Page 84 of A Summer of New Beginnings
‘Right. Right.’ He sat down in the chair opposite her again. ‘Right.’
‘You said that already.’
‘I did. Okay. Look, it’s like this… I want you to be my deputy editor.’
She gasped. ‘Seriously?’
‘Seriously. Now, thereasons behind this are purely selfish, so hear me out before you accept or decline. Oh, bugger, please don’t decline.’
She grinned. ‘I’m listening.’
Noah nodded. ‘Good. Now, I’m very much aware that your book is taking off. It’s flying off the shelves, by all accounts. I’ve bought copies for everyone I know.’
Still confused, Zara giggled nervously. ‘Thank you, I think?’
‘And I know that you’recrazy about that farmer, Lachy. And that he lives a gazillion miles away and there’s a good chance, at some point in the not so distant future, you’ll be leaving to move up there.’
‘I never said I was—’
‘Zara, I’m not daft. Long distance doesn’t work.Ever.So one of you will have to make sacrifices. And obviouslyhecan’t bring his farm or croft or whatever it is down here to London. So… Iwant you to be my deputy so that I can keep you. And that you can work remotely for me from the Highlands whenever the time is right. If that’s next week, so be it. If it’s in two years, so be it. But the fact is you’re the best writer I have. And I don’t want to lose you. So instead of disappearing off for weeks at a time to far-flung places you can simply fly down to London once every couple ofmonths for meetings and everything else can be done via the Internet. Video conference and such. What do you think?’
Her eyes remained wide and she was stunned into silence yet again.
He stood to leave. ‘I’ll leave it with you. Just think about it and let me know. But it’s got to the point where I need a deputy. And I can’t think of anyone better.’
‘Th-thank you, Noah. I’ll give it some seriousthought.’ But leaving London? Was that something she could do? She’d dreamed about it but only when she’d known it would never happen. Her family was here. Shelley and Marco were here. Almost her entirelifewas here.
*
Marco was staying at Toby’s in the house he shared with some friends so that Zara and Lachy could have some quality time together over Christmas. She had told Marco about Noah’ssuggestion and about her doubts. He’d said she was the only one who could make such a big decision. Typical – when she didn’t want his opinion he gave it freely.
She had bought a real Christmas tree and had decorated it in readiness, trying to make everything feel right, but knowing she had a difficult conversation ahead of her when Lachy arrived and she wasn’t sure how he was going to take things.
The platform was freezing as she stood waiting for his train to pull in. He had travelled overnight with Bess and, from what she could gather from the texts he’d sent, the dog had been an absolute star. She had enjoyed the attention she’d received from the staff on board and had almost eaten her body weight in sneaky snacks.
When the train pulled into the station, she waited impatiently for themto disembark and when they did, she ran along to meet them. Bess barked and jumped around excitedly as Lachy pulled Zara into his arms and kissed her unabashedly as people walked by wheeling cases.
‘This feels good,’ he told her as he held her. ‘I’ve missed you so much.’
‘I’ve missed you too.’
‘Come on, take me to your place so you can show me how much you’ve missed me, and by that I mean youcan cook for me, woman.’ He wiggled his eyebrows like some comedy character and she whacked his chest playfully.
‘You’ll have take-out pizza and be grateful. I have other plans for you, Mr Grant.’
His nostrils flared and his eyes darkened. ‘That sounds better than food.’
Back at the apartment, Lachy dropped his bag on the living-room floor and took in his surroundings. ‘This is a great weeplace. Very modern.’
‘I love it. It took a lot of work to get it like this, but I think it’s paid off.’
‘Aw, your tree’s beautiful. Mine looks a bit haphazard. I think Bess could’ve done a better job of decorating it.’
‘I bought a real one especially for you coming.’
He gasped in feigned horror. ‘Don’t tell me you usually have a fake one?’
She cringed. ‘Afraid so. Getting that thing up heretook two of us. It was like something offYou’ve Been Framed.’
Bess ran around, her nose to the ground and tail wagging as she investigated every room. She was especially fascinated by the packages under the tree but eventually she lay down on the rug and dozed off.
Lachy laughed as he watched her. ‘The staff on the train have worn her out. I’ll have to take her for a walk later, with you nothaving a garden. But in the meantime, come here, you.’ He tugged Zara’s hand and pulled her into his arms.’
‘I can’t believe you’re here,’ she sighed.
He ran his nose down hers and placed a gentle, loving kiss on her lips. ‘Well, I am and I want to make the most of you while I have you.’ He leaned and kissed her again, deeply and languorously this time. ‘Now are you going to take me to bed?’he whispered into her ear.
She smiled and took his hand and pulled him into her room, closing the door behind them.
