Jas awoke the next morning with a sore head and a dry throat. She rubbed her temples and knocked back the pint glass of water she’d strategically left on the bedside table. She set her alarm on ‘snooze’ for an extra few precious minutes before she had to get up. As she did, the events of the previous night slowly came back to her, piece by piece. The flirting, the touching of knees, wandering of hands … And that kiss. Jas turned her face into the pillow, both completely mortified and wracked with guilt. Thank God she had thought logically enough to go home alone! But, still, what the hell had she done? She was a married woman! And she’d not exactly been forthcoming with that information to Luke over their long and intimate date.
The alarm rang again angrily and Jas hit it off and begrudgingly lurched out of bed. Stepping into the shower and letting the cool water run over her and wake her up, a memory of last night’s passion flickered through her mind. She batted it away.
Freshly showered, Jas threw on a green midi skirt, white t-shirt and red heels. Black mascara opened up her heavy eyes, and after a dash of Chanel foundation, brush of bronzer and slick of lipgloss she looked normal again, even if she didn’t quite feel it yet. She popped two paracetamol with a glass of orange juice and strong black coffee. On the Tube into work her hangover lifted and she busied herself with answering emails, reading the morning’s headlines and checking the Instagram sites of all the contestants to see what they were up to. Throwing herself into work was the best way to forget about last night.
‘What, you didn’t sleep with him?’ Monica asked, aghast, an hour later as she and Jas grabbed a coffee from the canteen. Jas’s eyes darted around but there was thankfully no sign of Luke. Stirring sugar into her extra-shot skinny latte, she shook her head.
‘No, Mon. It’s so not the right time for me to be starting up a new relationship or even anything close to that. Especially not with someone I work with. It’s a bad idea.’
‘You know you haven’t done anything wrong, right?’
‘It feels like I have,’ Jas replied glumly.
‘You’ve been separated for months! From an arsehole, I might add. And you haven’t even had a sniff of a date. Luke couldn’t be nicer, everyone knows it.’
Jas was about to reply when her phone beeped. ‘Oh my God, it’s from him.’
Monica grabbed the phone and read the message aloud.
‘“Hope your head isn’t too sore this morning. I had a great night.” Oh, Jas, he’s so sweet!’
Jas snatched her phone back. ‘Don’t make me feel any worse!’
‘You should have told him last night about Richard, he would have understood.’
‘I need less drama in my life, not more. The best thing is to end this before it gets even more out of hand. Nip it in the bud.’
‘Okay, but I think you’re crazy. Every woman in the building has their eyes on that man. He’s genuinely nice and he’s clearly crazy about you!’
But Jas had made up her mind. It was one night of fun and that was the end of it.
She went back and forth over what to write back to Luke but, in the end, didn’t reply at all. Logging on to Google Hangouts she expected another cheeky message. But there was nothing. Jas shrugged and distracted herself with work. With Monica and their team of assistants and researchers, she was finalising flight details for everyone and arranging venues around Ibiza for Dylan to take his chosen date. There would be picnics on the beach, dinners in fancy restaurants, boat trips with champagne, snorkelling and romantic walks. Harry had extended the budget even further to accommodate helicopter rides and flights to other destinations for the extra-special dates. No expense was spared.
Another huge task that was taking up a lot of Jas’s time, and had prompted a closer working relationship with Luke in the first place, was carrying out background checks on all the contestants they hoped would make the final grade. Luke had walked Jas and her director, Lyndsey, through the finer details of the process. Any past convictions or criminal records had to be declared to Harry. It turned out that not only was one girl already on bail for assaulting someone in a nightclub, but on closer inspection another contestant had lied about her age and was just fifteen years old. Jas was stunned – this girl looked at least nineteen – but there was a strict rule that contestants had to be over eighteen, so Jas and Monica scrambled to find the two best replacements among their reserves.
Almost all the contestants were emailing asking what to pack. Gabriella, who’d tried unsuccessfully to demand money, was now asking for her own bedroom, claiming she couldn’t sleep with other people in the room. Jas replied politely but firmly to the email, explaining that there were five bedrooms in the villa and three girls to each, but they all had double beds and plenty of room. Jas had personally flown out to inspect the villa – the bedrooms were massive! Gabriella was clearly just chipping away to get all that she could for free. There was always someone who tried it on.
At 6 p.m., exhausted and craving a huge bowl of pasta and a crappy comfort film on Netflix, Jas called it a day. But stepping into the lift down to the lobby, she came face-to-face with Luke.
‘Hi,’ she said awkwardly.
‘Hello.’ He smiled back at her. There wasn’t much more they could say in a packed lift. At the fifth floor more people bundled in, meaning Jas was standing even closer to Luke. Dammit, he smelt good.
Safely in the lobby they got to speaking.
‘How’s your day been?’ asked Luke coolly.
‘Fine. I, um, haven’t heard from you.’ Shit! Why did she sound so desperate? She had to play it a lot cooler than this.
He looked confused. ‘I texted you this morning. Everything okay?’
‘Fine, fine … just, you know, a busy day …’ Jas’s voice trailed off. Back when she was with Richard, he would have been outraged if she’d not answered his text. Luke was so chilled out. And why should she care? She was going to break it off anyway, right?
‘Up to anything tonight?’ he asked. ‘Because I’m pretty shattered but would love to make you dinner if you fancied coming round to mine. We could stick a film on.’
‘Well, I …’ Jas began. She’d rehearsed what she wanted to say to Luke a dozen times but now he was here, smiling so sexily and being so charming, she was entirely lost for words.
He leant down and whispered in her ear, ‘I’ve been thinking about you all day.’ Then he pulled back. ‘And I’m starving.’
Jas was still lost for words. ‘Um, well …’
‘Or, if you prefer, we could go to yours, order in some food,’ Luke continued, scrolling through his phone casually as it bleeped. He was standing close and Jas breathed in his aftershave – Armani, was it? Dior? Delicious. The thought of going back to an empty flat on a Friday night was hardly appealing. Snuggling with Luke all night on the other hand …
‘I’d like that,’ was all she said, deciding that her great plan would have to wait.
An hour later Jas was lying back on her grey sofa, a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc in hand and heels kicked off to the floor. Luke sprawled out at the other end of the sofa and gently lifted her ankles onto his lap, massaging the balls of her feet. It felt amazing. Jas was about to make a joke about how good he was with his hands but simply allowed herself to relax. She struggled to remember the last time she’d felt this good. She and Luke smiled at each other for a few seconds in a blissfully comfortable silence. He was the first to speak.
‘My mum’s a yoga teacher and massage therapist,’ he explained, nodding to Jas’s feet. ‘You pick up a few things.’
‘Ah, so that explains it. You use this technique on all the women you’re trying to seduce, I suppose?’
‘It’s working, isn’t it?’ Luke smiled, giving her a cheeky wink.
‘Smart arse.’ But she smiled back at him. ‘Is that what she’s always done?’
Luke shook his head. ‘She was a schoolteacher for years but had a bit of a career change when my dad got the job in Brighton and we moved down south. He’s an IT consultant. She looked in a few schools in Brighton for a job but started getting more and more into the holistic side of things, retrained as a yoga teacher and now that’s it. She says she’s never felt happier.’
‘That’s so brave, just changing course like that. I don’t know if I’d have the guts to do it.’
‘You’re still young. We both are. Everything seems important when we’re this age but I reckon once you’re older, you’ve had three kids and a thirty-year marriage, you start to chill out about stuff. It’s not all about work.’
‘Says the guy who trained for six years to become a lawyer.’
The level of training Luke had done for his law career was staggering, but he was equally in awe of Jas’s job and found everything she did and said fascinating. She found herself opening up again about her uncertainty as to what her next career move should be. Luke never pushed any subjects but Jas felt she could talk to him about most things. Apart from Richard, that is. That part she was certain she wanted to leave out.
Family was clearly of paramount importance to Luke and Jas really liked that. She found it refreshing, especially after Richard who was ungratefully rude about his parents. It was funny how only now she was remembering the bad stuff about him. When they were first together she couldn’t find any fault in him. Talk about rose-tinted glasses. The more time she spent in Luke’s company, the more she realised what a shit Richard was compared to him. Not so much at the start of their relationship when Jas was truly happy, but certainly since they’d moved to London and he’d changed entirely for the worse. He’d never once offered to cook for her. Massage her feet? No way. Asked her about her own day at work, or after her sisters? Forget it! Jas wanted to know more about Luke.
‘So, do you think you’ll stay in this job for a while then?’ she asked later, topping up their wine. Her stomach was growling for food by now.
‘I think so. Entertainment law is pretty interesting. I’d probably like to go and work for a legal firm, though, where there’d be more money than at Channel 6 so I can buy a house, but I’m happy where I am for now. I don’t think it’s a good idea to try to plan too rigidly. Saving up for a house is one thing but I see people trying to map out the next five, ten years of their life and it’s pointless.’
‘I don’t plan anything, that’s the problem! I’ve no idea what the next five years hold for me.’
Luke paused. ‘Maybe that’s a good thing. I think people put too much emphasis on what they should be doing, but life doesn’t always work like that. Expect the unexpected, that’s the one thing I’ve learnt.’
Jas considered her own career. She adored working in TV but when she’d started out, interning on the newsroom floor, she had never imagined that when she finally landed a senior role she’d spend hours arguing with wannabe reality TV stars over how much they’d be getting paid to essentially go on holiday for eight weeks. Then again, she was about to go to Ibiza for eight weeks herself, so she could hardly complain. Why did she always over-think things? Why couldn’t she be more like Luke? Nothing at all seemed to bother him.
‘How are you finding the entertainment team anyway?’ she asked, changing the subject. ‘Do you miss being up on news?’
‘I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s fun. And different. But, really, so long as I’m working with decent people and getting paid, it doesn’t really bother me where I am.’
‘Nothing ever bothers you, does it? I wish I could be so content all the time instead of worrying constantly about what my next step up the career ladder is, whether I’m doing a good job, whether I’m being paid enough, whether I’m saving enough, am I a good friend, a good sister, a good daughter …’
‘Of course things bother me, as they do everyone,’ replied Luke. At that, he leant over and kissed Jas lightly on her forehead. ‘Give yourself a break. You’re ace and everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.’
There was something so calming about him, it made Jas feel happy. She really didn’t want to ruin their perfectly lovely evening. Thankfully, she was literally saved by the bell as her entryphone buzzed loudly.
Luke lifted Jas’s legs off his lap and sprang up to answer the door. ‘Food’s here!’
Seconds later he was chatting to the delivery guys about the balmy weather. Jas willed him to come back in with the food, she was starving! Her phone rang and, seeing Lila’s number pop up, Jas hit the red button to reject the call. She’d call her sister back. Luke returned bearing two bags full of noodles, spring rolls, chicken, prawns and vegetables.
‘Et voilà!’ he said with a flourish, then went about fetching plates and cutlery from the kitchen.
Lila rang back. Again, Jas rejected the call. ‘Nice one! I’m so hungry I can barely speak,’ she called out to Luke. The phone rang yet again.
‘Whoever that is, you might want to answer. They seem insistent,’ Luke said, returning with the plates.
Bloody Lila! Impeccable timing as always. Jas picked up. ‘What?!’
‘Jesus, what’s up with you?’ Lila sounded genuinely baffled. ‘Did I call at a bad time?’
Jas sighed. She was about to tell her sister that, yes, obviously it was a bad time as she’d ignored the past two calls, but decided against making a big deal out of it. ‘Nothing, babe. What’s up, you okay?’
‘I’ve got a hot date tomorrow night and I need to borrow some clothes. I’m coming over in the morning. What do you have that’s new and irresistible?’
Jas glanced at Luke, now stuffing his face with eyes fixed on the TV as he flicked through the sports channels. He looked cute. ‘Er, I don’t know, Lila, just come and have a look. You’ll find something you like as usual. I want my denim jacket back, by the way, don’t think I’ve forgotten.’
‘Yeah, whatever, I think it’s at Mum and Dad’s now.’
‘You think? Lila, that’s my favourite jacket. Bring it tomorrow when you come over or else don’t come over at all, I mean it.’
‘Urgh, fine! Whatever, you’re so annoying.’
‘Urgh, you’re so annoying,’ Jas mimicked.
‘So, you’ll let me go through your wardrobe?’
‘What sort of look are you going for?’
‘I thought maybe that Maje blouse of yours.’
‘No way! You’ll only ruin it and it cost me a hundred and fifty pounds.’
‘For God’s sake, Jas, you have everything! Why do you have to be so selfish? I’d let you borrow anything of mine.’
‘I don’t want to borrow festival wellies and a crop top, thanks.’
‘Pleeeeeeeeease, Jas. It will go perfectly with my leather trousers. I need some heels too. He’s a City boy, much older, very serious but super-rich. So, I’ve got to look older.’
‘Charming!’
Lila tutted. ‘You know what I mean. Grown-up. Classic. Anyway, I’ll be there at some point in the morning.’
Jas knew in Lila-speak this meant ‘some time before 4 p.m.’.
‘Just call me when you’re on your way. I’ve got things to do tomorrow. Right, is that the wildly important question you needed to ring me three times for? Can I go now?’
‘I’m bored. What you doing? Can I come over?’
‘Nope.’
‘Whhhhhy?’ whinged Lila.
Jas playfully nudged Luke with her foot. ‘I’ve got company.’ He looked up and gave her a sly smile.
‘Oh my God, who? Is it that fit guy from work? It is, isn’t it? Cough once if it is.’
‘Goodbye, Lila.’ And before her sister could whine again, she hung up.
‘That was my little sister. I hung up before she could invite herself over.’
Luke grinned. ‘I get it. You want me to meet your family already.’
‘Don’t flatter yourself ! I told her very specifically not to come over!’
But Luke was enjoying winding her up. ‘I see your game, Whiteley. All right, all right, I’ll go to dinner at your parents’ house. God, stop harassing me!’
They both laughed and Jas gently kicked her feet against Luke’s shin and then they were play-fighting. ‘I do yoga too, you know, and I’m very strong,’ she laughed as Luke effortlessly held her down with one arm while helping himself to a forkful of noodles with the other.
‘Yeah, you’re so tough,’ he teased as Jas tried to wriggle out, but to no avail. His strength was such a turn-on …
‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ she protested, wrapping her legs around Luke’s strong arm and guiding him down so he was on top of her. Their lips brushed and just as he leant in for a kiss she rolled away so he fell face down onto the sofa.
‘Ha, I win!’ She jumped up, triumphantly.
‘Right, that’s it. You’re dead, Whiteley.’ And in one motion he pinned her down on the floor and held her hands above her head as she tried to wriggle free but had no chance. They both burst out laughing. Jas wrapped her legs around his, pulling him in closer. They kissed, nervously at first and breaking away to laugh, then locking lips for longer and more intense kisses. Luke’s hands stroked Jas’s back and she coiled her fingers through his short hair.
‘What was it you wanted to tell me?’ Luke asked as he eventually pulled away.
‘Oh, I can’t even remember now,’ lied Jas.
‘Right, well, this food is getting cold so enough nonsense,’ Luke mocked, turning his attention away from Jas and back to his plate. She pursed her lips. Just what was she getting herself into?