LOGINGemmaIt was Monday morning, and I was checking the restaurant’s accounts when my manager hurried into my office.“Ma’am, there’s someone on the phone asking for you. She says she’s calling from Sam’s school.”My pen stopped moving.“Sam’s school?”She nodded and handed me the phone.“Hello?”“Good morning, Ms. Gemma. I’m calling from your son’s school. Sam collapsed this morning, and we’ve taken him to the hospital. We need you to come as soon as possible.”Sam.Whatever anger I felt towards him disappeared the moment I heard he had collapsed. All I could think about was getting to the hospital and making sure he was okay.“What happened to him?”“We’re still waiting for the doctor to give us more information. Please, come to the hospital.”I barely heard the rest. My son had collapsed, and I needed to see him. I grabbed my bag and rushed out of the office, telling my manager to handle things until I returned. Throughout the drive, I kept praying that Sam would be all right. By the t
JulianI looked at her, then towards the entrance.She was right. Sitting there and checking my phone wouldn’t change anything. If I wanted Gemma to hear my side of the story, I needed to speak to her in person.I was already heading outside when Vanessa called after me.“Are you seriously going to leave me like this? No goodbye or anything?”“Greet my mother for me. I know you’re heading to her place anyway.”She shook her head at me, muttering something under her breath as I walked away.The driver opened the car door, but I waved him off and got behind the wheel myself.Last night didn’t go as I planned. I arranged dinner at Gemma’s restaurant because I wanted some time alone with her. I thought being somewhere familiar would make the evening easier, but she spent most of dinner reminding me of my betrayal. I couldn’t blame her for that.Then Simon called.I investigated Gemma’s time in Switzerland, so I knew who Simon was and the relationship they shared while she was there. Heari
Julian“Gemma!”I took a step towards the door, but Vanessa caught my arm before I could go any further.“Julian, wait! I haven’t seen you in months, and you’re already running off?”I looked down at her hand on my arm, then towards the door Gemma had just disappeared through. “Not now, Vanessa.”She let go of me, her smile fading as she followed my eyes to the door. “Was that the woman you were talking about?”I didn’t answer. I pulled out my phone and called Gemma, watching the entrance as the call rang unanswered. I tried again, but she still didn’t pick up.“Who is she?” Vanessa asked.“None of your business,” I replied sharply, even though she did nothing wrong.“Clearly.” She glanced towards the door. “She looked upset. Did I interrupt something?”I slipped my phone into my pocket. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”“Then why did she run out like that?”Because I spent the previous evening trying to convince Gemma to give me another chance, only for her to wake up in my bed believi
GemmaSomething moved beside me, pulling me out of my sleep. I shifted my head against the pillow, trying to get comfortable. The room was dark, the walls unfamiliar, and the sheet was softer than the ones I always fall asleep in. I blinked a few times, trying to make sense of my surroundings, until I noticed the arm wrapped firmly around my waist.A man’s arm.I turned my head, and my eyes widened when I saw Julian sleeping behind me. His chest rested on my back, his face tucked into the crook of my neck. One of his legs was tangled with mine, and his arm held me close.What was I doing in his bed?I remembered the restaurant, the wine, and the moment I lost my balance. Julian caught me before I could fall. After that, my memories became hazy. I tried lifting his arm from my waist, careful not to wake him, but he pulled me closer before I could get away.“Don’t move, babe,” he mumbled against my neck.I froze.He used to call me that every morning. I would always complain when he pul
GemmaI answered the call and brought the phone to my ear.“Hello, Simon.”“Gemma? Hi. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”“Not at all.” I settled more comfortably into my chair and smiled at Julian. “It’s actually good to hear from you.”There was a pause on the other end.“Oh. Okay. I just wanted to talk…”“How have you been?” I interrupted, making my voice sweeter. “I’ve been meaning to call you.”Julian’s fingers stopped moving against his glass. I turned slightly away from him, hiding my smile.Simon sounded confused. “You have?”“Of course. We haven’t spoken properly in a while, and our last conversation ended badly. We should do something together one of these days.”Another pause followed.“Sure,” he replied cautiously. “I mean, yeah. We can.”“Lovely, dear. Tell me when you’re free. I can book the next flight to you.”I pressed the phone more firmly against my ear, trying to keep Julian from hearing Simon’s increasingly uncertain responses. I knew Simon well enough to recognise w
GemmaJulian leaned back in his chair and gave a small shrug, as if booking an entire restaurant was no different from ordering a cup of coffee.“I wanted us to have privacy.”I stared at him, waiting for him to explain himself properly, but he seemed perfectly comfortable with what he had done.“You booked my restaurant,” I repeated.“Yes.”“For the entire evening?”“That’s what the waitress said.”I let out a disbelieving laugh. “You must be out of your mind.”“Possibly.”His calm response irritated me even more. I glanced around the room again, taking in the neatly arranged tables, the soft lighting, and the flowers placed at the centre of ours. The whole place looked beautiful. He had even made sure the candles were lit, giving the room a warm glow.I hated that I noticed any of it.There was something almost unfair about how much thought he had put into the evening. He had taken a place I knew so well and turned it into something intimate, something that looked like it belonged i







