Oh-So-Sensible Secretary

couldn’t marry Jonathan. I thought I loved him, but I didn’t really know him. You were right. I loved what he represented. But you knew more about me after that first time we had coffee than Jonathan ever did. He never made an effort to see what I was really like until you made it easy for him. You were the only one who’s ever looked at me and understood me. You’re the one who’s made me realise I can be sensible some of the time, but I don’t have to be like that all the time-and I won’t be when I seduce you,’ I promised.

‘I love the fact that you’re so sensible,’ Phin told me. ‘I love the contrast between that and your sexiness, that you wear sharp suits but silk lingerie. And most of all,’ he said, ‘I love the fact that I’m the only one who sees that about you. Everyone thinks you’re wonderful-’

I goggled. ‘They all think I’m nitpicking and irritable!’

‘Maybe, but they also know you’re kind and generous, and the person they can all turn to when they need help or something has to be done. But I’m the only one that sees the cream puff in you,’ said Phin, and his smile made my heart turn over.

‘Don’t joke,’ I said, laying my hand on his thigh. ‘I’m going to be channelling my inner cream puff from now on. I hope you’re ready!’

Phin covered my hand with his own. ‘Don’t distract me while I’m driving,’ he said, but his fingers tightened over mine and he lifted them to press a kiss on my knuckles.

‘I’ve never been the kind of girl who has an affair with her boss,’ I said with a happy sigh. ‘I hope I’ll be able to carry it off.’

‘Perhaps it’s just as well I’m not going to be your boss any more,’ said Phin. ‘We’d never get any work done. But who’s going to keep me in order in the office? Have you found me a new PA yet?’

‘No. Everyone I’ve considered has been too young or too pretty for you to share doughnuts with. I’m looking for someone who’s ready to retire.’

Phin laughed. ‘I won’t eat doughnuts with anyone but you, I promise.’

‘It’s only until Monique comes back,’ I said. ‘I’m thinking we could get by if we look after you in Lex’s office. Lotty could keep your diary.’

‘Sounds good to me,’ he said. ‘As long as you come down to my office occasionally and lock the door before you take your hair down!’

We had been making our stop-start way along the King’s Road, but now Phin turned off into his street. I looked at his house as we pulled up outside. ‘There’s something different…You’ve painted the door!’ I suspect my eyes were shining as I turned to him. ‘It’s exactly the right shade of blue. How did you know?’

‘Phew,’ said Phin, grinning at my delight. ‘I have to admit that was a lucky guess.’

I got out of the car, still staring. ‘And window boxes!’

‘I got a gardening company to do them. What do you think?’

My throat was constricted. ‘It’s just like my dream,’ I said, wanting to cry. ‘You remembered.’

‘Wait till you see inside!’

I hardly recognised the house. It was immaculately clean, and all the clutter had been cleared away so that the rooms felt airy and light.

I stood in the middle of the living room and turned slowly around until my eye fell on the sofa.

Two cushions sat on it, plump and precisely angled.

I looked at them for a long, long moment, and then raised my eyes to look at Phin.

‘They look all right, don’t they?’ he said.

Taking my hand, he drew me down onto the sofa, careless of the cushions. ‘You know that studio you were thinking of renting? I was thinking you could move in here instead. I had cleaners blitz the house yesterday, so I can’t promise that it will always be like this-but you could tidy up all you want.’

‘Move in?’ I looked around my dream house, then back to the dream man beside me, and for a moment I wondered if this really was just a dream. ‘But aren’t we going to have a passionate affair?’

‘It depends what you mean by affair,’ said Phin, picking his words with care.

‘I mean sex with no strings,’ I said adamantly. ‘I don’t want to tie you down. I’ve learnt my lesson. I want being with you to be about having fun, being reckless, not thinking about the future or commitment or anything.’

‘Oh,’ said Phin.

‘That’s what you want, isn’t it?’

‘The thing is, I’m not sure I do.’

I stared at him.

‘I think,’ he said, ‘that I’ve changed my mind.’

My heart did a horrible flip-flop, leaving me feeling sick. ‘Oh,’ I said, drawing my hand out of his. ‘Oh, I see. I understand.’

But I didn’t. I didn’t understand at all. I had just let myself believe that he wanted me as much as I wanted him. Why had he changed his mind?

Phin took my hand firmly back. ‘I’m fairly sure you don’t see, Summer. For someone so sharp, you can be very dense sometimes! I haven’t changed my mind about you, you idiot. I’ve changed it about commitment. I’ve spent my whole life running away from the very idea of it,’ he admitted, ‘but that was because I had never found anyone or anything that was worth committing to. Now there’s you, and it’s all changed. It was all I could think about on the boat. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy the sailing, but this time I wanted you to come home to. I wanted to know that you would always be there.

‘So I’m afraid,’ he said, with a show of regret, ‘that if you want to have an affair with me you’re going to have to marry me. I know you’re just interested in my body, but I’m so in love with you, Summer. Say you’ll marry me and always be there for me.’

I looked back into those blue, blue eyes, and the expression I saw there squeezed my heart with a mixture of joy and relief so acute it was painful. I was perilously close to tears even as exhilarating, intoxicating happiness bubbled along my veins like champagne. It was like stumbling unexpectedly into paradise after a long, hard journey. It was too much, too wonderful. I could hardly take it in.

Unable to tell Phin how I felt, I reverted to joking instead.

‘But what about my fantasy to seduce you?’ I pretended to pout. ‘I was so determined that I was going to live dangerously. You can’t have an affair with your own fiance!’

‘If you want to be reckless, let’s get married straight away,’ said Phin.

‘I don’t think Lex would like that very much. He’s running out of suitable PAs.’

‘He’d be furious,’ Phin agreed, and grinned wickedly at me. ‘Let’s do it anyway.’

I pretended to consider. ‘I still don’t get to have an affair,’ I pointed out.

‘How about we don’t get engaged until tomorrow?’ he suggested. ‘Then you can have your wicked way with me tonight with no commitment at all. But I’m warning you-that’s it,’ he said with mock sternness as he pulled me down beneath him. ‘One night is all you’re going to get, and you won’t even have that unless you say yes. So, just how badly do you want an affair, my little cream puff?’

‘Very badly,’ I said, a smile trembling on my lips.

‘Badly enough to stick with me for ever after tonight?’

‘Well, if I must…’ I sighed contentedly.

Phin bent his head until his mouth was almost touching mine. ‘So here’s the deal. You seduce me to your heart’s content tonight, and then we get married.’

‘I get to do whatever I want with you?’

‘It’s your fantasy,’ he agreed. ‘I’m all yours. And tomorrow you’re all mine.’ He smiled. ‘Do we have a deal?’

Well, it would have been rude to say no, wouldn’t it?

I put my arms around his neck and pulled him into a long, sweet kiss. ‘It’s a deal,’ I promised.

‘Good,’ said Phin, satisfied. ‘Now, about this fantasy of yours…where are you going to start?’

I took hold of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head. ‘I’ll show you.’