‘Really,’ he said softly.
Then he dropped his hand, before he did anything stupid—like moving it to cup her cheek and dip his head to kiss her. That kiss was still causing him to wake up at stupid o’clock in the morning and wonder what would happen if he did it again. He needed to keep a lid on his attraction towards Emmy. Now.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I—well, I feel bad about asking. Four days is a lot.’
‘This is your big break, Emmy. And we’re a team. Of course I’ll do it.’
‘Thank you.’
He couldn’t resist teasing her. ‘I will be exacting repayment, of course.’
Then he wished he hadn’t said it when she blushed. Because now all sorts of things were running through his head, and none of them were sensible. All of them involved Emmy naked in his bed. Which would be a very, very bad idea for both of them. Hadn’t he spent the last week or so trying to get his feelings under control and forcing himself to think of her as just his co-guardian?
‘I mean, I want four days off in lieu,’ he said.
She dragged in a shaky breath, and he had the feeling that her thoughts had been travelling along very similar lines to his own. ‘That’s a deal,’ she said.
The doorbell rang, and the pizza delivery boy saved him from saying anything else stupid—such as suggesting they sealed the deal with a kiss. He made sure they had the full width of the kitchen table between them when they sat down to eat. Maybe, just maybe, his common sense would come back and do its usual job once he’d eaten. He needed carbs.
Sharing a house with a woman he knew he shouldn’t be attracted to was turning out to be much harder than he’d expected. Though he knew that at least work was a safe topic. ‘Tell me about the magazine,’ he invited.
‘It’s one of the biggest women’s monthly magazines, glossy and aspirational stuff.’ She smiled. ‘It’s not exactly the kind of thing you’d be likely to read.’
No, but he knew the kind of thing that Nadine had flicked through and he had a pretty good idea of what they required.
‘And they’re featuring your work?’
‘If they like it. There aren’t any guarantees,’ she warned. ‘As I said, there are a couple of other designers in the running.’
‘They’ll like your work,’ he said. ‘What do they want you to make?’
‘A pendant, rings, earrings, and a bangle—they want an ultra-modern set and an ultra-girly, almost old-fashioned set.’
‘Like that filigree stuff you do.’
She nodded. ‘Exactly that.’
A pendant, rings, earrings and a bangle. And his imagination would have to supply a vision of Emmy wearing said jewellery, and nothing but said jewellery.
‘Are you going to show them your jet animals as well?’ he asked, pushing the recalcitrant thoughts away.
She wrinkled her nose. ‘No, they’re just a bit of fun.’
‘But they’re different, Emmy. People might forget your name if they want to buy your jewellery, but they’ll definitely remember your jet animals, so they’ll look them up on the Internet and find you.’
She thought about it. ‘Fair point.’
‘Go for it,’ he said. ‘Maybe that little turtle you made for Ty last week. And the dolphin.’
‘I could do a seahorse,’ she said, seeming to warm to the idea.
‘That would definitely do it,’ he said. ‘A jet seahorse.’
‘I owe you,’ she said, finishing her pizza. ‘Would you mind...?’
‘Go. You’re off housework, childcare and everything else,’ he said. ‘Go beat that deadline.’
She went off to work, and he made a phone call to delegate his work for the next four days so he could take over from her. It was a lot to ask, but he also knew that if he’d been the one to ask the favour her reaction would’ve been the same: total support. And he could give her some help to chase her dream.
* * *
Over the next four days, Emmy worked crazy hours to get the pieces done—a solid jet heart with silver filigree radiating out into a larger heart-shaped pendant, matching earrings, and delicate filigree cuffs containing the shape of a heart in solid jet. The other set included a modern pendant of a jet cone with a slice of amber running through it, matching earrings, a jet ring that entwined with an amber one, and a bangle that replicated the same effect, a thin band of amber entwined with a thin band of jet. And to finish the collection she carved the jet seahorse she’d discussed with Dylan.
Outside her work, she didn’t have time to do anything other than have a quick shower in the morning, then fall into bed exhausted at night. Dylan brought her coffee and fruit and sandwiches to keep her going during the day, but didn’t stay long enough to disturb her. He did insist on her taking a short break in the evening, though, to eat a proper dinner. She gave him a grateful smile. ‘Thank you, Dylan. You’ve been a real star.’
‘You’d do the same for me. How’s it going?’
‘I’m getting there.’
When she’d finished, she showed him the two collections.
‘This is beautiful. I know a lot of women who’d love something like this.’ He smiled at her. ‘You’re definitely going to get this.’
‘There are no guarantees,’ she reminded him.
Emmy delivered the jewellery to the magazine offices by hand, including the jet seahorse. She knew she was being paranoid, but she couldn’t trust them to anyone else. She’d put too much of her heart and soul into the project now for things to go wrong.
Then it was a matter of waiting.
Were they going to choose her?
And how long would they keep her waiting before they delivered the verdict?
Every second seemed to drag—even though she knew she was being ridiculous and she probably wouldn’t hear for at least a week. But by the time she got back to the house in Islington, she felt flat.
Dylan took one look at her. ‘Right. We’re going out.’
‘Where?’ she asked.
‘You need some fresh air, and Ty and I are going with you to keep you company—isn’t that right, sweetheart?’ he added to the baby. ‘I’ve got his bag organised. All I need to do is get a couple of bottles from the fridge, and we’re good to go.’
She gave in. ‘Thank you, Dylan.’
‘I know you like the sea,’ he said as he finished packing the baby’s bag. ‘And I think it’s what you need to blow the cobwebs out.’
‘But it’s nearly five hours from here to Whitby,’ she blurted out.
He laughed. ‘I know. I’m not taking you there. I thought we could go to Sussex.’
In the end he drove them to Brighton, where they crunched over the pebbles next to the sea. Part of Emmy was wistful for the fine, soft sand of the east coast she was used to, but she was seriously grateful that Dylan had thought of it. ‘You’re right. The sea’s just what I need. Thank you so much.’
‘My pleasure.’ He smiled at her, and her heart did a flip. Which was totally ridiculous.
They ate fish and chips on the pier. He fed little bits of fish to Tyler, who absolutely loved it and opened his mouth for more.
‘I think we’ve just found the next food for his list,’ Dylan said with a grin.
The