pulled out a chair and did as she was told, still marvelling at his domesticity. A vase full of creamy white roses sat in front of her. They were lovely, buds loosening with the promise of the fullness. Just like the perfect blooms of a bridal bouquet.
Clinking dishes announced Jake’s arrival. She was about to compliment him on the table setting, but all she could do when she looked up was hoot with laughter. Over the top of his jeans and shirt he was wearing the most hideous floral apron she had ever seen. Jake just grinned back at her, not fazed at all by the combination of psychedelic blue flowers and designer shirt.
He set the starters down on the table while she wiped her eyes, trying hard to leave her mascara intact. It took quite a while before the end of her sentences weren’t hi-jacked by a burst of giggles.
‘Where the heck did you dig that up?’
Jake did a twirl. ‘You don’t think it suits me?’
‘Oh, beautifully! In fact, I think you should wear it next time we go out.’
‘How about next Thursday? At your special birthday dinner?’
She gasped. ‘How did you know it was my birthday next week?’
‘A handy little tool called a search engine.’
He’d been looking her up on the internet? If anyone else had said that she’d have found it creepy—definite boyfriend marching orders! But she already knew Jake wasn’t like that. Anyway, it would be highly hypocritical of her to be cross. Hadn’t she visited his firm’s website nearly every day, just to look at the pixellated little photo of him and convince herself he wasn’t some longed-for figment of her imagination? She was secretly flattered he’d done something similar.
She tried not to look too gooey as she smiled back at him. ‘So, where are you taking me?’
Jake put a finger to his lips. ‘It’s a surprise. But I promise you this: it’s going to be a night you’ll never forget.’
She hastily studied the goats’ cheese salad in front of her. ‘You’re too good to me.’
He sounded shocked. ‘I thought you’d be used to getting the princess treatment. I can’t believe no one has ever looked into those big brown eyes and said you deserve the best.’
She swallowed a little lump that clogged her throat. ‘Mum did. But that was a long time ago—a different life, almost. She died when I was twelve.’
He took her hand and she looked up into his bottomless blue eyes, so full of compassion. Suddenly it didn’t matter if he saw that hers were tear-filled. He saw parts of her that other men hadn’t even noticed, let alone understood. It was as if she was transparent to him. Yet she didn’t feel naked or scared, she just felt known.
He pulled her hand towards his lips and placed the tiniest kiss on her knuckle. Nothing to prepare her for the shockwave that shot up her arm and bullseyed in her heart.
Her breath caught in her throat as he said, ‘I’m going to have to do a lot of making up for lost time, then.’
Dinner was fantastic. The conversation was warm and intimate. If a world existed outside the candlelit cocoon they shared, she didn’t want to know about it. She swallowed the last bite of her seafood pasta and relaxed back into her chair.
‘That was amazing!’ The corners of her mouth curled up. ‘You could take the apron off now, if you wanted to.’
His eyes jerked downwards, then he laughed. ‘I completely forgot I was wearing it!’ He tugged at the ties behind his back and slipped it over his head.
‘So where did you get it? I’m going to be very scared if I find out you have a row of them hanging in your wardrobe!’
‘No, you’re safe. This belongs to my cleaning lady. She keeps it in the hall cupboard with her cleaning supplies. You don’t think a single guy living alone is this good at dusting, do you?’ He bunched the apron up and slung it under his arm. ‘I’d better put this back. Do you want coffee?’
‘Please.’
Serena busied herself with collecting the plates and followed Jake down the hall. So he didn’t dust—who cared? Neither did she. But in every other way Jake was shaping up to be Mr Perfect.
By the time she’d wandered into the kitchen, Jake was pouring steaming espresso into delicate little cups. He took the dishes from her hands, passed her a coffee, then laced his fingers in her spare hand and tugged her towards the living room. ‘We’ll leave the washing up for now.’
‘Fine by me.’ Her eye was immediately drawn to the tall windows that almost filled one side of the room. ‘Oh, wow! You’ve got a balcony! I’ve always wanted a balcony.’
‘There’s not much to see. In a densely populated area like this, it’s just gardens and back windows.’
‘Can I take a look?’
‘Knock yourself out.’
She put down her coffee cup, unfastened the brass catch, and stepped through the French windows onto a narrow wrought-iron balcony. She could have spent an hour out there, listening to the shuffle of the wind in the trees and nosing into the uncurtained windows.
Jake’s presence was noticeable more from the heat of his body behind hers than the sound of his footsteps. He draped his arms around her shoulders like a knotted pullover and she sank back into him.
‘If I lived in this flat, I’d spend all my time out here.’
‘Would you? I like the trees, but it’s a bit too crowded. Still, it’ll do until I’ve saved up for my house in the country.’
‘Don’t you think it looks magical? Especially now people are starting to put their Christmas lights up.’
Jake grunted. ‘It’s only the second week of December! Far too early for all that stuff.’
‘So that’s why your place is twinkle-free, is it?’
‘I don’t do Christmas lights.’
Serena thought of the dog-eared tinsel and her mother’s hand-made decorations that graced the nine-foot tree in her living room. ‘Shut up, you old humbug, and give me a kiss!’
She swivelled to face him and their lips met. All she was conscious of for the next few seconds was the heady mixture of Jake’s lips on hers and the heat trapped between their torsos. Even after three weeks, his kisses had the power to reduce her nerve-endings to frazzles. If anything, there was a cumulative effect. It seemed impossible that each kiss could be sweeter than the last, but Jake was doing his best to give her solid empirical proof.
The mood shifted. What had started out as romantic and sensual was rapidly intensifying into something else entirely. Her guard was too far down. It was all she could do to lock her knees and keep herself from puddling to the floor. Jake’s hand was under her jumper, caressing her midriff and snaking a tantalising journey up her body.
A tiny voice screeched at her from the back of her head, telling
