That had been my idea. A way to help Noah and his father heal and also for my parents to see Noah again. It was potentially crazy but like Liv said, I saw no point in holding back this time around. Things had gone wrong when Noah had kept things from me and I hadn’t pursued my dreams; now we wanted to be honest and open and support each other.

  ‘I’m really nervous about it,’ I admitted.

  ‘It’ll go well. No one can be grumpy with you around,’ Liv said encouragingly.

  Noah had said something similar and I liked that was how they both saw me. I had my tough days like we all did but Liv was right. My heartbreak over Noah had made me determined to be positive and focus on what was good because otherwise I would have turned bitter and cynical and that wasn’t me.

  I held out my iced coffee. ‘Here’s to curing grumpiness, our careers being successful and our love lives being like the ones in our favourite books,’ I said, and with a grin, Liv clinked hers against mine.

  I woke up with a jump when my alarm went off. It was dark and rainy when I climbed out of bed and nerves settled in my stomach as I got ready for work. Not only was I going to see Noah and his father in the office, and see them with my parents later, but today was bestseller list day. Mr Matthews might be opening up to his son but I knew his business face would very much be on still and he didn’t need any excuse to replace us with people from New York. I got the feeling that was his preferred option so Bitten’s sales needed to be strong enough to change his mind.

  As I walked to work, I passed by a bookshop and peered in the window. I was happy to see a stack of Bitten copies in there. It was still doing brilliantly on Amazon, rising every time I checked, and I was getting emails all the time from people asking for reading copies or wanting to interview Deborah, but the proof was always in the pudding. Just because in our book world it seemed to be popular, it didn’t mean the sales would translate. But I bloody hoped that they would.

  Crossing my fingers while I stood in the lift, I tried to take a few breaths. I straightened the headband in my hair as the doors opened and I walked through to the office.

  ‘We are so glad to see you,’ Emily called as I walked over. Gita was by our desks. ‘Are you as nervous as us?’

  She didn’t need to explain why she was nervous. I hung my jacket over the back of my chair. ‘I am terrified,’ I confirmed. ‘Have you seen Noah?’

  ‘He’s in his office with his father,’ Gita said. ‘They looked a little tense if you ask me.’

  ‘They always look tense though,’ Emily reminded her.

  ‘We are all tense today,’ I said, hoping Noah and his father had been able to talk about their relationship and not just work things. ‘Let’s just focus on our next campaigns and wait for the bestseller list to come in.’

  I glanced over but I couldn’t see into Noah’s office. I hadn’t heard from him since we’d left Starbucks. I knew he was focusing on talking to his father, and we’d be spending the evening together, but I wished I could see him. It would help my nerves. I sat down at my desk knowing it was going to be hard to do any work while we waited to find out how Bitten had done.

  As the rest of our colleagues came in, I could see everyone was feeling the same way. We all glanced at each other as we tried to work and the office was as quiet as the first day when everyone had found out about the takeover. We were all on tenterhooks. And Noah’s office remained shut, he and his father out of sight. But they were never out of my mind.

  39

  ‘Stevie, can you come in, please?’

  I looked up from my desk as Noah stepped out of his office. Eyes swivelled to me as if our colleagues were watching a tennis match. I got up, smoothing down my trouser suit.

  ‘Is this it?’ Emily stage-whispered to me.

  I looked at the time. It was early afternoon. I swallowed hard. ‘I think it might be.’

  People murmured ‘good luck’ as I walked towards the office. I paused by Gita’s desk. ‘Do you want to come?’

  She was Deborah’s editor and was desperate to know the chart position too. She had looked after her a lot longer than me and it felt strange that I would be the one to get the news.

  But Gita shook her head. ‘It’s right that it’s you, Stevie. Just put us out of our misery soon.’

  I nodded and carried on my walk. This somehow felt even harder than that first walk to Noah’s office when I thought my first day here might be my last. I was invested now. I loved this job, I liked my colleagues and our authors and my work with Deborah had quickly become a passion project that I really didn’t want to have to walk away from. I’d been so sure we could make something of Deborah’s book, and we’d achieved more than I knew they had done for years but I didn’t know how much more. And I knew Noah’s dad wasn’t happy with our focus on Bitten, especially after he told us to drop it. I had no idea what he thought of Noah wanting to be with me but I was certain that, as a member of his staff, I might well be his least favourite.

  So, it wasn’t a fun walk to find out the results of our campaign. Crossing my fingers, I went into the office. Noah was standing by the window, a reflection of that first day I saw him here, while his father was behind Noah’s desk, arms on the polished wood. Both men’s faces were impossible to read as they watched me as I walked in. Noah must have learnt that from his father. I could feel my palms start to get sweaty as I closed the door behind me.

  Mr Matthews gestured to the chair opposite him so I sank into it, grateful I wouldn’t have to keep my weight on my shaky legs.

  ‘We have just been sent the bestseller list for this weekend,’ Mr Matthews said without preamble. My eyes flicked to Noah, who was watching me, then back to his father. I wondered if I was still breathing or not. ‘Son? You want to do the honours?’ he said, turning to Noah and surprising us both.

  Noah looked startled for a moment then cleared his throat. ‘Uh, yes. Yes. We printed it out for you. For everyone.’ Noah walked over and moved his hand from behind his back to hold out a piece of paper to me. His brown eyes locked onto my blue ones. ‘Stevie,’ he said, his voice low as he passed the paper over.

  I looked down at it hesitantly. Then I exhaled and held it up, my eyes scanning the page. I did a double take. Then I looked up at Noah. He was smiling. That dimple looking the dimpliest I’d ever seen. Even though I knew that probably wasn’t even a word.

  I jumped up. ‘Oh my God. Is this real?’ I pointed to the page again, my heart soaring.

  ‘It’s real,’ Noah confirmed.

  I looked from him to his father who, bloody hell, was smiling too.

  ‘It’s real. It’s real! Number three!!!’ I shrieked and, throwing the paper in the air, I launched myself at Noah. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the floor, spinning me with a laugh as I kept repeating ‘Number three, number three!’ When he put me down, I was breathless. ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe it. Noah!’

  ‘I know.’ He was beaming at me. ‘You did it, Stevie.’

  ‘We did it,’ I corrected him again, because I definitely couldn’t have done this alone. I looked at Mr Matthews, who was watching us, a little bit shocked. I realised that I was probably behaving very unprofessionally in his eyes, but how could I be chill? ‘Sorry,’ I said.

  ‘What for?’ Mr Matthews stood up. ‘Well done. Both of you. Stevie…’ He held out his hand slowly.

  ‘Oh, thank you,’ I said, shaking it firmly. I wasn’t going to let Mr Matthews think that I had a limp handshake. ‘Can I tell everyone?’

  ‘Of course,’ Noah said. ‘We’ll finish up here then we can head to the restaurant. Right?’ He looked to his father.

  ‘Looking forward to it,’ Mr Matthews said.

  ‘Great. Great,’ I said, backing away and grabbing the printed bestseller list from where I’d dropped it before he could change his mind and not be happy about this. No word about what would happen at the company now but I was going to just enjoy the win. I looked at Noah again before I left and he winked at me. I grinned back and hurried out, still feeling like I might be in the middle of a dream. I walked out and tried to stop myself from smiling.

  Everyone stopped what they were doing as I walked right to the middle of the office, keeping my head down because I knew if I met anyone’s eyes, I’d start grinning all along again. The room fell silent.

  I held up the paper. ‘I have the list,’ I said dully.

  Several people stood up. Gita was right by me. ‘Shit, Stevie, how bad is it?’ she asked worriedly.

  I looked at her then around the room. My eyes fell on Paul and Aaliyah, Lewis, Emily, who was biting her lip, and the receptionist, who had hurried in when she saw me. They all waited with bated breath until I was ready to put them out of their misery.

  I waved the paper again and broke into a huge smile. ‘Bitten is number three. We are number three on the bestseller list!’

  There was a short silence where the news sunk in and then pandemonium broke out. People cheered and clapped. There were actual whoops. And I was rushed at by a blur of people. I was hugged, clapped on the back, and when Gita and Emily found me, they hugged me so tightly, I staggered and almost fell over. When I whimpered, they finally let go.

  ‘You bloody superstar,’ Emily said, beaming at me.

  ‘How the hell did you turn our most difficult midlist author into a number three bestseller social media darling?’ Gita added.

  I couldn’t stop laughing. ‘The power of romance books, guys.’ I turned around and saw Mr Matthews and Noah had come out of the office. I pulled out my phone. ‘Hang on,’ I said, shushing everyone, and then I phoned Ed and put it on speakerphone. ‘Ed? Please tell me you’re with Deborah.’

  ‘I am,’ he said. ‘Tell us, Stevie.’

  I gave a dramatic pause, everyone smiling around me. ‘Okay, I’m so sorry, guys, we tried our best but unfortunately, we only managed number three.’

  There was a pause. ‘Say that again,’ Ed said.

  ‘I said we’re number three. Bitten will be number three on the Sunday Times bestseller list!’

  There was a scream. ‘Do not joke, Stevie,’ I heard Deborah cry in the background.

  ‘Are you fucking serious?’ Ed said at the same time.

  ‘Number three, bitches,’ I said. Then I saw Mr Matthews raise his eyebrows. ‘Anyway…’ I coughed and looked at Emily and Gita who were practically wetting themselves.

  ‘You bloody genius,’ Ed said. ‘Deborah can’t speak. I’ve never actually witnessed this before. She’s frozen. Debs?’

  ‘You did it, Deborah,’ I said. ‘Well done. And you, Ed. We’ll be in touch with a five-book offer,’ I added with a grin.

  ‘Hell, yes,’ Gita mouthed to me.

  ‘I don’t know how you pulled this off, Phillips,’ Ed said then. ‘If I was wearing a hat, I’d take it off. I better go and make sure Debs is breathing. Champagne next week? I’ll be in touch.’ He hung up.

  ‘Great job, everyone,’ Noah said, stepping forward. ‘That’s the best sales figures for any book all year. And Paul tells me retailers are calling for more copies now they’ve seen the buzz it’s getting so I’m hoping we could climb even higher next week.’

  I looked at Paul, who shook his head at me. ‘I’ll never live this down, will I?’ he said.

  ‘I don’t hold grudges, Paul, but I do feel pretty smug right now, I won’t lie. You’re going to get Bitten into every shop that sells books now, right?’

  ‘I owe you that,’ he agreed.

  Noah’s hand grazed the small of my back then, making me shiver. I hoped no one but Noah noticed. ‘Dad has gone to talk to the board in New York. He said he’ll meet us at the restaurant.’

  ‘Okay,’ I said, hoping that the chart position would be enough to give us time to prove ourselves here to him and the board. ‘And you two?’

  Noah smiled. ‘Getting there.’ He looked around. ‘I don’t think anyone is going to do any work now, are they?’

  ‘Probably not,’ I agreed. I raised an eyebrow. ‘And you’re not shocked or telling everyone to calm down. Have you become a soft boss now? Grumpy Noah has left the building for good?’ I asked him teasingly.

  ‘I’ll still crack the whip when it’s needed,’ he replied in a low voice that made me bite my lip. He grinned. ‘I’m blaming all of this on you,’ he said, nodding to everyone’s excitement.

  I smiled. ‘I’ll happily take the blame.’

  It was great to finally feel like we were all a team. I just hoped Mr Matthews let us stay that way.

  40

  My mum and dad got the train into the city for dinner. I booked us my favourite table at the pub. A familiar setting was needed to try to put us at ease as much as possible. I thought perhaps Mr Matthews preferred a posher dining experience but Noah said it would be fine; he would appreciate the pub’s cosy vibes. I really hoped he was right.

  I got ready in an agitated state. I really wanted this to go well. I wanted Noah and his father to heal their rift, for Mr Matthews to not be my scary big boss any more but to get to know him as Noah’s father, and I really wanted my parents to accept Noah was back in our lives. And I realised that was a hell of a lot of pressure to put on one meal.

  I put on my favourite jeans with a black silky blouse, my heels for confidence and my pearl hairband with matching jewellery, and then my parents knocked at the door. ‘I’m so glad you’re here,’ I said, letting them in to my flat.

  ‘You look lovely,’ Mum said, giving me a kiss. ‘And a little bit nervous,’ she added in a low voice.

  ‘I am,’ I admitted. I hugged my dad, who was wearing such a smart shirt and trousers, I was worried for a moment I might cry. ‘But you guys are helping. You both look great,’ I said, admiring my mum’s black dress too.

  ‘Not that Noah’s father deserves us making the effort,’ Dad grunted.

  ‘Love,’ Mum warned him. ‘What did we say on the train down? We are civilised, polite, open-minded people.’

  Dad snorted. ‘I will be if they are. If not, then I make no promises. Noah has a lot of making up to do to Stevie and his father sounds like a Mad Men throwback.’

  Then I laughed, surprising them both. I wrapped one of my arms through each of them. ‘You two are my favourite couple. If Noah and me are anything like you ten years from now, I will consider myself the luckiest woman.’

  ‘Oh God, Stevie,’ Mum said, letting out a sob and dabbing her eyes.

  ‘We’re only the best because we have the best daughter in the world,’ Dad declared. He looked at me. ‘Seriously, love, you’re sure about Noah, aren’t you?’

  I adjusted my expression to match the seriousness of his. ‘Dad, I won’t lie and say I’m not still nervous about the future, but I love Noah. I never stopped and nor did he. I think sometimes it’s just meant to be but the timing is wrong. We had to be apart so we could find each other now. I know what I want and so does he.’

  Dad nodded. ‘Okay then. If that’s the case then everything will work out, so there is no need to be nervous. If Noah’s father can’t see his son has landed so hard on his feet there was an earthquake, then I have no time for the man.’

  ‘Well said,’ my mum agreed.

  ‘Come on, let’s go before you two inflate my ego any further,’ I replied. They really were my biggest cheerleaders and I’d never take that for granted. We left my flat and walked to the pub. The moon shone down from the cloudless sky. It was dry but with a sharp chill in the air. London on a Friday was lively and we passed restaurants and bars lit up with lights and merriment and when we walked into my pub, I smiled at the roaring fire and loud chatter inside. It was a welcoming place and with my parents by my side, I hoped that tonight would go well.

  I waved to Meg and led my parents to the table I’d reserved for us. They sat beside me, ignoring the shake of my head as they did so. It now looked like we’d be interrogating Noah and his dad but I couldn’t name three less intimidating people on the planet than us.

  Noah and his father arrived just after we’d sat down and when our eyes met, Noah’s face lit up. When he reached me, he leaned in to give me a soft kiss.

  ‘Hi,’ I said as his musky aftershave washed over me.

  Noah flashed his dimple. ‘You look lovely.’ With his hand on the small of my back, he moved so his dad could get to the table. ‘Dad, these are Stevie’s parents – Sean and Sarah.’

  I watched Mr Matthews shake their hands and then Noah walked round to kiss my mum on the cheek and shake my father’s hand. He said something to him that I couldn’t hear and then he and his father sat down opposite us. We ordered first and then made small talk about the weather until our drinks arrived and then Noah leaned on the table and cleared his throat, making us all look at him expectantly.

  ‘It’s really lovely to see you both again,’ he said to my parents. ‘I have a confession to make – I almost knocked on your door once. About three years ago.’

  ‘You did?’ Mum asked, confused.

  ‘You never told me that,’ I said in surprise.

  ‘I don’t know if Stevie told you but after I moved to New York, I tried to contact her but I wasn’t able to.’

  ‘I blocked him everywhere,’ I said with a shrug.

  ‘I don’t blame her for that at all,’ Noah said. His leg touched mine under the table. ‘I felt like we’d never cross paths again. Three years ago, I had to come to London for a conference and I drove to your house. It was the only way I could think that I might be able to get in touch with Stevie. I sat outside for an hour wondering whether to knock on your door or not.

 

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