I suppose I’d better warn you. London may be a little … more, than this.’

She whistled softly under her breath and looked around once more. ‘Okay. So essentially what you’re telling me is that I was a fool to turn down your, at the time insulting, but I now realise practical, offer of dressing me for this job, given that your family are rich and I’m about to look thoroughly out of place?’

‘What you have on is fine.’

More than fine. The simple royal-blue shift and matching heels transformed her into a sleek, confident career woman, who now looked way too grown up, way too sophisticated, way too hot and way too available. Somehow he thought he’d be safer if she was back in the usual gypsy-like clothes she wore. At least there’d be less smooth skin on show.

‘But they are—you are … rich?’ she tentatively asked.

He inclined his head a fraction.

‘Lord. How rich? Like they invented money, rich?’

Jared pursed his lips to stop the smile from growing.

‘Oh, you are in such trouble, mister. Right, I need a complete etiquette run-down pronto. Make every word count or I’ll probably be thrown out the country before we even set down.’

Jared leaned forward in his seat, ‘You don’t need any kind of run-down. You’ll be absolutely fine. There are no mistakes you can make that could be seen as not done in King company because you are not there for the King family. You’re there for me. You don’t answer to anyone but me and if anyone upsets you or asks you to do something you feel isn’t appropriate you tell me and I will sort it out.’

From Amanda’s raised eyebrow he realised he may have gone a little over the top. Her large brown eyes bore into him and then slowly she reached out to get her flute of champagne. She took a long, slow sip and remained silent. A good tactic, he realised, as it made him feel as though he should explain himself.

‘Look. I just don’t want you to feel that all of the stuff that comes with the name is more important than it actually is, or that it’s designed as a way of intimidating a person.’

Amanda leant forward in her seat, her ringless hands dangling the champagne flute delicately in front of her.

‘Jared, why haven’t you seen your family for so long? If I don’t understand at least some of it how can I have your back? And that is, primarily, why I’m here, isn’t it—to have your back? I’m the extra eyes and ears. If you just wanted someone to make appointments for you, you could have brought over one of your lim—’ she stopped and brought the glass hurriedly to her lips.

‘One of my what?’

‘Limpets,’ she said defiantly.

‘You call my girlfriends Limpets?’ He didn’t know whether to be amused or horrified.

‘Don’t change the subject.’

Jared leant back in his chair.

How did one explain ten years of no contact or the ugly year preceding it? Badly, he guessed.

‘I haven’t seen my family since the day I was no longer considered King business material and as a consequence no longer considered King family material.’

‘The two are synonymous?’

‘Where my father’s concerned? Absolutely.’ He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. One look at her stricken expression and he wasn’t entirely certain he’d managed it.

Amanda gradually became aware her mouth was hanging open. ‘You were kicked out of your own family? I don’t get it; you have more integrity than any man I know.’ Had that been the wrong thing to say? Something fierce flashed in his eyes but then he blinked and it was gone.

‘I was a spoilt, irresponsible, selfish young man who bought shame on the family name.’

‘Baloney!’

‘There isn’t any one part of that statement that isn’t true.’

‘No way!’

‘No?’

She didn’t like the way he was so convincing and had a feeling that at any moment the shutters would fall. She took another sip of champagne and thought for a second before speaking.

‘Okay, well … so now you’re going back a changed man. A successful businessman with a reputation for being forward-thinking, shrewd, and above all, fair. What?’ she asked, taking in his half-smile, ‘so I did some research, read a few articles. The point is, even if what you say is true, and I don’t for one minute think it’s the whole truth, you’re now older, wiser and more mature. Your father will be proud.’

She wanted desperately to take that glint out of his eyes. The one that told her he thought she was being naive. She didn’t want to be thought of as naive by him. She wanted to be thought of as the voice of reason. But there was still so much she didn’t understand.

‘He won’t be proud of the fact that you went into the same line of business?’ She watched the quick shrug of his shoulders and couldn’t determine whether Jared didn’t care if his father was proud, or deliberately didn’t care that he might not be. ‘Well, isn’t it lucky for him that you did—the fact that he needs your help now—’

‘Oh, I doubt he even knows of Nora’s rescue mission.’

‘So, I guess this whole trip is going to be trickier than I realised, but you’ve probably been working on those plans of yours twenty-four-seven. I trust you.’ Her eyes bounced off the stack of documents between them and up to study the strong features of his face. She looked into his eyes and suddenly the atmosphere in the small jet felt charged, as if they’d passed through an electrical storm.

‘Are you sure you should?’

She watched him watching her as she brought the champagne hastily to her lips and took a healthy last swallow. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I trust you.’ Once again his green eyes sparked with something she didn’t understand, and quickly turned inscrutable. ‘Want to hear my plan?’ she said, aiming for some light humour.

‘Your plan?’ Jared mocked.

She tipped her head, touché. ‘Proposal then. I propose we land, settle in, you have a few deep-and-meaningfuls with the family, a board meeting is convened, you present your plan to save the company and then tomorrow? Well, I hear the shopping is fantastic.’

Jared was silent a moment. He swirled the remaining amber liquid in his glass, considering. In one smooth motion he downed the last mouthful and she distinctly heard the last piece of ice being crunched between his teeth. He grinned.

‘Do you know in all my figuring out the angles, that wasn’t the way I ended up going.’

‘It wasn’t?’ Why did she have a funny feeling? Her hand pressed gently over the butterflies flitting about inside her stomach.

‘Well for a start who said anything about saving KPC?’

The tiny air-pocket that the jet hit, causing Amanda to be lifted slightly and then set down abruptly in her seat, was nothing compared with the shock of Jared’s statement and the ruthless edge she didn’t recognise.

Chapter Three

‘You’ve gone mad.’ Amanda accused, struggling to keep up with him. She barely registered the plush private airport lounge as they proceeded towards the exit at what seemed like a hundred miles an hour. ‘You’re out of your mind.’

‘Why? For putting a failing business out of its misery?’

‘But, it’s not just any business; it’s the family business. And it would be for all the wrong reasons.’

If she had thought for one minute he’d asked her to travel thousands of miles to help him push the final nail into an eighty-year-old family business, just because he hadn’t been allowed to be a part of it, she would never have come. There were few things she stood firm on. Family was family. ‘Jared, you are not about wrong reasons. You are about right reasons. Hey,’ she finally managed to get a half step in front of him, and as her hand shot out to stop him in his tracks it landed full square on his chest, right over his heart. She kept it there as she spoke. ‘As I was saying, you are all about integrity. Fact: the friendship you share with Mikey is based on just that—friendship and not because you feel responsible for his accident.’ She felt his heart thump solidly against his chest. Finally, she had his attention. ‘I see you struggling with that sometimes and yet you never let it get in the way. You don’t think I had to wrestle with, and let go of, the fact you paid Mikey’s medical bills and for the house to be specially adapted?’ She pushed back against his hard chest when he made to step forward. ‘If you tell me you did that solely out of guilt, I think I’ll hate you!’ He blinked and she pressed her advantage. The shutters came down but his heart was still thumping. ‘If you do this, just because you can, what does that say about you?’

‘You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.’

‘So then, explain it to me. Family is family, Jared.’

‘Family is not always family. Family is sometimes—’ but then Jared broke off to stare ahead of them. ‘Sephy?’ he called out softly.

Frowning, Amanda followed his gaze in time to see a beautiful woman with flowing jet-black hair jog towards him. She was carrying an equally beautiful toddler.

‘Jared—’ the woman broke off; seemingly at a loss for words but then someone wriggled in her arms and a smile lit up her face. ‘This is Daisy; my daughter,’ she said proudly, offering a giggling Daisy up for inspection.

Amanda looked at the stunned expression on Jared’s face and when it became apparent he was incapable of speech, she stepped in.

‘I’m Amanda, Jared’s PA.’ She reached out to stroke a fingertip over Daisy’s chubby forearm. ‘Hello, Daisy.’

Jared’s eyes lingered on Amanda’s outstretched finger before he slowly seemed to collect himself.

‘Amanda, this is my other sister Seraphina—Sephy, and, er, her daughter.’ He shot questioning eyes to his sister and Amanda realised that he hadn’t even known he was an uncle.

Maybe he was right. Maybe family wasn’t always family as she understood it. She only had Mikey since their parents had died and they were such a unit, she couldn’t envisage being strangers, the way Jared and his sisters had so obviously become. She wanted badly to place her hand in his and offer a squeeze of comfort, but was fairly certain that PA’s didn’t do that.

‘Okay, I’m confused,’ Sephy said. ‘Nora gave me the impression you were Jared’s—’

‘No,’ Amanda hastily cut in. ‘Not at all. There was a gargantuan mix-up on my part when I met your sister. We’re strictly professional. Er, that is, we have a strictly professional relationship.’ She shot a look towards Jared that said, ‘Pull yourself together and help me dig myself out of this hole, will you?’ and it seemed to work, because from out of nowhere Jared grinned, Daisy gurgled and Sephy chuckled.

‘No problem.’ Sephy assured. ‘I have a car waiting to take us back to the house.’

‘Amanda and I are not staying at the house.’

Sephy instantly plopped Daisy down beside her and reached for her phone. She punched in a number and managed to grab Daisy before the toddler could shoot off.

‘Nora? You were right. Er,’ she looked up at Jared with a question on her face and he sighed and took the phone from her.

Amanda watched him take control with natural ease. Could she find a way to get him to at least look at the business before he waltzed in and pronounced it beyond saving? Was it really her place? He was the expert here, not her. Most definitely not her, she thought, feeling the nerves start to gather.

She glanced at Sephy and Daisy. They were watching Jared; rapt fascination on their faces and she had to smile. He tended to have that effect on people. She tuned back in and heard him say, ‘Well you’ll have to find a new plan then … I’m glad you understand. I’ll tell her.’ He snapped the phone shut, ‘She said to tell you to go ahead with Plan B,’ looking at Amanda he said, ‘We’ll be staying at Nora’s apartment in the City. She’s staying elsewhere.’

Her nervous feelings doubled as she acknowledged an underlying zing of excitement. Wasn’t the property in the UK supposed to be all small and poky? Wouldn’t they end up all on top of one another? Her eyes grew wide at the Technicolor graphic her imagination supplied. Realising Jared was looking at her oddly she rallied herself, smiling benignly when his eyebrow raised in query.

She had to get a proper grip of herself. What did she care if plans changed and she wasn’t staying in the sprawling formal country estate with space to spare? She was Amanda go-with-the-flow Gray. No sweat. No problem.

Later, travelling in the lift up to Nora’s penthouse apartment, Amanda tried to stave off the mounting apprehension as to what Jared would say to her when they were alone. Surely she’d over-stepped the mark when she’d virtually accused him of deliberately hanging the family business out to dry?

Before she could dwell too much on his reaction, the lift doors opened onto acres of creamy deep-piled carpet. Light pooled in through floor-to-ceiling windows that framed a view of the city.

‘Oh. Wow.’ Amanda walked over to stare at the London skyline, desperate to grab her camera and guide book out of her bag and run off and explore.

She turned to find Jared watching her with a soft smile on his face. Her heart missed a beat. He didn’t look as though he was holding a grudge. She crossed her eyes comically to show she realised she was being a bit gauche and picked up some of her bags to head off, she hoped, in the direction of the bedrooms.

Choosing the smaller room with its silk, champagne-coloured wallpaper and beautifully polished Venetian furniture, she set about unpacking, content to leave brother, sister and niece to some private time. After storing her toiletries in the sumptuous bathroom she crossed back to the plate-glass window in front of the bed. At night she’d be able to see thousands of artificial lights wobbling back at her from their reflection in the Thames below. Running her hand over the pane, she realised that the intricate skyline was cleverly etched onto the glass. Idly tracing it with her finger, she wondered if the window was redone as the skyline changed. Maybe they didn’t have to. Maybe nothing changed here. She shook her head at her naivety; as if London was any different to anywhere else. Everything changed sooner or later. That was why it did no good to plan. Zoning back in to the sound of stilted conversation in the living room area, she went to join them.

‘—wait till you see Dad with Daisy,’ Sephy was saying. ‘She has him wrapped around her little finger and he loves it, doesn’t he, Daisy?’ Daisy giggled back up at her mother but Amanda was more intrigued by the look of pure disbelief on Jared’s face.

‘You’ll see. You’re both invited for dinner, by the way.’

‘I’m afraid tonight’s out of the question.’

Amanda busied herself searching her capacious handbag for a notebook, but not before she saw a look of disappointment pass over Sephy’s face.

‘Of course. No rush. You probably have jet lag or something. Um, you may not remember, but Dad always holds a winter party and this year it’s on the 26th. You’re both welcome.’

‘Has he even been told I’m here or why I’m here?’

‘Of course. Nora would never have flown over to see you unless father had sanctioned it.’

‘Of course,’ Jared mimicked.

Amanda winced into her handbag and heard Sephy rush on.

‘He knows this is to be conducted on your terms—’

Jared’s laugh was tinged with bitterness. ‘Tell me, where is the real Jeremy King and what have you done with him?’

In the awkward silence, Amanda’s anxious handbag-search became more pronounced.

‘The real Jeremy King,’ Sephy said through pinched lips, ‘is right where he’s always been, Jared.’ She started stuffing Daisy’s bits and bobs into her bag. ‘He’s not the one who left.’ She grabbed up Daisy in her other arm and walked towards the lift.

‘Well stop her, then, idiot.’ For a moment, as Amanda watched Jared’s head whip around to his sister’s departing back, she thought she’d uttered the words aloud.

But then the lift doors swished shut, leaving Amanda and Jared alone.

Emotion pulled at Jared’s features, making the beautiful sculpted bones of his face stand even more proud. Amanda wanted to soothe him, hating she the fact that she didn’t know what he needed. She cleared her throat, ‘Well. I’m no reunion connoisseur, but under the circumstances I think that went quite well, don’t you?’

Jared was busy computing Sephy’s parting words. He didn’t understand. Could it be that neither of his sisters had been told of what had happened back then? How was that possible?

He shook his head slightly in automatic denial. It was simply inconceivable that his father had been trying to protect him. No, it made more sense that his father was simply protecting his daughters. Better his sisters think ill of their brother and the choices they thought he’d willingly made.

All of a sudden, he felt absolutely shattered.

‘Feel like taking a walk?’ he asked, raising dead eyes to Amanda.

‘Sure, just let me grab my guide book and I’ll leave you alone for a couple of hours.’

‘No. I meant with me.’

Her smile lit up the room and in the moment he refused to feel guilty that he’d manipulated her into accompanying him on this trip. By way of recompense, he’d make sure she went home with a reference that would get her any job she wanted.

They walked the City’s streets and now and then he’d point out a building and give a potted history lesson. She absorbed every word and with each infectious smile he felt his inner turmoil melting away. When was the last time he’d taken time out to admire the buildings he had systematically acquired? When had he forgotten it was the buildings themselves which had first inspired him and not just the simplicity of adding them to his portfolio? Probably around the time he’d realised he was good at acquiring things, that he’d inherited some of the King genes after all, and that it would be satisfaction itself if he were able to acquire more in a larger playing field than his father. Then, never again could he be accused of being …

A large raindrop splashed on the bridge of his nose, breaking into his reverie. He looked around for Amanda and found her crouching gracefully under a tree, camera pointing upwards.

‘Won’t the lens get wet?’

She shrugged her shoulders and motioned for him to adopt a similar stance as she passed the camera to him. ‘Look straight up, between those two branches. See the angel from the statue opposite reflected perfectly in the glass of the office block?’

He took the photograph and passed the camera back to her. Not many people would look through something to see what was behind it. ‘You’ve never thought of going professional?’

The shadows passed over her features as she looked at the photo he’d taken, altered some of her settings and took up her position again to take the shot. ‘I’d just completed my first year of study when Mikey had his accident.’

‘I thought you were studying business?’

‘I was. I guess photography was just for fun. You know—something extra.’

She held the camera up to her face again, and then, when he suspected she’d composed herself, lowered it and moved off.

He followed at a slower pace, sighing internally when he realised which building she’d reached.

‘So this is where we come tomorrow?’

‘Yes.’

Together their eyes swept over the intimidating steel sculpture that spelt out KPC in the foreground of the towering office block. Amanda stepped closer to peer into the lobby at the enormous potted trees and marble reception area, where a security guard sat staring at a bank of screens.

Hunching into his coat, Jared turned and began walking.

He could tell the exact moment she caught up with him; her presence thawing the icicles forming in his veins. He took one step away, trying to protect the ice that was creeping and crawling up his spine. He deserved all the punishing feelings that this particular building evoked. Turning abruptly, he stared at the office tower immediately opposite and felt the same sickening jolt.

He hadn’t realised he’d wandered into this particular plaza.

‘Wow,’ she whispered, ‘great combination of office and courtyard.’

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