Chapter 15

One morning, she surfaced from unconsciousness to find herself in bed instead of at her desk. The reports on the desk had been sorted and annotated in red pen — not her handwriting. Sebastian's. He'd gone through the accounts himself, flagged the entries she needed to handle with care, and left everything organised in order of urgency.

He was at the kitchen counter with a mug.

"Don't work yourself into a hospital bed," he said. "If you need a second pair of eyes, use mine."

Breakfast was on the table. He'd remembered what she liked. There were also two small dumplings — handmade, prawn, the kind she'd ordered twice at a restaurant weeks ago and barely commented on.

She sat down.

"Thank you. Sebastian."

"You've been using my first name for two weeks," he said, dry. "You don't need to say it like you're introducing yourself every time."

She almost laughed.

Her phone buzzed. Adrian's name appeared — new number. She deleted the contact and set the phone face down.

She looked across the table at Sebastian, who was reading the Edinburgh business pages with the unhurried focus of a man who had not turned his calendar upside down for anyone.

Except that he had.

"If you're going to keep pretending this is purely a business arrangement," he said, without looking up, "you could at least call me by my name in a normal way."

"I do call you by your name."

"You say it the same way you sign a document." He set down the paper. "Try again."

"Sebastian." Less careful this time.

He looked at her. The corner of his mouth moved.

"Better." He went back to his paper. "Call me whatever's comfortable."

She looked at the dumpling in front of her, still warm.

"If it helps," he said, "I already know what I want."

She didn't ask what he meant. She thought she might already know.

"It might," she said carefully, "be easier if you could pretend to chase off a certain persistent fly from time to time."

"I can manage that," Sebastian said. "You can call me whatever you like in those situations. Something affectionate would probably be most convincing."

He looked entirely serious.

She felt warmth travel up the side of her face.

"Fine," she said. "I'll think about it."

Outside, the city was already moving. She had work to do.

And for the first time in a long time, she thought about it while feeling something that wasn't entirely dread.