Page 35 of Suddenly Desired (APEX Billionaires’ Club #2)

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Ellie said, as he poked his head around the door.

She was working on her laptop, a dozen piles of paper stacked around it and several notepads open to the side.

A fresh mug of coffee sat in front of her and Blake licked his lips in anticipation.

“I would ask you how you slept, but I don’t need to. ”

“I didn’t mean to sleep for so long,” he said.

“It’s the fresh country air.” Isla held a mug out for him.

“Thank you,” he said, grateful for the coffee and the distance Isla’s room was from Ellie’s.

“I hope you don’t mind that I didn’t wake you?” Ellie said. “I woke early and my mind was buzzing.”

“Not at all.” He kissed her head and sat down next to her. “I was a bit worried when I saw you were gone, but we’re okay, yes?”

Ellie nodded, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks an adorable pink.

“Anyone for eggs and bacon?” came Isla’s voice from by the stove.

“Yeah, sure. Thanks, Mum,” Ellie called back.

“Count me in too, please,” Blake replied, his stomach growling.

Isla set a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, and toast in front of both of them and made a retreat.

“Anything fun?” Blake nodded at the laptop. The world felt weird after the intensity of the last few days, and he took a sip of coffee to remind himself this was real.

“Kind of,” Ellie said, frowning and turning her screen so he could see. “Do you want to look?”

He did. On the laptop screen was a page of code and he scanned through it, whistling. “That’s impressive. Tell me you didn’t write all that in one morning.”

“No way.” Ellie laughed. “Just half of it. It’s something I’ve been working on for a while now, a thing I want to try with LifeWrite. You inspired me to get back to it.”

Blake’s smile widened, the pride in his expression unmistakable. “Ellie, this is brilliant. Honestly. I’ve seen a lot of pitches and ideas over the years, and this . . . this has real potential.”

“You think so?” she asked, her voice soft with vulnerability.

“I know so.” He turned to face her. “Look, I may not be in a position to throw financial backing your way right now, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help.

I can look over the code, give you feedback, connect you with people who can guide you, whatever you need.

You’ve got something special here, and I want to see it succeed. ”

Her eyes lit up, and she took his hand, her grip warm and reassuring. “You really mean that?”

“Absolutely,” he said, squeezing her hand back. “This is your vision, Ellie, but I’m here to help in any way I can. Just tell me what you need.”

She smiled, her confidence blooming in his presence.

Using her free hand, she scrolled down the page, showing him more of her work.

“Okay then, Mr Fielding, tell me what you think of this. So, the whole thing about LifeWrite is that I want it to be a positive experience. I want it to make people feel good about themselves and about the world.”

He nodded. He’d wanted exactly the same thing for Heartbook, it just hadn’t quite worked out that way. When the company had gone public, and Michelle and Mike had come on board, the emphasis had gone from social good to making money, and the network just hadn’t been the same since.

“And I want it to help people,” Ellie went on. “Heal people. You know, if you’re down, or sad, or depressed, or angry. This piece of code is designed to study your facial expression and work out how you’re feeling.”

“That’s amazing,” said Blake.

“It’s a little rusty, but try it,” she said. “Hang on.”

She opened the LifeWrite interface on the laptop, activating the camera, and their faces appeared side by side on the screen.

Blake caught their reflection and couldn’t help a flicker of surprise — how natural they looked together, like they belonged in the same frame.

She angled the laptop slightly so that only he filled the shot, her fingers skimming the keyboard with practised ease.

“All right, superstar,” she said with a small smirk. “You’re on. It’s capturing footage, so don’t say anything you might regret.”

The old computer clunked and whirred, struggling with the complexity of the code. On-screen he saw a series of whorls and lines appear on his face, then the computer beeped. A crudely animated cartoon avatar appeared, and Ellie’s voice drifted from the speakers.

“Good evening,” it said.

“Urgh, I’ve got to work on the time stamps,” she said. “Pretend it said morning.”

“You look . . . flustered,” said the avatar, and a laugh escaped Blake’s lips. He probably did look flustered, but only because his mind kept taking him back to last night. “Please relax, take a deep breath, and listen to this poem.”

On the computer, Ellie’s voice began to narrate a calm and soothing poem.

“Wordsworth,” he said, recognising it. “That’s nice.”

“You really do know your books,” she replied.

“So, yeah, the idea is that there is a response for every mood, and a huge database of writing to choose from. Eventually, when the network is up and running, LifeWrite will analyse your mood and do other things too, like connect you to family members, or just find someone for you to talk to.”

“United by stories,” he said. “It’s brilliant.”

Ellie’s cheeks flushed pink, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, avoiding his gaze. Her fingers toyed with the edge of the laptop, and when she finally glanced up at him, a small, shy smile played on her lips. “I don’t know about that.”

“It’s brilliant,” he said again. “I mean it. Look, I know I can’t offer you much, but let me at least be your cheerleader. LifeWrite has to exist. I think it can really help the world. I’ll help where I can, where you want me to. If you want me to.”

“I want you to,” Ellie said. She patted the laptop. “And there’s no backing out now, I’ve got it all on film.”

Blake looked at his face on the screen and laughed.

“I hereby declare that my only purpose in life from now on will be to help and support Ellie Mae Woodward, because she is the most wonderful, intelligent, beautiful person I know.”

Ellie gently slapped his arm, but she was laughing. Blake turned to her, ready to tell her that he had fallen totally head over heels for her, but at that moment Isla came crashing through the farmhouse’s front door, a look of alarm on her face.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said breathlessly. “But you must come quickly. It’s an emergency.”