Joss snapped out of his trance and back into business mode as they walked down the corridor and back to Edward’s office, firing questions all the way.
‘Dad? What’s happening? Are you okay? Was this what you wanted to talk to me about?’
Edward collapsed into the chair behind his desk and rested back against the padded seat. ‘Yes. I’m sorry, son. Of course I wanted to tell you first, but you didn’t arrive for our meeting—’
‘Dad, if I’d known—’
‘I know.’ He softened the words with a smile. ‘I know. But it was difficult for Eva to get everyone here at such short notice. I couldn’t delay it any longer.’
‘Couldn’t delay? What’s wrong with you, Dad?’
‘Sit down, son.’ His father indicated the chair opposite. ‘And you, Eva. You both need to hear this. It’s cancer, I’m afraid, and there’s nothing they can do about it. I ignored it for a bit too long, it seems. So I thought it was about time I took that holiday I’ve been promising myself for the last thirty years and let you get on with running the business while I’m still around to answer your questions—there’s no deadline for you two, of course.’
Joss stared at his father, unable to take in his words. His hand found Eva’s again and he gripped it hard, taking strength from the solid presence of her, the warmth that always radiated from her.
‘How long, Dad?’
‘Oh, you know doctors. Never give you a straight answer. A few months, it seems. Long enough to have a little fun before I go. I love this business—you know that I do—but news like this makes you rethink, and I don’t want these four walls to be the last thing I see before I go.’
‘I’m so sorry, Edward.’
Joss could hear the tears in Eva’s voice, and he squeezed her hand. He knew how fond she was of his father, and that her grief must mirror his own. ‘Are you sure you’re comfortable? Is there anything we can do?’
‘Quite comfortable for now, my dear. Thank you for your concern. Now it’s my turn to ask the questions.’ He glanced at their clasped hands. ‘Is there anything you two would like to tell me?’
* * *
Eva sat in shock, silenced by Edward’s words. She couldn’t believe that the old man was dying. Sure, he’d looked a little creaky around the joints lately, but he’d never complained of so much as a runny nose. It just didn’t make sense that he could be terminally ill.
Joss had taken hold of her hand and she could feel the contact burning her skin. She hadn’t thought about it when she’d slid her fingers between his back in the boardroom. Hadn’t thought about all the times she’d imagined the slide of his skin against hers over the years. All she’d been able to feel was the grief and fear radiating from him, and she had acted on instinct, trying to ease it in any way she could.
And now Edward was calling them on it. Under normal circumstances she’d have cleared up the understanding with Edward the minute it had happened. But this was Joss’s father, and they had both just been hit with shocking news. It was Joss’s place, not hers, to explain.
‘I’m sorry you saw that, Dad—’ he started.
‘Oh, don’t be sorry—I’m delighted. I do remember what it was like to be young, believe it or not. I’m just pleased that you two have finally found each other. I can’t deny that I’ve been waiting for this for some time. I take it that if you’re bringing your personal life with you to work then it’s serious?’
Eva felt her mouth fall open and waited for Joss to correct his father, to sum up what had happened with the dress and the coffee and the zip. But expressions chased across Joss’s face faster than she could read them.
She was just about to jump in and explain for herself what had happened when Joss finally spoke.
‘Yes, it’s serious,’ Joss said. ‘In fact, we’re engaged.’
She was about to call him on being completely ridiculous when she clocked the look on Edward’s face. A smile had brought a glow to his face, and he was beaming at them both. Just a moment she was so shocked she couldn’t speak. And then real life kicked in, and she remembered the news that Edward had just delivered, that Joss had just received. She found that she couldn’t contradict him.
Still, she gently withdrew her hand. She had to maintain some semblance of control if she was going to keep her head.
She’d been trying to pretend to herself for years that she didn’t have an enormous crush on this man. That he didn’t enter her mind when she was out on a date with any other guy. And now he had to go and pretend to be in love with her. And the only result of calling him on it would be to hurt the man she’d come to care for almost as a parent. She couldn’t do it to him. She’d have to talk to Joss in private. He could break it to his father gently.
Funny how being angry with him made him that little bit less fanciable—she’d been looking for something to knock the shine off him for years.
It wasn’t as if she wanted to be attracted to him—she told herself that often enough. She couldn’t think of anyone less suitable for falling in love with than the son of her boss, who spent half his time on the road visiting the UK stores, and the other half in his office, buried in spreadsheets and dodging calls from disappointed would-be dates.
Secretaries talked—hardly breaking news.
As soon as she’d recognised where her feelings were going—the irritating pitter-patter of her heart, the annoying dampness of her palms, not to mention the completely inappropriate but delicious dreams that had her waking flushed and impressed by the breadth of her own imagination—she’d acted.
She’d put space between them at the office, avoided him in the break room and at the pub. She’d thrown herself into dating in a way that was the opposite of Joss’s clinical style: enthusiastically, prolifically, discriminately. She’d found handsome, eligible bachelors who weren’t intimidated by her salary or her seven fluent languages—or the handful of conversational ones. She’d dated in Russian, Greek and German, and once—haltingly, but memorably—in Mandarin. She’d gone dancing, cocktail-making, picnicking. Tried blue blood and blue collar.
And not a single one of the men she’d kissed so demurely on the cheek at the end of the night had helped her even start forgetting about Joss. He was beginning to appear annoyingly unforgettable, and now he was pulling her into a deceit that she knew, unhesitatingly, was a BAD IDEA. All caps.
‘Well, like I said, I can’t say that I’m surprised. I’ve suspected for a while that you two have a soft spot for each other,’ Edward said at last, still smiling.
Eva groaned inwardly. Oh, no, how much of her stupid crush had he seen? How much was he going to figure out? How much was Joss going to figure out for himself?
‘And it makes me a very happy man to see you settled and in love before I go.’
The three of them sank into silence as the meaning of his words hit home and the reality of his illness intruded once again on the completely insane situation Joss had just created.
‘But now I’ve got work to do—so get out of here, the pair of you.’
Eva kissed Edward on the cheek and mumbled something indiscernible, then let Joss follow her from the room, past the open-plan desks and into Joss’s office.
‘What the hell was that?’ she demanded as soon as they were alone, staring at Joss as he sank into his chair and rested his face in his hands.
‘Not now, Eva.’
‘Not now? You just told your father we’re engaged—I think I’m entitled to an explanation.’
‘He’s just told me he’s dying. I can’t talk about this now.’
She