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“Are you sure? I don’t mind staying. Although Graham has got this new board game he wants us to play tonight, and by the look of the rulebooks, I really think I could do it by watching a few online videos just so I know what we’re doing before we start. It’s annoying; he thinks I’m naturally good at these games now. At some point, I’m going to have to confess that I’ve been watching how-to tutorials online.”

Somehow, Gemma suspected Graham already knew this about Sophie, but it was very sweet how hard they worked to keep each other happy.

“You go home, watch your YouTube videos,” Gemma said.

“And I’ll tell you what, I can always come in early tomorrow, you know if you turn out to have a really good night and want to stay out a little later.”

“You have exciting plans later then, Gemma?”

Gemma turned around to find Kent standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He had gone back in there shortly after that discussion about the effects of rain, and from all the clattering, Gemma assumed he had been sorting out the cupboards to his liking. But now he was looking straight at her, with an intensity that caused her stomach to flutter nervously, although why, she wasn’t sure. Probably because she didn’t want him knowing anything about her personal life. Yes, that made sense.

“Nothing too exciting,” she lied. “Just going out for some drinks with friends. That’s all.”

“Well, that sounds exciting to me,” he said before turning his attention to Sophie. “I agree with Gemma, by the way. You might as well go home. I’ll stay here just in case there’s a sudden rush.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Gemma replied.

“I know,” he said. “I want to.”

And just like that, the fluttering in her stomach kicked up a whole new notch.

CHAPTER 27

This was an opportunity. An opportunity to tell Gemma the truth of the situation. That was what Kent was telling himself. That was why he had suggested Sophie go home and he remain with Gemma. It wasn’t because he wanted to spend some time alone with her. To get to know her, was it? Of course not. That would be ridiculous. After all, he was here to do a job, and any sentimentality attached to the workers could stop him from being as productive as possible. In fact, it could be seriously detrimental.

But if he was honest with himself, Kent knew he thought about Gemma a lot. Far more than he could remember thinking about anybody for a long time. Naturally, a lot of that had to do with how annoying she was. The way she was constantly judging him, waiting for him to fail. Unfortunately, she didn’t know about that streak in him, which meant the more somebody expected him to do badly, the more he had to prove them wrong. It was probably something from his childhood. Growing up, his older siblings had always been considered smart, while he was just average. Not that average was bad, except for his parents.

In someways, Kent knew he should probably thank them. It was his drive to prove them wrong that had seen him achieve somuch. But sometimes, he wondered what it would be like not to have to prove himself all the time. To have people accept him regardless of what he accomplished.

It wasn’t just work situations with Gemma that he found himself thinking about though. In fact, since Sophie had mentioned Gemma’s evening plans, Kent’s mind had had them on replay constantly. It was a date, right? That’s what Sophie was implying. Gemma was going on a date, which made sense. She was beautiful, intelligent, fierce as hell. She probably had several dates a week.

Biting the bullet, he grabbed a cloth, walked across to a table she hadn’t reached yet, and began to wipe it down. It had been over half an hour since Sophie had left. During that time, Gemma hadn’t said a single word to him. However, it didn’t feel like she was deliberately ignoring him—more like she had too much to do to waste time talking to him. She had already emptied the chiller cabinets and cleaned them until they were spotless and was now going around checking that all the undersides of the tables were clean, too. She was certainly fastidious in all areas of her job. Not just the fun parts, like dealing with nice customers or taste-testing the produce. That was something he admired. Still, he needed to have a conversation with everyone. Although it felt wrong to just go in and tell her. A little bit of small talk first would probably be appropriate.

“So these friends you’re heading out with tonight, they’re local, I take it?”

She looked up from her cleaning. Her eyes were wide with surprise, as if she had forgotten he was even there, or perhaps just forgotten he’d been there during her earlier conversation with Sophie.

“Yes, just going out with a friend from the book club and her husband,” she said.

“Right. Sounds good.” He took the cloth to the otherside of the table, although rather than wiping it down, he merely stood there. Her answer hadn’t given him the confirmation he hoped for. He needed more and so he asked what he actually wanted to know. “With your boyfriend too, I take it?”

He had hoped the question had been innocuous, that it simply flowed in with the conversation. After all, he was ninety per cent certain she was single. That’s what Sophie said at least, and they were clearly great friends. Still, he could see Gemma being the type of person who would keep a relationship secret until she knew it was the real deal. That was a sensible thing to do. You probably had to when you got as much attention from guys as she was likely to. The thought caused a ridiculous pang somewhere near his stomach and as he watched Gemma, he saw a slight pink rise in her cheeks. A bashfulness he hadn’t quite expected, but that was irritatingly even more endearing than her fire. She cleared her throat, and his pulse ticked up as he waited for the answer. It made no difference, he told himself. What did it matter what she replied to him? Still, he could feel his breath tightening in his lungs as she parted her lips to speak. But before a word left her mouth, her eyes moved past him and onto the clock on the wall.

“Look at that, five o’clock,” she said. “We can both go home now.”

Without thinking, he reached out a hand, ready to stop her. Only to hesitate. She was probably really looking forward to tonight. Maybe it was someone special she was going to meet. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin her evening before it even started. And what he needed to tell her would definitely ruin her night. He knew that.

“Sure,” he said, twisting his lips into a smile. “Going home now sounds good.”

CHAPTER 28

For a long time, Gemma, just like Sophie, struggled for confidence with dating. She recalled now, with a sense of embarrassment, the hours she would spend choosing an outfit or fixing her makeup, and even then, even when she was as perfect as she could make herself, she would be terrified that they might not like her.

But all that changed when she met Robert—or rather when Robert left her.

In terms of breakups, it was a right royal mess, and for a short while, she felt the need to shoulder some of the blame. There were things she could have done differently. Signs she should have seen and matters she could have handled in a manner that may have resulted in a different outcome.

Or would it?