“I thought you might like to catch up, after being away, sir.” He stops and looks at her for a few seconds. She blushes. She’s affected by him, most women probably are, but he’s obviously her boss and I don’t like that she fancies him. Our relationship is already complicated enough with the Tamara situation, I don’t want to be worrying about Ms Max Factor throwing herself at him, too.

“I’ve emailed you what I need doing this week. I won’t be back in the office for the next few days. You can reach me on my mobile if there’s anything urgent.” He looks briefly at me then back to her. “Make sure all the staff have their ID with them. There’s some extra security I’ve set in place that will be in operation from this morning. I’ve emailed every one, but I’m just giving you the heads up before you get to the office.” He looks at his watch as if to let her know that it’s time for her to go.

He turns and heads up the stairs as Louise says, “Yes, sir, I’ll get right onto that as soon as I get in.” He keeps walking and doesn’t answer.

Marian puts a plate in front of me with two slices of toast and a huge pile of scrambled eggs on it and I say, “Thank you,” as I watch Louise pack her stuff away.

“Bye, Marian, nice to see you again.” Was that to let me know she’s been here before I wonder? She turns and totally ignores me as she heads towards the door.

“Bye, Louise, lovely meeting you,” I call out, but get no reply.

Marian leans on the breakfast bar in front of me and says, “Well, that’ll put the cat amongst the pigeons and it would’ve put her nose right out of joint as well.”

“Why’s that?” I ask innocently.

“Well, she’s bound to go back to the office and tell everyone you were here. Cameron never has anyone stay over, apart from his mates and family, never,” she shakes her head and looks me over. “Never any young ladies. That one, she’s had her sights set on him for ages. Not that it’s got her anywhere, mind.”

I smile at Marian. I think I’m going to like her and I hope that I’ve found a friend and hopefully an ally too. I have a feeling I’m going to need one around here.

Cam comes padding down the stairs. His hair is wet and pushed off his face. He’s wearing joggers and a T-shirt and his feet are bare. I smell him before he reaches me and it makes my eyes close.

“Your eggs are bloody cold now, Cameron. You took longer than you said you’d be.” I smile slightly as I wait for Cam’s response for being told off and I’m amazed when it comes.

“Sorry. I had a lot to sort out. Just put my eggs in the microwave for a few seconds. They’ll be fine.” He looks at me; my mouth must be open. I’ve never heard anyone rebuke Cam before and he just took it. It makes me wonder what the relationship is between him and Marian.

“Kitten, look, there’s stories and pictures all over the papers about us this morning, and some of it’s not very nice. I’ve spoken with Lennon and Bailey. Lennon’s doing what he can from a PR point of view. Bailey just wants to know you’re okay. I’ve organised some security for you, but at the end of the day, it’s up to you how you wanna handle this.” He starts eating the reheated eggs that are placed in front of him. “We can make a statement or we can just let them get on with printing whatever they’re gonna print.” He reaches out and takes my hand. “I don’t want you reading any of that shit. I don’t want you getting upset by any of this, but I don’t think they’re gonna leave you alone until we confirm or deny that we’re together at least.”

I let out a long breath and put my fork down, my appetite has gone now. I just feel hot and anxious. I don’t understand this. I really don’t understand what the interest is in me. I’m not famous. I’ve never been famous. I was married to someone who was but why are people so interested in me and my life now that my husband’s dead. Why can’t they just leave me the fuck alone?

“Why’re the newspapers interested in you two?” Marian asks and I wonder where her accent is from. It’s definitely not from London. “Bloody hell, Georgia, oh, my love, I’ve just realised who you are. Oh, darling, I am so very sorry for your loss.” I don’t know what to say, and without even thinking, I reach back out for Cam’s hand and feel grateful when he laces his fingers through mine.

“Thank you, Marian.” I stare down at my now cold eggs, too scared to look up in case I cry. I do okay most of the time; it’s when people are nice, or when they ask me if I’m okay, that’s when I fall apart. Well actually, that’s a lie; I fall apart a lot, but generally it’s not in front of people I’ve never met before.

“You better bloody look after this girl. No one should have to go through what she has.” A tear catches on my eyelash. “Oh, darling, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” I shake my head. I want to cry, but Cam’s here. How can I cry for my dead husband in front of the man I now claim to be in love with. I’m so torn, and then his big hand is around my jaw, raising my face so I have to look at him.

“Let it out, Kitten. If you need to cry, then just go for it, baby. Don’t be ashamed. Don’t ever be ashamed to cry for what you lost.” He stands and turns my stool around so I’m facing him and wraps his big arms around me, just holding me and letting me cry. I can hear Marian sniffing and blowing her nose behind me. I look up at Cam. I know he’ll moan if I say sorry so I whisper, “Thank you,” and give him the best smile I can manage.

* * *

After breakfast, I go in search of my phone. The battery’s flat when I find it down the side of the sofa, but luckily Cam has the same phone as me and I use his charger. I lean on his desk as I wait for it to ping to life. Cam’s in his office talking on the phone when the buzzer goes on the intercom. He winks as he walks his sexy-self past me to answer it. My phone vibrates and lights up, just as I hear a female voice saying over the intercom, “Open this fucking door now, before I tell every one of these journalists the exact nature of our relationship.” I poke my head out of the office and look at Cam. He rubs his hand over his jaw, then puts both his hands on his hips, then one hand back to his jaw. He presses the entry button on the intercom unit and then puts both his hands back on his hips. I can only assume that Tamara is on her way up and I hate the way Cam is standing with his back to me, shoulders slumped, looking defeated.

“Cam?” He turns and faces me. “It’s okay, would you like me to wait upstairs?”

He frowns and shakes his head. “We doing this?” he gestures between us and I give him a little shake of my head, not understanding his question. “Are we together, Kitten, a couple? Are we letting the world know we’re a couple or are we gonna hide, like what we have is a dirty little secret?” I look over his face.

“We’re together, Tiger. I’m not hiding us from anyone.”

He smiles as he says, “I love the fuck out of you, Kitten.”

“I fucking love the fuck out of you, Tiger.”

“You ready for this? She’s gonna be a complete bitch.” I shrug, acting braver than I feel and note to myself that Cam must be stressed; he never picked me up on my swearing.

“What does she know about us?” Feeling a little panicked that she might tell the press about mine and Cam’s office door coupling, he shakes his head.

“She knows we were together for a while. She knows that I was in love with you.”

“Was?” I chew on the inside of my lip as I watch him.

“She knows that I was in love with you. I never told her I’m still in love with you after all these years. I didn’t want the whole world to know that I’m completely fucked where you’re concerned. I wanted to be left with some dignity.” I can’t help but smile at that.

“What you smiling at, Kitten?” He rakes his teeth over his bottom lip and gestures with his chin as he asks. I don’t actually know what I’m smiling at. I just feel happy and it’s such a nice sensation. It’s like a little ball of warmth in my chest and my belly.